The Deep Bleed is the work of one Mark Hjorthoy, who hails from Vancouver, British Columbia. I had previously enjoyed his disc, “Machines that Search for God,” so I was interested to see how this one compared. The liner notes state, “Rise Or Fall asks, in every situation in life, ‘Do you rise, or do you fall?’ Do you rise to the occasion, or do you fall and comply? That determines who you are. Simply, and truthfully. You are what you do everyday. If you don’t like that you see, change it.” So let’s get philosophical with Hjorthoy and see what rises to the top.

We start off with “The Fall of Icarus,” which is densely layered drone that builds in intensity over time. Despite the title, the feeling is calm and almost peaceful. Rather than the sudden crash suggested by the title, one can almost imagine Icarus gliding peacefully down on what remained of his wings. “The Rise of the Phoenix” is a bit more unsettled. It begins with slightly jagged drone with the same underlying hiss of the previous track but then settles into a pulsing drone that builds over time. Crackling noise reminiscent of fire crackling enters into the mix and eventually takes over as the drone continues to crescendo into a cacophony of stuttering noise and sweeping synth before fading into nothing.

I have enjoyed everything I have heard from The Deep Bleed and this release is no exception. If you like your dark ambient soothing and peaceful, the first track is what you need. If you want it noisy and unsettling, the second track will be right up your alley. Well done. This album weighs in at around 23 minutes.