Sacred Black is the 3rd cd of the Australian musician Steve Roberts who already caught my attention with his former album Still Life. The album opens with the slow morphing soundwaves of Dawn 1958, delving into intimate reflection, riding the edge between dark and light, which is nicely followed by Morning of the Earth, which continues in same way for exactly 10 minutes. Sea of Rains is an otherworldly adventure in ambient/space with strange cascading effects over solar winds. This is intriguing spacemusic offering some new dimensions, followed a dreamy oriented piece of music: The Shores of the Cosmic Ocean. The slightly choral-like textural environment contains a beautiful classic sample of Martin Denny's Quiet Village, a gentle match with a more than interesting outcome. Argo Navis gives the listener an sort-of uncanny feel , slightly experimental with some vague distorted guitar at the end. Listening & experiencing 5am Melbourne 1996 is a typical happy accident in audioland: its slightly circling sound is hypnotising, making you can't just look away from what Steve is sculpturing: transforming a personal experience into audio format, not to forget the little Pink Floydish sound at the end. The Demon Haunted World is the most difficult track on the album: its overall industrial/experimental soundscapes have the impact of strolling over the darkest edge, I think it not at place here. Returning Home seems to be the reward for this former hard track, as you encounter very nice, slightly dissonant & electronically moulded guitar-licks, which keep drifting an circling in your head after the disc has come to a closure after 50 minutes. A nice reward for an album that requests deeper listening than the average stuff encountered nowadays in ambient/space territory. Those looking for some unexpected encounters should really try this on. I'm sure they won't be disappointed.

Bert Strolenberg
Klem Magazine The Netherlands