I.Corax – The Cadaver Pulse I: Sealed in a Radiant Larval Maelstrom CD

Aural Hypnox

It’s been over 10 years since I.Corax released their second official release which contained The Cadaver Pulse I & II. Now Aural Hypnox has decided it is time for a re-issue of this material to the world. Why they decided to release the two movements as two separate discs instead of a box set double CD I have no idea but it seems like as a retrospective that would have been a preferable idea. Either way this is great material that most certainly does not deserve to go out of print and has been beautifully repackaged in order to properly portray this material as it should be.

Sealed in a Radiant Larval Maelstrom is the first of the duo and is also my favorite of the two. It has a more organic sound and uses undulating bass loops to ultimate effectiveness – which sometimes even border on industrial. The album kicks off with 3 long tracks the first two which clock in at over 20 minutes.

The first two mammoth tracks are a bit more sci-fi – or maybe “otherwordly” is a better term – with sounds that seem to be culled from synthesizers in the mid-range. However the low range drones are very impressive like bending horns, creaking doors, and howling moans. There is a great moment in State X where beautiful bell-like textures appear and eventually fade into washes of phasing noises. I really enjoy the 3rd track here because I feel it is a touch more minimal than all the other tracks and the multitude of sounds featured in I.Corax’ style stand out more because of that.

The last 3 tracks are between 5-8 minutes long and offer a greater variety of sounds with lots of organic textures which could include fire, glass and ceramics, bells, and whispers. It’s all very abstracted but it was a good decision to feature the shorter tracks later in the game because they change up frequently and offer interesting variable states of consciousness.

Sealed in a Radiant Larval Maelstrom is a great album and certainly stands the test of time. Essential listening for anyone that is into dark ambient music especially that which has electroacoustic and ritualist undertones.

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