Minotaur – When Mountains Speak (Reviewed by Dave Franklin)

There has always been so much going on in the sonic world of When Mountains Speak that there has never been that much of a need for a visual component. And when there was, it was generally a trippy colourscape, something as eclectic and drifting as the music it sought to represent.

And, great as that was, in the modern age, visuals are everything, especially when you are trying to keep new listeners engaged in what is often long and challenging, complex and exploratory music. Perhaps it is time to up the video ante. And that is exactly what we find happening here.

Minotaur is a video as ambitious as the music that underscores it. It is a short film in its own right, a series of high-quality AI renders that flow together to create a high-quality, high-fantasy adventure narrative, it is the visual world of Dungeons and Dragons dancing hand in hand with Steven Clarkson’s fantastical music.

And let’s not forget the all-important music, now with the clear reason for its creation fully on the show via this exquisite video rather than just hinted at, is it might have been in the past, through titles and cascades of geometric patterns or arrays of background visuals. I have always felt that When Mountains Speak’s music lies more in the realm of cinematic sounds and theatrical score than in that of popular music; after all, if you can find a verse, chorus, verse, chorus, solo, chorus, playout sequence in any of the music, I will give you a hundred bucks. Well, I would if I had a hundred bucks; music writing pays less than it used to. So now, with a story playing out on top, the musical dynamic inherent in the music can really be put to work.

Drifting sonics build the mystic of the unknown as the adventurers begin their quest, guitar squalls ebb and flow, raising the tension or lowering the heat as required, battle is joined and beasts outmatched. Hordes of adversaries poor forth on drifting sonics, raga beats, and tabla drums are the rhythms by which we are drawn even deeper into the dark. Finally, the titular creature is encountered and overcome to the sound of growling musical lines and the horrific sound of gnawing dread. The treasure is secured, and the party flees the crumbling castle to celebrate heartily to more upbeat crescendoes.

When Mountains Speak has explored almost boundless sonic territory, wandered genre and geography, sound and style, form and purpose. Many at that point would be asking, where next? Well, Minatour is the answer. Fantasy soundscoring, music for adventures, sci-fi film scores…maybe even a sideline in atmospheric music for role-playing game sessions. Is it just me, or does anyone else feel that a rather large, impressive door has just swung open? (I bet he could also write a guitar line to demonstrate that.)