Founding half of Yen Pox, American dark ambient formation whose talent is recognised and respected, Steven Hall presents here his personal work with a project called Veil Of Secrecy (V.O.S.). This album is not something new because it is during 2001 that the American label Triumvirate, renowned for being the label of Law but also for its affection for the darkest aspects of ambient music, decided to release 'Veil Of Secrecy' as a CD. But who cares about being new or not when one holds in his hands a release of such great quality... 5 very long tracks that plunge the auditor into the most sombre ways of dark ambient and this from the first seconds of 'AN Angel's Last Breath', a first track that is a declination of dark ritual sounds... with the recurrent presence of a 'fog horn' that insistently announce the warning of an end... a track that, due to its length [10:54], takes its time to progressively immisces itself in the mind of the auditors...
The four following tracks are in the same vein, they all participate to the exploration of the darkest paths of dark ambient music. 'Ruling Hand Of Snakes', more ritual, offers more tortured, more deranging arrangements with more industrial sound collages/passages... An impression of secrecy seems to float over this track....
'Cold Embrace', built on a background of repetitive and hypnotic drones to which strange layers of sound are grafted, that are not without reminding the most worrying compositions of Reutoff. The albums closes on a last title, the most awaited/melodic and by consequent accessible to all, 'Coronation Of Jackals' built on a simple, hypnotic synthetic loop. It gains in intensity as the minutes go by and announces itself as a classic of the genre.
A largely evocative music that, like great works such as Lustmord's 'Heresy', is situated in the heart of the most darkest places, sentiments and thoughts...