Samuel Kerridge – A Fallen Empire
Alejandro De Luna
Samuel Kerridge ́s full-length debut is likely to be one of the darkest sonic experiences of the year. An album that could easily fit as the disturbing soundtrack of your worst nightmare where desolation and hopelessness set the standard for the Berlin based British doom mastermind.
ALBUM REVIEW: MARISSA NADLER – JULY
It is appreciated that A Fallen Empire feels like a hazardous concept album in these times when electronic music is easily digestible. Carefully produced and certainly gloomy, Kerridge ́s first approach, shows the raw side of Berlin ́s electronic scene. Starting with the sinister title and the agonizing cover followed by the disturbing title tracks, Kerridge ́s interpretation on human misery gives as a result, an obscure sonic attempt to capture horror in recorded noise. Some highlights include the industrial dark passages and reminiscences to NIN in “Chant”; the layers of dense noise in “Black Sun”; the apocalyptic drums in “Straight To Hell” and the somber techno of “The Death Is Upon Us”.
The problem in A Fallen Empire resides on Kerridge ́s disappointing closure that deprives him of delivering a fully rounded album of drone drums and thick electronic textures. Tracks like the monotonous “Scare Tactics” or the forgettable “Heavy Metal”, cause the album to lose strength and causes nothing but a ragged and dissatisfied experience that could be solved if he´d cut some of the more irrelevant tracks and just delivered a great EP.
