This project of David Reed isn't exactly something I've been following very closely or anything but everytime I have heard something new I've been embraced with a very pure method of production and a mixture of dark ambient and droning analogue synthesizers. The tape itself is very neatly presented, a high quality cassette with a sort of textured label, and a well-printed j-card. I've noticed all the artworks for Husk Records tapes seem to have splatterings of paint across the inlays which is a nice touch. It also comes with a little Husk Records sticker.
The title of this tape seems to have a real esoteric flavour to it - a one of a kind unplanned circumstance. This thirty-three minute tape has four tracks, two on each side. To Walk The Path starts with the typical Envenomist sound, a desolate synth sets a smokey path before a creeping drone begins to appear in the right channel, and other drones begin to crawl out from thier hiding places in different parts of the stereo. The track doesn't really seem to be very focused, or have a constant atmosphere, but this is probably due to how slow paced this is, and the mix of the different tones in the channels gives off a very sinister atmosphere. However, I do prefer this method of analogue synth music, rather than "plug in, record" or "jams" which can often sound dire. I'm already used to what Envenomist is like, and I know the sounds are slow and goes nowhere, which is the point. It doesn't need to climax. It just creeps and crawls along, with haunting sounds that you heard earlier returning to haunt you once again. As the track continues. more sounds seem to appear at the same time, so this does have a very slight progression. An Invocation starts with many drones at once, a low churning atmosphere this time, with some ghastly string sounds and little textures fading in and out. Again, there's an excellent use of the stereo spectrum, and every part of the speakers has some involvement. I much prefer this track to the last because there's a lot more happening, and everything sounds very good together. Yet again, it just plods along with nothing new entering.
Turning the tape over to side B with the first track; The Writ allows those stellar high pitched sounds to return, as well as the lower pitched churns. Similar in vain to the last track but without a focused atmosphere, with plenty happening at once. Just looking at the volume metre, the volume barely touches -6db, so perhaps next time a louder dubbing would be better. This track also has some very minute waves of feedback shrouding the textures. I do love the signiture shrillness of Envenomist's sounds, I have to admit. The final track, Divinity (Expanded Studio Version) ends the tape with another cut of cold analogue synth, with those signiture sounds appearing in and out of the two channels of your speakers.Throughout the track there is a deafening echoed drone that appears on a timely basis.
As good as this cassette was, I'm not sure that anything I've heard by Reed can top his side of the split With Pulse Emitter. I think that was one of the best synth noise pieces I've heard, a really stellar atmosphere that throbs and decays. However I'll be returning to this if I need my fix of bleak electronics. Sometimes though, this lacks an atmosphere that would really push the sound to it's limits if it had a basis to form over. Despite this, it can be, at times, a focused mix of blackened synth.
-Tommuel Reynolds (Blood Ties)