siLLy puPPy DARKSPACE has been something akin to the Star Trek Enterprise in metal boldly going where no man has gone before and was rightfully one of the pioneers in the cosmic and psychedelic realms of ambient black metal. Led by Tobias Möckl, this Bern, Switzerland crew has been around for a quarter century now having formed in 1999 with an amazingly stable lineup of Tobias Möckl aka Wroth (lead vocals, rhythm guitar, synths, drum programming), Zhaaral (lead guitar, backing vocals) and Zorgh (bass, backing vocals). Well that amazing stability has finally been shaken up and Zorgh has jumped ship and replaced by Yhs.

Never the most prolific band in the world of black metal and certainly not the most creative in keeping track of album titles, the band began simply with “Dark Space I” then “II” until it reached the clumsy looking “III I.” Ironically DARKSPACE released an EP in 2012 titled “Dark Space -I” which actually came out before Dark Space III I.” Oh i’m getting a headache now! Not heard from in an entire decade it’s like the band was in the cryogenic chamber awaiting a landing on another undiscovered celestial body in a galaxy not near you and in 2024 surprisingly returns with the fifth studio album DARK SPACE -II. This one is also the first to be released without the consistent black background with the group logo.

Forged with lengthy sprawling tracks that frigidly craft the perfect cosmic soundtrack of a black metal journey into the gravitation-free zone of outer space, DARKSPACE has always delivered a series of sprawlers on their albums and on DARK SPACE -II simply eliminates any pretense of having to name titles at all. This album is simply a single track titled “Dark -2.-2” and at 47 minutes plus is actually a short album considering most of the band’s album are well over an hour’s playing time or at least close to it. Also all of the previous DARKSPACE releases have been re-released on the Seasons of the Mist label and DARK SPACE -II marks the debut for the label as a first timer.

A decade may seem like a long time to us Earthlings but in space time breaks down and to those familiar with the 25 year trajectory of DARKSPACE, this band has had a very consistent sound and only changes things up enough to keep each album from sounding too similar. Referred to by some as “gravity metal” which means space themed metal which is like a the fluidity of a lucid dream, DARKSPACE continues its hypnotizing stylistic approach which delivers both black metal and black ambient in equal doses with various mixes in between. -II continues the business of long sprawling post-rock styled cyclical loops that repeat to infinity with slowly building dynamics and a never-ending incremental change of both the ambient and metal aspects.

Icy cold atmospheres allow long metal guitar fuzz to linger on while raspy vocals gasp for air from the unknown. Droning and glacial pacing allows the lengthy journey to slowly drip drop across the soundscape one measure at a time. Noticeably less metal oriented than previous releases DARKSPACE seems to have mellowed a bit with a stronger emphasis on the dark ambient synthesized sounds often leaving the black metal to sound like a couple of receptive chords simply adding buzzsaw guitar feedback light as if the crew was running out of oxygen and the vitality has been compromised on the lengthy space journey. Whatever the case there is no ferocity like we last encountered on “Dark Space iII I,” just faint guitar and suffocated vocals from the void.

Given the emphasis on the black ambient the album sounds more orchestrated which isn’t necessary a bad thing but the tamping down of the metal elements also makes the drums sound very ineffective as the percussion has become nothing but a metronometer and gone are the blastbeats and variation. Gone too are the guitar solos and various stylistic shifts that offer some relief from the monotony. On the contrary, this one track sounds like it’s stuck in a groove and never really deviates from it. Some of the guitar chugging becomes more activated towards the end but it’s not nearly as vibrant as the DARKSPACE we’ve all come and known to love.

Well it seems like Tobias Möckl might be burning out as both his DARKSPACE project as well as his other flagship ambient black metal baby, Paysage D’Hiver has also been sputtering on fumes in recent years. Perhaps the creativity well has run dry and he has milked this space metal shtick as far as it can go. Don’t get me wrong, DARK SPACE -II is not a bad release at all but in comparison to the releases that ended a decade ago, this one is more like a house cat compared to the wild savage tigers that came before. It’s a devolution of intensity, creativity and ingenuity. Interestingly databases will say there’s only one long track but on the band’s Bandcamp site there are three shorter excerpts but don’t really offer anything new. A tad disappointed in this one. Definitely my least favorite DARKSPACE release so far. Once again i don’t dislike it but it sort of settles on mediocrity.