A decade separates Amber Asylum’s Sin Eater from their latest album, Ruby Red. Aside from their split album Breaker of Rings / Bloody Witch with doom metal band Völur, things had been relatively quiet in the Amber Asylum camp. Multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Kris Force remains at the helm of the San Francisco-based group, which has seen a highly variable members and performers over the years. Longtime collaborator Jackie Perez Gratz (Grayceon, Giant Squid, Asunder) is still present on cello and vocals, while Fern Lee Alberts (Deathgrave) joins on bass, and Becky Hawk (Laudanum) rounds out the quartet on percussion and vocals.
Ruby Red guides us into a neo-gothic sound crypt, reinforced with neo-classical and dark ambient waves. The haunting female vocals and Alberts’ pounding bass lines evoke an atmosphere of despair and disintegration, fed by the current state of global issues such as social unrest, political instability, war, and human rights crises. At the same time, the neo-classical elements infuse the song structures with a kind of melancholic beauty and peaceful murkiness. Needless to say, Ruby Red dwells in darkened corners, with only minimal signs of hope.
Amber Asylum doesn’t just conjure eerie atmospheres, the collective continues to craft an unearthly, delicate beauty, hinting at a fragile beacon of light. Ruby Red holds you captive, whether through headphones or speakers, revealing an intensely emotional soundtrack that always feels too short, no matter how many times you absorb it.
