Gert Emmens When Darkness Falls Upon the Earth Play Sample:   56K Dialup   Broadband   Download Sample:   500K   1.5Mb (Excerpt from track(s) 'Rendezvous with 2004 MN4')

A deep rumbling drone gets 'Rendezvous With 2004 MN4' underway. A lovely slow haunting two-note melody calls out and receives an echoed reply. A superb sequence flies forth. A rhythm fits perfectly between the pulsations and we are now careering along at quite a pace, gentle pads providing a contrasting softness. Strident lead lines strike up in the sixth minute as if shouting out in ecstatic joy, the positive vibes being enhanced by the deployment of a further jaunty sequence. A belter of an opener! The title track comes next appropriately oozing misty, brooding atmospherics. A sonic shimmer makes it sound as though the rays of the sun are trying to break through but are answered by a powerful bass sequence as if forcing them back. A brighter sequence then strikes up, battling with the first and we are soon in an avalanche of wonderful pulsations.

A slow wistful melody hangs in the air like birds soaring high above looking down upon it all. All subsides to gentle pads in the sixth minute. This gentleness suddenly develops an uneasy character however as if darkness is descending. Another sequence, of the lovely deep rumbling variety, now becomes the main feature. A big whooshing sound heralds the arrival of a steady head nodding rhythm. From here the music once again becomes very positive and optimistic. 'Nostalgia' commences with cosmic colouring before bright melodic tones let rip. They fade away as a sequence breaks through and grows in stature. The pace quickens with the introduction of motoring rhythms. With four minutes to go it is all change in every department but things are still syncopated with a positive joyous edge. 'Casting Shadows on the Cold Ground' begins all dark and eerie like being in a forest alone late at night. The sounds of animals, or worse, being constant companions. Little chattering unintelligible vocal effects add to the feeling of dread. A really deep sequence starts up. Another is added, twisting and morphing around the first superbly creating an ever-shifting pattern of notes from which are launched a lead line (using an eerie fifties type Sci Fi film sound) and multitude of sonic twitters and whooshes. The best track on the album.