This new release from Cryo Chamber is presented in their usual austere way as "an emotional roller coaster" with "a strong narrative of storytelling" and this way of describe the records lets the listener free to hear the album with a clear mind. "Dredge Portals" sounds as a concept album centered on a lonely man which is the narrator of his thought about living in a world where there's, apparently, no one else and this story is described with field recording and foley sounds rather than drones that act as mere support of the landscape evoked by the sounds.
The narrator of "Rise of the Dormant Host" opens this release with a pistol shot and introduces the listener into a story of, perhaps, zombie and it starts on almost canonical track of evocative drone but resolved with a synth melody. The sound of rain opens "The Reflection Tower" whose drone crescendo is juxtaposed to traffic sound to enhance his emotive character. "Descend with Demons" uses drones to create a sense of tension exalted by the use of sudden noises. This sense of danger is partly resolved by the crescendo of "Heart of the Mirror's Abyss" and its samples of a running man. The return of the narrator in "Lost in the Astral World" starts the second half of this release and it's another ambient track focused on crescendo while "Perpetually Devoured" is closer to the canonical dark ambient format. "Dreaming of Glaciers" closes this release with a dreamy drone and some gentle piano notes that introduces the return of the narrator.
While the second part is more orthodox in his declination of the genre, in the first part it's evident the search for storytelling in this release which is obtained mostly with the use of field recording closer to musique concrète rather than dark ambient and result the real focus of the musical writing. It's true cinema for the ears.