Peter Ulrich

Enter The Mysterium - Peter Ulrich
by: Maria Grella

Peter Ulrich, the percussionist from the band Dead Can Dance, has ventured out on his own with two solo albums. The promo cd contains 4 sample songs from his two solo efforts, 1999's Pathways And Dawns and 2005's Enter The Mysterium. Though these songs would be fantastic in a strictly audio sense, it is not among the top choices for lyrical content. Still, Ulrich's work is sure to be a hit among dream-pop fans. "Springs Of Hope" has a nice build up; a mostly instrumental track, it boasts a nice melody, a few good lyrics and chanting. "Through These Eyes" is a trippy experience, with sweet background vocals. "Nothing But The Way" is follows the formula of complex sound to simple and back to complex. The same soothing sense is displayed, with a snake-charmer/worldly feel, complete with an African drumbeat and Asian familiarity. "Another Day" is another calming track, where the vocals almost detract from simplicity of the music. The sampling of select tracks was distributed at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, and was a perfect choice for United Home Audio to display in their high-end equipment demos. Ultimately, this promo package was a nice glimpse into Ulrich's artistic mind. The tracks are great for listening to due to the multi-layering of sounds, however the spirituality, if that was what he was aiming for, is not entirely present, and the lyrics need some work. A step above meditation music, his songs are calming and peaceful, despite the different mesh of various instruments.