Review: Kryoscope - Deadly White

Artist: Kryoscope

Album: Deadly White

Label: Self-released

Release date: April 2025

Among the myriad subgenres of dark ambient, polar dark ambient is one of the most fascinating and simultaneously one of the most difficult to pull off. Like the endless, white, frigid landscapes that it depicts, it involves a certain level of barrenness and minimalism even for dark ambient standards. It's in this somewhat forgotten niche that the (presumably?) young new artist Kryoscope has decided to try his hand in; a decision rendered even more intriguing by the fact that he hails from Lebanon, hardly the most obvious place to inspire visions of frozen wastes.

It should be stated from the outset that Kryoscope doesn't merely attempt to ape masters of the subgenre such as Arktau Eos or Northaunt, and his approach to composing is decidedly modern, which the cover art already hints at. Polar dark ambient is all about layering, and that's one thing that Kryoscope does remarkably well, with the tracks constantly evolving while retaining their minimalistic, pensive and introspective mood. Whether it's elongated rumbling drones, ethereal melodies or the chime of distant bells, Kryoscope excels at building a landscape without necessarily fleshing it out with excessive detail; like a snow blizzard, the listener is invited to pierce through the veil and make out the distant shapes and scenes through their own effort. To this base are added various cinematic touches that bring the aforementioned tinge of modernity, particularly in the second half of the album where it becomes clear that Deadly White isn't just about the Great White North, but also about human presence therein, whether it's an intrepid traveller in the here and now, or remnants of failed expeditions from the past, whose artefacts are doomed to stay embedded in permafrost forever. Another quality of Deadly White comes out only after a few listens, when one starts to notice all the tiny details interspersed throughout the tracks that give the sound its depth despite their initial inconspicuousness. The last and longest track, Better to Sleep, is an excellent example thereof, as it manages, much like hypothermia hinted at by the track title, to flow almost imperceptibly for more than 12 minutes. In fact, if the album has a single drawback, it's the relative weight imbalance between the first and second halves of the album, and I couldn't help but feel that some of the elements carefully kept for the last 20 minutes of the album could have (and should have) been used earlier.

It's wonderful when an artist challenges preconceived notions about the link between geography and thematic inspiration, and that's exactly what Kryoscope does here, crafting an excellent hyperborean piece of music that could easily be mistaken for a product of Scandinavia. I, for one, am very eager to see if this was a one-off expedition into the North or the first stage in a longer journey. Whichever the case, I hope we get to hear more from Kryoscope in the near future.

Rating: 8/10