Runes Order

Artist: Runes Order
P: 2010
The master of italian dark ambient is back with a new psychedelic killer soundtrack.
More acid and closer to the early Simonetti’s work with new guitar and agressive keyboard, Disco Nero (Black Record) is a Noir movie with unhappy ending.
Aided by special guests like Diego Banchero and Carolina Cecchinato, Disco Nero is surely one of the best albums of Claudio Dondo’s career.
To die for...

Artist: Runes Order
P: 1999
Il Sonno Del Sogno evocative atmospheres, a cool mixture of beauty and melancholic grace, introspective meditation on deepest feelings.

Artist: Runes Order
P: 1996
One of the best Runes Order CDs is available again. An early work, full of sequences and reverbed atmospheres.

Artist: Runes Order
P: 2002
The seventh album of Claudio Dondo's dark ambient project Runes Order. The album combines '70 horror movies atmospheres (Goblin, Frizzi, Simonetti) with '80 industrial sounds and is inspired by the cult movie "The House with Windows that Laught" by Pupi Avati. Most of the tracks on the album are rather atmospherical.
A number of tracks become dull after a while because of a lack of composition. Participating on this album are Helden Rune's guitar man, Tony Tears, and Argento for the voices. A particular good track is "Murder is a faith". A track with a deep droning base and pathetical voices, that doesn't lose its pace. Overall a good album with some magnificent tracks.

Artist: Runes Order
P: 1995
A mix of old analogue Berlin School sequences and some more molodic but dark tiltles.
Very interesting and good.

Artist: Runes Order
P: 1998
Most of the songs are slighy gloomy and atmospherical; "Memories" and "Solitude" have a more melancholic tendency, while tracks, like "Trought the years" and "...Of shame"have a trance dance sound and others, like"Angel" and "The razorblade-Winter" have strong reminders of the 80' wave and "The intruder V.3" puts togheter a filtered voice typical of hard electro with a blue, slightly rythmed music.

Baffo Banfi, remember him, then gives us ‘O.R. Tens’ . Based around a bass sequence, various lead lines and motifs weave a very appealing pattern. ‘First Steps on Mars’ by Mysia, like its predecessor initially uses a sequence as the core of the track but it isn’t long before a superb drum line and guitar are the elements that grab the attention and turn it into a prog rock track. This is a fantastically infectious number at times sounding like a dead ringer for Camel. One of the the best tracks on the album, if you enjoy your EM with a heavy dose of rock that it. Robert Galla comes up with a very melodic number, sounding a bit sweet for my tastes but if you are into a good tune this will probably be for you. ‘Oriizzonte Melodica’ by Federico Lentini is like a cross between melodic EM and a military band, not the best track on the album.

Kryptasthesie gives us a fine example of trad ambient with ‘Drogeno’ then we get ‘La Seduzione Del Silenzio II’ by Runes Order. Ominous deep bass drones are added to by a high register sequence. Very atmospheric. ‘21st Century Suite’ by Gianfranco Grilli is split into two parts totalling over fifteen minutes. The first half of part A was very laid back and drifting but then a jaunty rhythm comes in to shatter the tranquillity. Part B returns to the space music of before, a slow rhythm being added near the end which works particularly well. Empire State Human brings the album to a close with ‘Element #1’ which sounds a bit like an updated version of Walter Carlos’ ‘Sonic Seasonings’.

The compilation covers many different styles but there is some very good music here. Most of the names I haven’t heard of before which isn’t surprising as Italy isn’t a country which previously I thought of as producing much EM. Look like I will have to change that view immediately. Finally a special mention must also be given to the sumptuous 28 page colour booklet which gives basic details of all the artists complete with discographies and contact addresses.. (DL)