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Reviews

Dirk Serries — Zonal Disturbances II
(Bandcamp Zoharum ZOHAR 346-2, 2025, CD / DL)

Dirk Serries — The Might of Stars Sublime
(Bandcamp Audiophob CD045, 2025, CD / DL)

by Peter Thelen, Published 2025-06-01

Zonal Disturbances II Cover artThe Might of Stars Sublime Cover art

These are a couple of releases that Dirk Serries released on other labels (meaning other than Projekt, the label that has released most of the titles we have reviewed in these pages), though they are no less worthy, covering a wide range of styles; no songs, no singing, no jazz or rock in evidence, these are both extended sound sculptures of the highest order.

Zonal Disturbances II picks up where 2024’s Zonal Disturbances left off, except this time out it’s available as a compact disc as opposed to a download-only, for those who like their music on a convenient physical medium. Again, the four very cryptic titles clock in at around an album side each, and could best be described as hard core ambient industrial sound sculptures created in real time using electric guitar and a motherboard of effects pedals, resulting in a sort-of minimalist chamber of chaos and clusters of gritty sounds, always interesting — though your average song-oriented listener might be running away with their ears covered after just a few minutes — this is definitely not for the faint of heart; it’s provocative, noisy, and highly experimental, one never knows what’s going to happen from one moment to the next. That said, each one of the pieces is a beautiful creation, a unique chain of sonic events that appear, expand, coalesce, decay and self-destruct in real time, each idea turning inward on itself or exploding into a supernova, with threads of amazing sounds flowing between each of the sub-constructs. There is no cadence, only a droning flow of energy and ideas. One can imagine hearing this being created in a live setting, loops of pure sonic madness moving in and out of the listener’s consciousness. This is the second installation of what Serries plans as a five volume set on the Polish Zoharium label.

Like its title implies, The Might of Stars Sublime is less a disturbance and more of a step into the floating ambient direction, yet still full of fascinating textures and beautiful looping structures, created using a similar template of electric guitars and a massive number of effects. This one found release as a CD on the German Audiophob label, which specializes in ambient / industrial / experimental music. Like ZDII, the five tracks herein have no cadence or beat, they just flow from one idea to the next, though in a softer more discrete way; there’s nothing really abrasive here, just a gentle flow of sculpted dreamy sonic loops that the listener can immerse themselves in. The five tracks are around ten minutes each give or take a few, and have legible titles that are at once descriptive and inviting, like “Carved into Oscillation,” “Soft Glow,” “Evocation,” or the title track, each perhaps a journey unto its own, offering patches of light and shadow, flowing and muted tonal colors, all within a swirling eddy of textures and graininess. One might find The Might of Stars Sublime to be an easier journey with less of an overt industrial feel, a bit more melodic perhaps, expressive though still shrouded in mystery.

Filed under: New releases, 2025 releases

Related artist(s): Dirk Serries / Vidna Obmana / Fear Falls Burning

More info
http://dirkserries.bandcamp.com/album/zonal-disturbances-ii
http://dirkserries.bandcamp.com/album/the-might-of-stars-sublime

 

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