Recently, I came across a copy of Main's Firmament III, a spooky but ultimately cliched attempt at ambience by experimental guitarist Robert Hampson. This fourth installment in the Firmament series (aptly titled Firmament IV) is a more inventive-- and as a result, a lot more fucked up-- atmospheric nightmare.

Just in time for All Hallows Eve, Firmament IV is an hour- long journey through a creepy haze, relentlessly disrupted by abstract blips and belches of noise. On a superficial level, the eleven tracks resemble what could be the foundational layers of a Future Sound of London album. The standout pieces (in particular "XXII" and "XXVI") take an organic, low- key approach reminiscent of German knob- turners Microstoria and Oval.

Yet deeper down, there's something uniquely sinister about Firmament IV. Remember the scene in "Star Wars" (of course you do) where Luke, Han, Leia and Chewbacca dive into the Death Star trash compactor? Friends, Firmament IV approximates the unsettling quiet down there just before Luke is pulled under the refuse by the garbage serpent. Now, compound that atmosphere with the vague premonition that, at any moment, Vincent Price is going to bust out with his "Thriller" monologue. Hampson has put his finger on the pulse of some pretty disturbing stuff.

So what kind of people listen to an album like this? Well, none that I've ever met. But when I finally do meet them, I'm sure they'll have stained overalls, toothy grins, and miscellaneous cat parts in their freezers.

-Zach Hammerman