Re-release of Troum's long sold out first album from 1998 with new artwork by Tilmann Benninghaus. Digipack.
"...The general feel of the sounds here is reminiscent of the earth moving, tectonic plates in constant shuffle, the tracks building and then either shifting or worn away via attrition. Its as if Maeror Tri learned to fly through ingenuity, smoke and mirrors, while Troum has taken the ingenuity, smoke and mirrors and, somehow, grown wings. Amazing stuff!" [JC Smith]
"I believe it was 1997 when a small posting came my way stating
that Maeror Tri had dissolved. At the time, this German trio had
become one of my (Jim's) favorite ensembles alongside the likes of
Organum, Skullflower, and :zoviet*france:. Maeror Tri's dedication to
grimly focused atmospheric music harbored all of the things that
succeeded in the campaigns of industrial and ambient music; and the
Maeror Tri anonymity (or at least a mysteriousness about the group
that lead to such a reading of their collective persona) certainly
enhanced their charm. Albums such as Emotional Engramm and Multiple Personality Disorder had achieved heavy rotation status on my stereo (and still get pulled from the shelves quite often in this day and age); so the news that Maeror Tri was no more was met with sadness. Fortunately, two thirds of the Maeror Tri ensemble had decided to continue on but under the moniker Troum. While the name of this duo was an archaic German word for dream, Troum's pursuit of unconscious symbolism through their heavily processed guitar drones still maintained the ashen darkness that Maeror Tri perpetuated, as was
evident on their first CD release Ryna, which originally came out in
1998 on the Belgian label Myotis. It should be noted that Ryna is not
the first Troum recording; that honor is held by a cassette called
Dreaming Muzak that came housed in a tiny pillow. Ryna quickly went
out of print, along with much of the Maeror Tri back catalogue; but
thankfully, Troum have repressed this early gem through their own
Transgredient imprint. An album of constantly billowing black clouds,
Ryna achieves the same dark ambient / dronescape signature that had
marked so many great Maeror Tri / Troum releases. On occasion,
cracked / decayed loops of rhythmic surging emerged from beyond the
horizon of Troum's guitar suites, alluding to a Norse mythological
bellow of impending doom and apocalyptic battle. While I've not done
the side-by-side taste test of the two albums, the 2007 redux of Ryna
appears to much louder and cleaner. Regardless, it's a pleasure to
hear this record once again!" [Aquarius Records]