Ah Cama-Sotz

” Ghost in the Shadow ”
spectre cd cat. S18. 2005. belgium
release date: 30/09/2005
format: cd
cd comes in carboard cover. limited edition of 515 copies
listen / buy this cd on iTunes/Bandcamp:

https://ahcama-sotz.bandcamp.com/album/ghost-in-the-shadow

prologue
sakrahl
virgins
the gathering
the howl of the werewolf
yog-sothoth
u-boot theme
1348
sabbat I [dawn-ritual]
lix tetrax

Recorded live during the ‘Seats ‘n Beats’ session at CC Luchtbal Antwerp in 2003.
” Ghost In The Shadow ” is a fine selection of the best dark and ambient soundscapes Ah Cama-Sotz ever produced. Listen to tracks from long lost and sold-out albums on Spectre, Hands, Ant-zen, Bats & Cats, Klanggalerie (1996-2003). These tracks were especially selected for this live event and mixed again for an ultimate doom experience of almost 50 minutes. Find the ghost, it’s now or never again !

cat. spectre S18 / cd
http://www.spectre.be
sabam 2005

reviews

http://www.igloomag.com (Paul Lloyd)
AH CAMA-SOTZ :: Ghost in the Shadow (Spectre, CD)

Ah Cama-Sotz is the long-term project of Belgian musician Herman Klapholz, one time member of Hybryds and also partly responsible for Wai Pi Wai and Pow[d]er Pussy amongst others. Recording since the 80’s and as Ah Cama-Sotz since 1995, Klapholz has worked in a number of experimental, ambient and noise related styles, all of them critically acclaimed. Ghost in the Shadow is a live recording from a “Seats ‘n’ Beats” session at CC Luchtbal, Schouwburg in Antwerp, Belgium on November 1st 2003 and is released through Belgian label Spectre.

Ghost in the Shadow takes selected back catalogue tracks from releases on the Spectre, Hands, Ant-Zen, Klanggalerie and Klapholz’s own Bats and Cats label and reworks them specifically for the live environment. Focus is on atmosphere and the ritualistic, religious and mythological themes Klapholz often includes in his recordings. The whole album is heavy on swirling texture, slow mechanical grinds and low drones mixed with carefully selected samples to highlight the dark subject matter at hand. Each piece is in a constant state of flux, rarely becoming repetitive and carefully focused on creating complex soundscapes that draw detailed, often disturbing imagery and evoke intense emotions. “Yog-Sothoth” for example has soaring ghostly howls, clanging metal and an evil sounding narrative that gives way to heavy distorted drones and tortured screams. Somewhat less intense but relevant to Kalpholz’s fixation with mythology is “The Howl of the Werewolf” which bears a tense air of evil, the pained sounds of a howling man and a repeated warning of what will happen on the full moon. Slightly lighter in mood but heavier on cinematic tension is “1348” which gives the impression of impending danger. Klapholz takes the listener on a journey through all things dark, ritualistic and mythological; from the monk-like chants of the opening “Prologue” and “Sakrahl” through the atmospheric “The Gathering” and “Yog-Sothoth” and on to the choral finale of “Lix Tetrax”. Often utilising samples with mythological and demonic references, Ghost in the Shadow begins fairly gently, almost as a warning of the dark mysteries to come and, once they have been revealed, brings the mood down again to a happier, safer and more restful place.

With an extensive background in dark ambient music of this type, Klapholz has mastered the art and delivers an excellent album that tells its own stories with a defined beginning, middle and end. He lets the tale slowly unfold before the listener and invoke a torrent of images and feelings. Ghost in the Shadow works well as an album and was undoubtedly intense and memorable to witness in person.

http://www.gutsofdarkness.com/god/objet.php?objet=7197 (review par Marco)

