In May 2000 Mr. Dark and his brother, Shadowjack (renowned bassist for Chaotica), descended into their murky Warsaw studio to begin work on their latest project. Calling themselves The Dark Aeons, the brothers spent 16 months creating Nocturne Serenata, a courageous concept album exploring dreams, nighttime and the thin walls of reality.

The Dark Aeons mix old-school hard rock with electronica, industrial and lots of goth to create a moody, dark sound not often heard in these here hills. The journey begins with “Shades of Things To Come,” a tranquil yet heavy Godflesh-influenced song drenched in keyboards and underscored with a throbbing synthetic bass sound. The Cure meet Led Zeppelin in “Sea of Tranquility,” which again begins with a bevy of keyboards before rumbling bass and guitars enter to round out this mellow rock song. Dance music with lots of cool electronic effects follows with “Out of the Silent Sky” before the listener is plunged into “Dark Shroud,” a song inspired by the writings of Edgar Allen Poe with slow waves of disturbing synth tones.

In a similar vein is “Burrow Beneath,” another song about dreams, yet this time inspired by H.P. Lovecraft. Spooky and ominous, the extended instrumental passages weave a hypnotic, uneasy dream state whose spell is unfortunately broken by the occasional interjection of vocals. Also of interest to Lovecraft fans is “Polaris.” Based upon the short story of the same name, this heavy, near-metal song has some great guitar tones (one of which sounds like a modem) as Mr. Dark explores the thin wall between our reality and the infinite other possible realities. The Dark Aeons slip with the title track by letting a major chord somehow sneak past the temple guard, but it isn’t allowed to exist for long as it is soon followed by “Morning Star,” a furiously heavy song featuring tightly compressed speed metal guitar, creative synth tones and an inhumanly manic pace. The album closes with a hymn to the coming dawn in “Apollo Rise.” Soothing and affirming, the triumphant, uplifting chorus assures the listener that with the rising of the sun all nightmares will be swept away.

Despite the murky subject matter, the sound on this release is crystal clear, showing that great care was taken to capture the right sound. Also impressive is the packaging, which comes with a black CD sleeve and an exhaustively detailed eight-page booklet. If you’re not afraid of goth bands who wear eyeliner, you must check out this superb local release. For more information, to download samples or to purchase, skip over to http://ampcast.com/thedarkaeons and see what this band has to offer.