Inade: Samadhi State Part III
Predominance: Abyss Topography
Predominance: Astral Communications (Live)
Bad Sector: Flare
Bad Sector: Four Minutes Warning
Cisfinitum: Unmoeglichkeit
Cisfinitum: Audiochemie

There's something in me that gets very, very excited when something so beautiful comes my way. I'm one of those suckers that goes after anything so well crafted and obviously limited...and that's without even hearing the music yet! The Cold Lands website somewhat confuses matters by stating that the box is actually limited to 888 with various ultra limited editions, but the delicate booklet which accompanies the release clearly states 444 at the back. Who knows. Land:[Schaft] has been a long time coming. The festival for which this box was made to commemorate happened way back in July 2001 in Moscow.

The first two difficulties I had with this release were trying to find out what speed to play the thing at (33 so you know) and which side was which. The first I eventually surmounted by coming across some vocal samples and even then I wasn't sure...but I forged on. I'm pretty sure I got the bands in the right order in the end as well. My last complaint is the fact that no matter how you try, you will have to break the obi strip to get into it and it is not resealable. A real shame. Now onto the music itself.

Inade's track has a spaced, out ambient feel to it, which is kinda what I expected and wanted. Definitely music to be played in the dark. Predominance begins with in the same vein as the Inade track with beautiful caverous sounds. The second track really takes you by surprise though - it's similar in style to Scorn or Black Lung in its dark dub style and a nice break from the ambient pieces. Bad Sector continue to carry the dark ambient flag with more echoes and bumps and glitches than before. Their second track is more noisy than the first and sounds quite soundtrack-ish, counting down the 'Four Minutes'. Lastly we have quite a new artist, Cisfinitum. "V" was a great album and this is a really nice addition to any collection. Quite large sounds with a more 'song' feel than any of the other acts. Their second track is quite glitchy/electronic in its sampling and again, quite soundtrack-ish.

Something like this release, that has been so lovingly made, should be cherished and sought out immediately. All the artists were chosen with the greatest of care and makes a great selection from this festival tribute.

JLM