Quoi, encore un album d’Ah Cama-Sotz ? Hé oui, en effet, ou plutôt non car ‘Ghost in the shadow’ est en fait un live enregistré le 1er novembre 2003 en Belgique, et édité 2 ans plus tard à la même date, conjointement au dernier album du belge (‘The way to heresy’). L’intérêt ? Très simple, il s’agit d’une prestation uniquement dark-ambient, assez hétéroclite en raison du choix des morceaux tirés essentiellement de disques aujourd’hui introuvables (‘First circle of Hell, ‘La peste’, ‘The house of the Lordh’) ou de compilations tout aussi rares. Herman Klapholz inclue malicieusement deux sacrilèges de side-projects sulfureux (‘Virgins’, morceau d’Okk-Ulth et ‘Yog-Sothoth’ de l’album de Camanecrozscope), montrant ainsi les différentes facettes d’Ah Cama-Sotz, tour à tour minimaliste et inquiétant puis menaçant et délétère (‘Yog-Sothoth’). La manipulations en live offre quelques variations sur la plupart des morceaux, bien que très peu peceptibles par moment. Pour ceux qui n’auraient pas eu la chance de jeter une oreille sur les sorties les plus rares du belge, ‘Ghost in the shadow’ est une aubaine pour découvrir ces contes industriels d’une noirceur étouffante, célébrant Lovecraft, pervertissant les légendes populaires et rapportant les faits les plus abominables de l’Histoire (‘Virgins’, sur Elizabeth Bathory). Une sélection assez surprenante voire osée quand on connait la discographie d’Ah Cama-Sotz, mais un résultat plaisant. Cela dit, un disque à conseiller plutôt aux fans.
(dimanche 13 novembre 2005).
Enregistré live poue le festival Seats’n’Beats 11 au CC Luchtbal-Schouwburg, Anvers, Belgique, 1er novembre 2003.

Title: Ghost In The Shadow (contributed by: Paddy O’Sullivan – Monday, October 30 2006)
http://www.heathenharvest.com/article.php?story=20061030063210857

Label: Spectre Records
Genre: Atmospheric Industrial

Ah Cama-Sotz erupts forth from the mind of Herman Klapholz. Formed in 1993 in Belgium and in a fairly short span of time has amassed a substantial body of work as talent usually has that effect on people, his earlier works have ranged from more rhythmic pieces to ritual ambient, or even a soundtrack for a nightmare, but all the while producing some of the best atmospheric soundscapes out there, this cd is a presentation and at times a reinterpretation of some of his past releases most of which were seriously sought after limited releases on labels such as Ant-Zen, Hands Productions,Spectre, Bats & Cats, Klanggalerie,and Old Europa Café.

I’ll go into some of the tracks of the cd just to give you an idea as to what to expect, and to pique your interest with the hope that you will actually go out and buy this release. The cd starts off with a dialog of: sadism, drug addiction, debauchery, abuse, alcoholism and not to mention vampirism and necrophilia….shall I go on ……yes. This leads into the second track “Sakrahl” taken from the limited to 100 copies “The first circle of hell 10 inch” the versions here are very different whereas the original version was somewhat ethereal with timpani thrown in and a few bombs dropping in the distance, the latest version is picturesque of the winds of autumn humming through a cavern where you stand as the only witness in this dark place to the earths breathing and sighing

For me this cd is has an aura of something intentionally obscured and not meant to be necessarily seen, it is meant to be sensed and experienced corporally or non-corporally. Now back down to earth…this brings me to “U – Boot Theme” taken from “U – Boot LP”

The beauty of this piece lies in its layering of sounds and its timing; frankly I find it reaching perfection, as you may have guessed I like the sounds I have heard on this disc, it is well executed and has a dark linear rhythm all its own, so find yourself a secluded spot preferably underground and enjoy.

This cd is a live recording from CC Luchtbal part of the “Seats n Beats series” which in the past has seen the likes of Colin Newman, Robin Rimbaud (Scanner),Fennesz, and Michael Rother & Dieter Moebius, so Ah Cama-Sotz is in very good company.

