Label: Downfall Records
Release date: May 27th, 2024
In the last ten years the number of atmospheric projects is really enormous. Every time I am in a mood for that kind of music I find out about a new one. That genre of music is actually pretty natural to our ears because it brings a special kind of energy with it. Of Course everything depends on a purpose and that prefix ’atmospheric’ which has a different meaning. This is not atmospheric or ambient music like Wardruna or Eivor or similar bands but there is something in it atmospheric… I think.
Not just atmospheric music is popular but also one man band projects. I already wrote about it but here it is again. I swore to myself everytime that I won’t ever review a one man project but here I am. Why people don’t want to gather and make music is really beyond my head and understanding. But this time I know, this is the last time and there are many reasons.
Maheshvara is a one man Ivan Mykhaylyk who stands behind this project. “Om Tat Sat” is a darkwave atmospheric ambient album which by its sound can be sorted into popular gothic music. In my opinion, the perfect soundtrack for movies. Much cheaper and much better to have oneman project for movies about modern vampires or about anything that walks underground. I took vampires as an example because in my mind it just fits in some modern horror movie with pretty pale vampires who dance under moonlight. Next to that popular music vibes there is something ancient and primitive in this kind of music. In times when pagans walked on Earth music that was used in rituals is actually pretty similar to this. To be specific, not so difficult the same melody which you can hear in the background in almost every song in the album. In songs like “Difference of Understanding” or “The Self Slays Not Nor The Slain” you can hear very similar almost the same melody. At some moments I thought I was listening to only one song for almost ten minutes. Not so many songs I can say that impressed me, to be honest. But let’s say it has some ritualistic purpose so I don’t take that repetitive melody as something bad. In the mail and on his YouTube channel I saw ’dark metal’ in explanation about genre. I am not sure what is that and what bands belong to this subgenre but if we take that metal part seriously on the album “Om Tat Sat” there are small pieces of it. Growl in all songs and in songs like “Seers Of The Truth” or “Om Tat Sat” are obviously metal songs blasting rifs and guitar shredding really can be described as metal songs but nothing else. Atmosphere and feeling this album brings with itself is mystic on moments scary and pretty dark. I don’t have much to say about music here. Maheshvara means “a great lord” in Sanskrit language and as I can hear lyrics are written in the same language. It’s actually pretty brave to do such a thing. It’s not easy to write in an ancient, almost dead language. And also it has really specific poetry with ambient music that makes a perfect combination. I don’t listen to dark wave and those words atmospheric and ambient have really wide meaning. I hope one day Maheshvara will be a DJ somewhere at a music festival because that’s the only way for oneman projects to perform in front of people. And music is a pretty important branch of art that is not made to be listened to in the room but in front and with people.
