Skrika Continues the Sci-Fi Epic with Vyeltyra Vortex

Skrika, the cinematic dark ambient project of Monty Adkins, releases the third installment to Cryo Chamber, Vyeltyra Vortex. The previous albums, Fifth Nature and The Black Stone, explored the themes of cosmic horror, ancient civilizations, and occult mysteries, while weaving a unique and high concept mystique, and this latest album, Vyeltyra Vortex, is no different, and continues the thematic storytelling.

Vyeltyra Vortex is a concept album that tells the story of the Yn, a race of beings who have fled from a dying Earth and are searching for a new home among the stars. The Yn encounter the Vyeltyrans, a secretive and powerful race that can control time - a stylized chronomancy - and have devised a series of rites of passage to test the initiates. The album follows the journey of three Yn leaders, Atom, Fiadh, and Ebba, as they undergo these rites and face the dangers and wonders of Vyeltyra-B, a planet where time is fluid and unpredictable.

The album consists of seven tracks, each corresponding to a different chamber or rite; rich in synth textures, and oblique atonal pulses, the palette of sounds range from ethereal pads and drones to pulsing sequences and glitchy effects. The music creates a vivid sonic landscape that evokes the sci-fi atmosphere and the temporal distortions of the story, furthering the feeling of this being a soundtrack to a movie playing in the imagination, and this is among my personal favorite qualities of albums on Cryo Chamber. The album also comes with a 12-page booklet with text by Monty Adkins, which provides more details and background for the narrative.

Vyeltyra Vortex is a masterful example of the merging of imaginative storytelling combining immersive sound design; a sonic creative experimentation that we do not get much of, and perhaps that is a good thing, as the sparse releases of such creativity keep the experiences fresh. Vyeltyra Vortex is available in digital and CD digipak formats from the Cryo Chamber bandcamp page.