Darkher – the ever dwelling in ethereal soundscapes project of British artist Jayn Maiven, is back with its second full-length album, „The Buried Storm“.
Combining traditional melodies, classical instruments, soaring haunting vocals and penetrating deep lyrics, the singer & composer creates whole ghostly atmospheres with her voice that are impossible not to be felt or easily absorbed by the listener.

Released six years after the artist’s debut full-length album, „Realms“, which conquered the underground scene in 2016 with its heavy sound landscapes and melancholy, „The Buried Storm“ presents eight new ghostly pieces that cut into the mind and turn them into an ethereal whirlpool of beautiful melodies intertwined with emotional and deep moments.

In addition to the bow guitar, which is an integral part of Darkher’s work, here we can hear other classical instruments such as cello and violin, performed by the musicians Arianna Mahsayeh, Melanie Chaplin, Lambert Segura and Ludvig Swärd (FORNDOM), who further contribute to the cinematic atmosphere of the album and our projection to another dimension.

The song „Sirens Nocturne“, first in the album, is an example of Jayn Maiven’s genius and her ability to turn about four and a half minutes into a moment of eternity – the song captures the typical for the project captivating sadness and ghostly feeling, as well as her traditional vocals. We can also hear the call of sirens wandering into the void, presented by the singer as if sung in her native language.
Honestly, listening to the song, I immediately go back in time, which is a sign that this is an art in pure form.

The same phantom mood continues in the gloomy „Lowly Weep“, which tells of the journey through the darkness to the growing power and the renewed connection with the spirit. The siren sings its enchanting song, as in the same time we have a much heavier feeling in the instrumental here than we have encounrered in the previous Darkher recordings.
The drums are very pleasantly presented (Christopher Smith, welcome to Darkher!) and not only… The cello played alongside psychedelic doom guitars and the soaring ghostly vocals of Jayn Maiven in a symbiosis with the additional backing vocals by Ludvig Swärd, takes us through the misty shores with crashing waves and hidden chimerical spaces.

“On the wind
Sirens sing
When darkest night
Terrifies”

Following the idea of its predecessors, „Where the Devil Waits“ – the fourth song from the album, refers to the shadows within ourselves that lead to attachment to what has the potential to become something destructive. A song about power and light. An interesting fact here is that the lyrics „Here I bury the storm, in blinding light“ actually served as the inspiration for the album’s title. The cello, the guitars and the traditional vocals of the singer present a folklore-oriented melody, accompanied at times by haunting ghostly melodies, emphasizing the heart of the album.

Continuing with „Love’s Sudden Death“ – a dark romantic ballad, Darkher once again demonstrates to us its ethereal weight and its ability to touch very deeply through its lyrics, presented in combination with dizzying doom passages in the instrumental, through which the awakening fantasies soothing vocals of the singer rise above all and sound like they came from an ancient legend passed down by word of mouth. Sublime,dramatic, emotional and melancholic to the bone – this is the heart of the song. The heart of „The Buried Storm“ .

“Beauty in fire
To live and to die
For all that will remain”

Immortality, courage, a view of the seas hidden  in our souls, the deep emotional and spiritual connection between two – these are just some of the topics covered in the songs here, all united by the vague and gloomy feeling of surreal wandering among the shadows depicted by Darkher.

Presented as a whole, through the prism of a beautiful dark tale about  the metaphorical sea and everything wandering through the midnight breeze, „The Buried Storm“ is an all-consuming transcendental experience with deep atmospheres full of melancholy and vivid ghostly nuances, living by chance in the core of our human soul.
Surreal art that weaves you into its nets and does not leave you until the very end. A ghostly dream, illuminating a lof of things unsaid and difficult to explain.

“The more I close my eyes
The more I see
We are guided”

Score : 10/10  ????????????????????????????????????????
Favorite songs from the album: I see  „The Buried Storm“ as a  whole, but some specific songs like „Lowly Weep“, „Love’s Sudden Death“ and „Fear Not, My King“ marked my mind deeper than the others.

DARKHER
„The Buried Storm“
Prophecy Productions
Release date: 15.04.2022

Pre-order link:
http://lnk.spkr.media/darkher-the-buried-storm

Available formats:
„The Buried Storm“ is available as a 36-page hardcover 2CD artbook incl. 3 acoustic versions of album tracks, limited gatefold LP silver vinyl, gatefold LP black vinyl, and on Digipak CD.

Links:
www.darkher.net
www.facebook.com/darkhermusic
www.instagram.com/darkhermusic

There are three songs from the album, available for free listening:

„Lowly Weep“:

„Where the Devil Waits“:

„Love’s Sudden Death“: