Morpheus – Ouroboros

Interesting ambient / ritual / industrial project from Spain. This is the second Morpheus cd, after ‘Elohim’. But in fact these tracks are older, because they were released as a demo tape before. This re-release contains remastered tracks, additional vocals, improved sound quality and brand new artwork by Garcia Hernanz (with a nice poster booklet!). The title ‘Ouroboros’ refers to the mythical snake that bites its own tail. One of the meanings of this symbol is the cyclic nature of the Universe: creation out of destruction, life out of death. The ouroboros eats its own tail to sustain its life, in an eternal cycle of renewal.

The music on this release is very dark, with many experimental ambient pieces. Highlight for me is the first piece, ‘Jormungand Rising’. It starts as a dark soundscape, but then turns into an epic ritual track, with powerful vocals. it reminds me a bit of Ordo Equilibrio. Most pieces that follow though are more ambient in nature. Compared with the ‘Elohim’ album the sound is more experimental and less accessible. Not all tracks can captivate me, but their is plenty of variation in the music of Morpheus. Slow ambient soundscapes are alternated with industrial sounds, tribal parts or ritual chants. An artists to keep an eye on…

artist: Morpheus
label: Drama Company
details: 13 tracks