Weltschmerz – Deckard Croix (reviewed by Dave Franklin)

If the previous release, Mise en Contexte, consisted of nine numbered tracks, all of reasonable length for a contemporary piece, this time out, he gives us Weltschmerz, a suite of three more extended pieces. I mention these statistics because the previous album delivered nine musical ideas exploring their sonic space in three to four minutes. In contrast, Weltschmerz is more about the gradual evolution of an idea over a much extended period, giving Deckard Croix a much different creative canvas.

Weltschmerz means World Pain. More specifically, it is the feeling a person has when they understand that reality can never lead to their own expectations, when they are aware of the insurmountable evil and unrest in the world, leading to a constant feeling of despondency. This is the soundtrack to just such a feeling.

These three tracks are not songs, not in any conventional sense; they are untethered, structureless, for the most part, and instrumental, more akin to cinematic soundtracks and even then more akin to incidental music. It is music for the end of times, not necessarily in the sense of a biblical apocalyptic end; this isn’t the sound of Armageddon or Ragnarok; this is the soundtrack to the gradual slip into oblivion. Drawn by war and greed, corrupt politicians, looming environmental disaster and a general unravelling of society, this is the sound of the world going out with, to quote T.S. Elliot, “Not a bang, but a whimper.”

It is hard to describe the music in any specific way. Even one track to the next feels more like a musical theme, a sonic motif being explored rather than a melody written. And that theme is one of dark ambient drone, claustrophobic intensity, drawn-out drama, and unseen menace, an atmosphere that speaks more of what is yet to come than the seen dangers that already surround us.

This feels like the soundtrack to a movie yet to be made, one that is such an essential part of the visual story that it is almost a character in its own right. Perhaps such soundtracks could usher in a new approach to filmmaking, where the music is created first, and writers then turn those moods and musical manifestations into a script rather than an element that is merely bolted on in post-production, as is the norm.

Weltschmerz is an exceptional suite of music, one that is revealing and rewarding, but only if you really take the time to be immersed in its dark embrace. For all its ambient appearance, it is perhaps as powerful and poignant music as anything you have experienced before.