Review: Shrine - Sentinel

Artist: Shrine

Album: Sentinel

Label: Self-released

Release date: March 2025

In a scene consisting primarily of musicians from the global North (particularly Scandinavia), truly notable members hailing from other parts of the world are few and far between. Such, however, is the case with Shrine, the alter-ego of the Bulgarian audio-visual artist Hristo Gospodinov, who has been creating dark ambient soundscapes for almost two decades now. As is presumably the case for many readers of this website, his work first came to my attention in 2012, following the release of Somnia, his third overall full-length album, but the first on Cyclic Law. Somnia, like all of Shrine’s work that followed, was notable for being rather iconoclastic in terms of both image and sound compared to the established mould for dark ambient back then. Eschewing the minimalist aesthetic and abstract soundscapes typical of the era, Somnia offered a cinematic and sci-fi-inspired take on the genre years before such themes became commonplace. Shrine has always represented a uniquely personal take on dark ambient, freely interspersing his work with plenty of melody, but also rhythmic and even noise elements depending on the theme and mood of each album, to the point where one can essentially never guess what any future release is going to sound like. His latest album Sentinel (recently self-released on digital platforms, but coming to Cyclic Law in physical form later this year) is no exception and may in fact be Shrine’s boldest work yet.

Inspired by the video game Horizon: Zero Dawn (adding to the ever-expanding list of unexpected source material for Shrine), Sentinel is a monumental expression of this artist’s most cinematic tendencies. As the aptly titled album opener The Future Is Now showcases from the first second, the sound on this release is positively dripping with a futuristic, cyberpunk atmosphere. All the tracks here are incredibly vivid, layered and expressive; in fact, it’s debatable whether this release can even be considered dark ambient, as the soundscapes conjured by Shrine this time around are well within the territory normally associated with soundtracks. Most of the material is driven by a powerful rhythmic background and lush, electronica-driven melodies, perhaps best exemplified by the tracks Zero Dawn and Realm of Iron (my personal favourite). Of course, there are obvious tells that we’re listening to a Shrine album, such as the melancholy thread running through most of the compositions and the rich synth modulations that crescendo into engulfing supernovae of sound (Lightkeeper being a particularly poignant example thereof). However, even the more "classic" Shrine tracks, such as The Buried Shadow, seem bolder in their approach and sheer scope compared to previous albums; everything sounds bigger, roomier and more lifelike. The final track, eponymous with the album title, represents a sublimation of the very best elements this album has to offer, providing an emotional, melancholic closer to this truly remarkable sonic journey.

Ultimately, Sentinel is one of those albums that is difficult to accurately describe with words because their impact is on such a primal, emotional level. I genuinely don’t remember the last time I heard an album this meticulously constructed and this ambitious in scope that doesn’t collapse under its own weight. I’d even go as far as saying that Hristo is wasting his talent composing for our relatively small community and should work on soundtracks for movies and video games on a full-time basis (if only it were that simple, alas!). Be that as it may, Sentinel is an unapologetically grandiose album with what seems like unlimited replay value, and so long as you’re able to leave behind any concern for genre constraints and truly immerse yourself in the music, it’s bound to offer you a spectacular experience.

Rating: 10/10