review by Deathbringer for http://necroweb.de

Übertragen am : 2005-11-03 07:40
http://necroweb.de/page.php?id=656
Bei “Ghost In The Shadow” handelt es nicht um ein neues Studioalbum des bekannten belgischen Projekts Ah Cama-Sotz, sondern um eine Liveaufzeichnung vom 1. November 2003. Die Intention hinter dieser Performance beim Seats ‘n Beats #11 in Antwerpen war, düstere Tracks von den schon lange vergriffenen frühen Veröffentlichungen zu nehmen, und sie zusammen mit einigen aktuellen Dark Ambient Tracks zu präsentieren. Und so machte Herman Klapholz sich auf und kreierte die Playlist von “Ghost In The Shadow”, in der sich auch Tracks von seinen Sideprojekten und Kollaborationen befinden. So stammt z.B. “Virgins” von seinem Sideprojekt OKK-ULTh und “Yog-Sothoth” aus der Kollaboration mit Iszoloscope, genannt Camanecroszcope.
Wer also tanzbare Songs mit ordentlichem Beat sucht, was es von Ah Cama-Sotz ja durchaus gibt, wird hier enttäuscht, dafür kommen Dark Ambient Fans auf ihre Kosten. Gerade die Mischung aus altem und neuem Liedgut macht den Pluspunkt dieser CD aus, erzeugt die Zusammenstellung doch eine wirklich schöne Atmosphäre, das alles in einem einheitlichen Klangbild. Zur Qualität braucht man glaube ich nicht mehr viel zu sagen, wer Ah Cama-Sotz kennt weiß das Niveau zu schätzen.
” Ghost In The Shadow ” ist also für all jene etwas, die vor allem die ruhige und düstere Seite von Ah Cama-Sotz lieben. Allerdings ist das Album aufgrund seiner geringen Limitierung auch für die Sammler interessant.

Veröffentlichung : 2005-10-01
Dauer : 48:46 min
Bonusmaterial : Limitiert auf 515 Exemplare

Ah Cama-Sotz “Ghost in the Shadow”
Format: CD/Album
Online date: 21/1
Label: Spectre
Genre: ambient

review by Johannes van der Meer [ http://www.movinghands.net/reviews/detail.asp?id=1002 ]

Herman Klapholz, the man behind the long existing industrial / dark ambient legend Ah Cama-Sotz brings us with this release a live recorded piece of very sinister and dark ambient music. It was recorded in 2003 at the Seats‘n Beats in Antwerp, Belgium.

Dark ambient music usually is very minimalistic and monotone but when it comes to Ah Cama-Sotz it’s more complex with lots of different sounds and samples and sometimes it even get a bit noisy so it’s not your typical dark ambient record. I like the noisier parts and it’s really fitting with the rest of the music but a few times I think it gets too loud and that’s a drag because it ruins it a bit when you loose the dark feeling. The songs are quite different from each other; some are darker, while some are more meditative and trance-like. All of his different kinds of ambient styles is really great to hear on one record.

As I read somewhere, Ah Cama-Sotz is more then the music itself; it’s also the mood that Mr Klapholz brings his audience a dark and sometimes sinister mood.

/Johannes van der Meer

Check CDDB tracklists for this record: Ah Cama-Sotz ” Ghost in the Shadow ”

Review by: eskaton (June, 06 / 2006)
http://www.chaindlk.com/reviews/index.php?type=music&category=6

Artist: AH CAMA-SOTZ [ info {at} ahcama-sotz {dot} com ]
Title: Ghost in the Shadow
Format: CD
Label: Spectre [ info {at} spectre {dot} be ]
Rated: 4.5/5

This is what all live experimental performances should be like. The previous Ah Cama-Sotz material I have heard has been on compilations such as Crunch Pod’s Battery Sentinel 2, so this was my first exposure to an album length work. This is engaging material. Littered with samples from horror movies, these samples help set the atmosphere. Most importantly, they are not readily identifiable, which keeps them disembodied from their original context and allows them to coalesce with the music. Most of this album consists of dark soundscapes, but some tracks combine ritual ambience with noisy elements (“Virgins” and “The Howl of the Werewolf,” for example). The tracks flow into one another, giving the album a sense of coherence. For me, the standout track on this disc is Lix Tetrax. Combining dark ambience with synthesized strings and beautiful female voice, this is a track of haunting beauty. This track would be right at home on the Hyperium “Heavenly Voices” compilations. Someone needs to use this as the soundtrack to an H.P. Lovecraft movie. After all, it has a track named “Yog-Sothoth”! According to his website, “Ah cama-sotz will transport your subconscious in a mythical universe where his alter ego ‘ah cama-sotz’ haunts the night and proliferates anxiety amidst every living creature.” (Ah Cama-Sotz is named after a Mexican mythological creature, a giant bat which used his extremely elongated sharp claws to decapitate his victims.) As you may have gathered, this is not easy listening dark ambience. This disc is limited to 515 copies, so if you want it, you should probably get it quickly.