Various Artists - The Outsider, An Aural Channelling of H. P. Lovecraft

In my opinion Cyclobe's Luminous Darkness is perhaps the finest example of an album that plummets to the depths of a Lovecraftian nightmare. The Outsider is an Aural Channelling of H. P. Lovecraft compiled by US label Somnambulant Corpse that manages to capture that lurking fear through dark ambient and post-industrial soundscapes.

This 11-track compilation opens with the subdued edgy electronics of Tugend. Axone follow with 'Dreaming', which gradually builds from scattered noises into an altogether more harsher piece. Treated voices emerge over twisted electronics on 'The Marching Things' from Murderous Vision. Bestia Centauri's 'Colours Out of Space' is one of my favourites here: generating glimmers of light amidst a vortex of black sound. It's twisted and beautifully eerie. Their other contribution, 'Nyarlathotep', is a warped slice of black electronica and crawling chaos. The horror theme continues on 'Learning With Nature' from When Joy Becomes Saddness who deliver a downbeat soundtrack style with ominous bird calling. Nocturnal meanderings and black drones comprise Post Scriptum's 'Crushing the Sleeping Flowers'. Schloss Tegal who are perhaps the best-known outfit on this compilation deliver a fine but understated minimalist drone.

The Outsider is a fine example of how Lovecraft's vision and creations and particularly his Cthulhu Mythos (though I believe that was termed by Clark Ashton Smith) have influenced musicians in the spheres of post-industrial and dark ambience.

Somnambulant Corpse is a US based specialising in CD-Rs packaged in DVD cases for the dark ambient genre. For more information go to www.somnambulantcorpse.com