Review: Phragments & New Risen Throne - Between Ecstasy and Death

Artist: Phragments & New Risen Throne

Album: Between Ecstasy and Death

Label: Winter-Light

Release date: June 2025

It's no secret that I love collaborations; there's just something exciting about two artists in the dark ambient space (not the most extroverted of genres, is it?) having the kind of connection and trust needed to embark onto creating and interpreting a shared vision together. Not all collaborations are created equal, though, and the one that I have the pleasure of reviewing today is an unusual one indeed. Phragments and New Risen Throne both established their names in the dark ambient scene decades ago, but beyond being paragons of the genre, the two projects do not necessarily have a lot in common from a purely stylistic perspective, which makes this collaboration that much more intriguing. Mark from Winter-Light was kind enough to share with me an advance copy of the album a few weeks ahead of its official release date, giving me the opportunity to delve into its subject matter with the attention it deserves.

Curiously, the way the two artists approached this task was by each of them creating two tracks (called Ecstasy and Death) with their own interpretation of the respective notions, and then submitting them to the other person to reprocess and reimagine through their own lens. A trained ear would not find it very difficult to tell apart which chef added which ingredient in this piece of musical fusion cuisine: the high-pitched ringing sounds, epic brass-like passages, pounding pulses and ominous melodies typical of Phragments' work are all very much present, as are the creeping darkness, modulated drones, distorted string sections and those delicious bouts of faux-microphony so reminiscent of the best of mid-2000s dark ambient, clearly contributed by New Risen Throne. The most striking feature of this album, however, is how well all these ingredients - and they are many - stick together into an effortlessly flowing 34 minutes of running time. Just like its beautiful cover art (courtesy of Nenad Brankovic), which showcases the human experience hopelessly positioned between the ecstasy of the sensual world and the implacable totality of death, this album manages to unite disparate elements into a perfectly coherent, enticing whole. Despite featuring just four tracks, the journey feels complex and layered, as the repetitive patterns in each track continuously evolve in intensity and nuance, to the point where it's virtually impossible to capture the essence of each track at first listen. In fact, I don't remember the last time where I felt not the want, but the urge to replay an album as soon as it was finished, sometimes several times over, as if re-reading its chapters in search of new information and different perspectives.

While I'm not sure that I'm any closer to understanding the mysteries and contradictions of the human condition after listening to Between Ecstasy and Death so extensively, I have to admit that the questions and riddles posed by the album are incredibly enjoyable. As with all great works of musical art, its deceptively accessible nature hides a deeper substance that takes a while to fully explore. Another fantastic release from both the artists and the label that validates their philosophy of quality-over-quantity, and one of the very best albums of the year so far.

Rating: 9/10