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the empty hollow unfolds - CMI.78

Release Music Magazine, April 2000

This is the biggest musical surprise so far this year. The industrial ambient of Raison D'être's earlier outings have never really impressed me, but now, all of a sudden, they strike an unexpected nerve and come up with what feels like one of the most ambitious and credible records of the genre in the last few years.

Building tensions up slowly, "The Empty Hollow Unfolds" has a sense of held back dramatics that is absolutely overwhelming when listened to carefully. Instead of relying upon the average noise cascades or anonymous ambient atmospheres, Raison D'être paints intensely emotional pictures using low frequency bass, sudden attacks of scraping, screeching metal and tormented chanting, that is not that far from amazing drum'n'bass artist The Third Eye Foundation's wordless and sad sampled wailing. "The Empty Hollow Unfolds" depicts an almost ancient sadness, projecting images of cold, grey and barren landscapes of the sort one could imagine the Xenobites of the "Hellraiser" movies wander around in.

Unlike so many other "dark" artists it feels like Raison D'être actually have something to say, and a great way of saying it.

KRISTOFFER NOHEDEN

Recycle your Ears, June 2000

Every new CD from Raison d'Etre is an interesting experience, which most of the time leaves the listener impressed by the beauty of the music and stunned by the talent of Peter Andersson. It had been quite a while since he hadn't delivered any new material from his main project, and the release of "The empty hollow unfolds" was definitely anxiously expected.

From the very beginning, the Raison d'Etre mark is recognizable: a monk's choir, some distant heavy percussions, a calm touched by the same muse as the project's past works. "The slow ascent" takes you back to the magnificent desolate realms of Raison d'Etre, reminding you once more of empty cathedrals, old icons and aging ruins. Slowly, you step into "The hidden hallows". The music is delicate, fragile, and yet you drowned into it, surrounded by majestic melodies, profound voices and some chilling noises.

Once again, Peter Andersson's magic works. This Raison d'Etre CD is an incredibly fine piece of art. It doesn't only remind you why you liked this project in the first place, it also shows you that this music is still alive, and brings something new, even so many years after the release of "Prospectus I".
Moreover, every Raison d'Etre album is slightly different from the others, and this one is not an exception to the rule. It doesn't repear its predecessors. On "The empty hollow unfolds", more noises and slightly distorted elements are added to the overall cristalline music. Maybe due to the influence of hits noisiest project Stratum Terror, Peter Andersson has added some new discordant sounds in the background of his music. This can be heard mostly on "End of a cycle" and "The wasteland", as well as on some parts of the long and epic "The eternal return and the infinity horizon".

Raison d'Etre walks on holy ground, and this new CD is here to prove it once again. Magnificent music for loneliness, invitation to reflexion, this is an art that truly reaches you deepest thoughts.

Everyone who already knows Raison d'Etre has to get this CD, as it may be one of the very best from this project. The others will have to understand that this band is mandatory if you want to get an idea of what beauty is. Raison d'Etre is, without any argument, the best of its breed.

Nicolas, June 10, 2000