Thomas Heckmann P - Ghosts [CD]

Ghosts is as unlikely a 'follow-up' to his previous Lost Tales volumes as you're likely to find. Trading in what is euphemistically termed dark ambient on this go-round, Heckmann seems to have inadvertently or intentionally forged a modern post-industrial statement of extraordinarily powerful intent. Largely eschewing the easily recognizable horizontal hold of electronica's well-trodden beat structures, Heckmann augments his mildly abrasive tones and brittle atmospheres with pulses carved from an aural wood of drift rather than driftwood. The eleven pieces on Ghosts cackle and glee with an almost demonic abandon, percussive accents bouncing throughout the stereofield in an often wild display of vivid color schemes. Nowhere is this more evident than across the eight minute panoptic nerves of "Absolution", where Heckmann's many years of adept rhythm programming blossom forth in an explosive rush of digital swing.