Under the Dome ~ Scotland

The Demon Haunted World (1998)

No country took more to the classic 1970s Tangerine Dream trio than did the United Kingdom. Especially during the Berlin School renaissance of the 1990s, when a flood of bands came onto the horizon. Under the Dome weren't one of the headliners, though they most certainly held their own against some of the bigger names of the era like Radio Massacre International, Redshift, and AirSculpture. Neu Harmony was the CD arm for premier electronic music mail-order house Synth Music Direct and were one of the leading lights of the day.

Under the Dome on their debut The Demon Haunted World combine haunting and desolate atmospheric tones with crunchy and wedgy sequences. Each of the 4 tracks navigate through a variety of moods and textures, and in that way, are almost progressive rock like. I found the shorter tracks (short being a relative term here) to work best, like the thumping Moog Modulater (simulated) opener 'Flüssiger Vier-Takter' (8:34). The third piece 'The Bridge' (13:35) starts off in tranquility mode, but eventually the sequencers arrive to ensure this isn't going to be a waltz in the park. The appropriately named closer, 'Hell' (24:00), has some of the darkest textures since Klaus Schulze's Cyborg. I was hoping for a sequencer blitzkrieg to burst out of the depths, but they stayed mostly subdued and mid-tempo throughout. Worth noting there is quite a bit of guitar here (no real soloing though), adding much needed color to the usual barrage of electronic keyboard equipment. All in, The Demon Haunted World is a finely crafted Berlin School album.

Ownership: 1998 Neu Harmony (CD). Booklet with recording details.

2//04 (acquired); 8/30/12; 7/22/16 (review); 10/24/25

Wot No Colin? (2003)

---Jul 2005

Wot No Colin?, which came near the end of Under the Dome's recording career, is a high energy sequencer fest with some very fine electric guitar leads. If you drew a straight line from Tangerine Dream’s Encore to Pergamon, rather than traverse through the rock era that was Cyclone and Force Majeure, you would encounter this particular Under the Dome album. Fitting then, that this is a live album too. Look for some unexpected experimental sections with heavy echo on the sequences. Under the Dome were one of the best of the retro EM bands coming from the United Kingdom during this time, and Wot No Colin? is a good representation as to why.

Ownership: 2003 Neu Harmony (CD)

7//05 (acquired / review); 6/21/06

Also own and need to review Bellorophon.
 

7/22/16 (new entry)