It was not one of my finest moments when I got the Ardala album in its original, luxurious CD-R format back in 2023 on its release. The decadent 7″ x 7″ folio package was not quite as superb as the musical contents within, and I found myself frequently tumbling into its seductive mystery while at the same time not having the perceived adequate free time to devote myself to extolling its virtues within the “pages” of PPM. And then, in a fit of ignominy, I had the temerity to cite it as my album of the year for 2023…without ever even once mentioning it on the site! What you must think of me.

The album was a collaborative project from The Metamorph, who is a known quantity on these “pages,” along with his cohort Phil Heeks, who records as British Stereo Collective. Both are [prolific] old school synth heads with a penchant for real analog gear and a weakness for Science Fiction scenarios. Taking their name from the old 70s “Buck Rogers In The 25th Century” character, the two players meshed together as if they had been born to make this album. Twin clones of different incubators.

The large format package sold out like any ltd. ed. package that The Metamorph releases in very finite numbers. The DL has been available ever since but now comes the news that the physical CD will once again be in print. This time in a less exotic Digipak™…but with the added bonus of six remixed bonus tracks. Let’s dive in!

Ardala: Halls Of Antiquity DLX RM – UK – CD-R [2025]

1. Time Pilot 5:46
2. Veil of Ardala 3:41
3. The Men of Mystery 4:20
4. Halls of Antiquity 5:10
5. One Night in Nanjing 4:19
6. Concretopia 3:51
7. Cold Fusion 4:14
8. The Terraformers 4:28
9. The Infernal Machine 4:28
10. Countdown to Critical Mass 5:33
11. Cold Fusion (Remix) 2:08
12. The Infernal Machine (Remix) 4:28
13. The Men of Mystery (Remix) 4:14
14. One Night in Nanjing (Remix) 2:47
15. Time Pilot (Remix) 3:51
16. The Terraformers (Remix) 4:32

Our ears were captured immediately by the urgent ‘Time Pilot” featuring sequencer loops that flirted with Acid. Swells of string cinematic patches built suspense as did the syncopating elements introduced gradually into the arrangement until the 2 minute mark where the drum machine kicked in and propelled the track into the stratosphere. This one could have lasted at least eight minutes.

The biological percolations of “The Veil Of Ardala” were a hard left turn into something more random and far less rigorous. White noise synths issued forth like jets of steam from fissures in an alien planet’s crust as warning klaxon synths scanned the horizon for agents of peril. Subtle drum machine maneuvers added the most delicate of rhythms to tie it all together as piccolo synths added their winsome melodies to the seemingly random collection of squirts and squelches that all held together magnificently. With dignity being finally conferred by a harpsichord patch in the song’s middle eight.

Motorik, dry-thwack rhythm programming gave us immediate confirmation that the duo were exploring the DNA of Kraftwerk [by way of Ultravox] in the precise rhythm bed of “The Men Of Mystery.” It owed a lot to “Mr. X” with its precise rhythms and icy stabs of glassy keys but the minor key tremolo synths and wailing leads only served to accentuate the legitimate aura of mystery that was the track’s stock-in-trade. At the halfway point all of the elements came together in sync as the layers of melody and rhythm were tightened into a musical bow.

Gusts of wind and footsteps echoing in the hallway led us into the “Halls Of Antiquity.” The delicate percussion of the rhythm track [were those 808 fills?] as the hypnotically slow lead lines swelled up in a stately fashion. Directly contrasted with the random whirs and trills of less disciplined synths trying to push their way into the regal song. The dramatic piano on a long reverb tried to exert its dominion but in the end the plebeian synths won the battle for our ears.

Subtle rhythm programming and bass synth emphasis distinguished “One Night In Nanjing” with its relentless, though moderate tempo driving propelling the song ever forward. While The Metamorph’s penchant for Brutalism in both architecture [he took the photos used in the album artwork] and music gets an outing in the appropriately named “Concretopia.” Once the track coalesced into its full, fiery body as the song’s rhythms took center stage it proffered a kind of cinematic awe just begging for widescreen science fiction vistas. Letting the tracks chirps and hisses have the last word in its coda.

The rhythmic synths of “Cold Fusion” were syncopated through strategic use of delay and shot through with percussive fills drenched with liquid reverb. Then the lead synths added their majestic sauce to the vibe and the track managed to fully convey the dignity of science. Leading to its segued coda where slow gusts of white noise wind gave evidence of “The Terraformers” in the next track. The lack of rhythm emphasized the flowing, cinematic nature of the cut while the closest thing to rhythm came from the wave envelopes on the arcs of synth loops slicing through the ether of the track in a Vangelis-like fashion. Abetted by orchestral string patches by the song’s midpoint. With glissandos of glassy synthesizer glinting like ice crystals in the newly formed atmosphere of an alien planet.

“The Terraformers” also segued into the next track; the dark implications of “The Infernal Machine.” Rhythmic sequences defined the slow, seductive tempo of the song as minimal, yet still grandiloquent piano added its sinister, crystalline magic in a fashion that managed to snare us in its hypnotic stare before administering the killing stroke. Making this track the theme to the most fatale femme imaginable. A final segue here took an extreme turn as the random wave chaos of “Countdown To Critical Mass” added the unfathomable to what was a massive buildup of synth waves and trills from the Vangelis playbook given a dose of paradoxical ElectroPunk energy to close out the album on a most unexpected, and disconcerting fashion.

Then the program of remixes gave us alternative views of six of the tracks here in remix form. Often more brief than the original cuts. The “Cold Fusion [remix]” was imbued with an energy similar to the luxurious synth lines to “No G.D.M.” before returning to the main theme for a brief recounting of the main theme before its 2:08 over. The remix of “The Infernal Machine” adopted an intriguing John Barry Goes Acid vibe that was ultimately more machine-like than the original mix.

The beat of “The Men Of Mystery [Remix]” changed the emphasis and stresses of its beat but retained its discipline. The melodic elements were re-arranged albeit still present in the alternate mix. And its length was close to what had been the original song. “One Night In Nanjing” was trimmed to half its original length as the melody stood naked for the first quarter of its running time. The “Time Pilot” remix lost the urgency of the Acid sequencer in its new intro. Opting instead for emphasizing its swells of string patches before bringing the sequencer line in at lower levels as it slowly built the track up all over again. The remix of “The Terraformers” used a vastly different lead synth patch but remained as distanced from rhythm as the original mix had. Opting for a similar character that ultimately seemed to call back to the old abandoned home world that was left behind.

This album was a real call back to the era of pure synth albums that filled the empty spaces in the mid to late 70s as keyboard giants like Isao Tomita and Vangelis straddled the disparate regions between Krautrock, Berlin School, and Prog with synthesizer led albums that were neither fish nor flesh. But the difference here was that there were hints of New Wave, Synth Pop, and Soundtrack music, though this was ultimately richer music than the newly popular Synthwave soundtrack style.

The two artists dovetail intuitively here to made a whole greater than the sum of its respective parts. There is a clarity and sparkle to the arrangements here that invite the ear to luxuriate in their inventive layers of sonic detail. And the result is an album that makes for compelling listening that achieves a kind of hauntological resonance that any synth geeks who lived through the seventies while watching too much Science Fiction on The Tube will undoubtedly be able to relate to. Preferably on repeat mode.

The DL is available now for £7.99 but the Digipak™ CD is worth the £2.00 more for anyone reading these words in the UK, where shipping is local. I see that commenter Schwenko has already ordered his copy on Bandcamp! Why not join him and if you’re not afraid of international mail order, pre-order that CD version? It’s due in a fortnight. DJ hit that button!

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