Cryo Chamber just released the ninth installment in their Cryo Chamber Collaboration series, a series that has been going on since 2014.
Based in Oregon, the dark ambient label puts out this annual tribute n the theme of H.P. Lovecraft’s universe, calling this record Rhan-Tegoth. The record features a ton of collaborations and guest features across the dark ambeint spectrum, and while it’s only metal-adjacent, completely hardnesses the metal ethos with its darkness and weirdness each year.
Cryo Chamber had the following to say about Rhan-Tegoth: “Rhan-Tegoth is a fifteen foot tall, medusa-like, insectoid amphibious god-being (Great Old One) of little power but vital to the return of the Old Ones. It lived in the warm seas of Yuggoth before coming to Earth. Come journey deep into the underground depths, where long forgotten temples guarded by insectoid creatures stand untouched by human curiosity
The collective says about this recent release:
“‘They found the box in the basement of the British Museum. Inside it there was a leathery integument, like some muddy garb from pre-history. It was essentially colorless but with an underlying mottled green luster. Jenkins, the anthropologist, was somewhat mesmerised by it. It was as if he had discovered something of great value, like some antique ceremonial shroud for an ancient bloodletting rite.
“‘Maybe he had.
“‘But Professor McIntyre was more of a mind that its anatomical qualities were of much more interest than its mystical aura. Especially so because there was nothing about the integument that seemed to correspond to the standard taxonomies of animal life.’
“So is this a compilation? No, this is a collaboration and huge undertaking. Over 20 artists linked studios and sound for over a year so that they could work with each other. This led to a deep collaborative exploration of the Mythos and Rhan-Tegoth.”
The two-CD album comes with a 24-page hardcover tome, not unlike the ones Lovecraft’s characters would discover in an old dusty library. Journaling is by Alistair Rennie, and art is by Simon Heath. Those who buy the digital album will get a digital book.