Alexandre Kush/Bernard Lamastre ‎– Secrets - Musiques D'Angoisses Et De Tension (1986, LP, France)

Very suspenseful library music from France. Each track is filled with dark synthesizer work and holds the notes long enough to make you unconformable. While there is some very tense tracks like Tension Time and Frénétique there are also some incredibly moving and beautiful tracks here like Pagan Ceremony and Secrets. The former sounding like blissful ambient music like something Novisad would make. The latter starting off sounding like a third wave post-rock song but evolving into this holy ballad with electronic influence. There's a great clash of feelings in the record and it's definitely not one-dimensional spooky music. Another highlight is the track Nerphretics which starts with a sample of someone breathing heavily while adding in these simple, but hard drops in the music that's like someone is stomping towards you. The synths then creep in adding another layer of weirdness to the mix. The four Tension Time tracks are also very neat. They sound like samples from even older horror movie soundtracks (we're talking like the 20s-40s). They're all incredibly similar but none lasts longer than a minute and it really works. It's a fitting end to the record.
The cover art is also phenomenal. It depicts the moods of the record perfectly. This record is like the soundtrack to some obscure 80s cheesy horror movie. It doesn't take itself too seriously but doesn't come off as too "spooky" either. Overall, it's an excellent record that definitely stands alone amongst many library records and also a standout in the horror synth genre. If you're looking for something to satisfy your Halloween night I would definitely recommend this record. (BrothermanTrill)