Hallowed Ground

Dino Pacifici is a Canadian synthesist who has, on past releases, explored
new age, smooth jazz and ethnic influences. On Hallowed Ground, he takes a
first real swim in the ambient pool after dipping his feet into it on some previous
albums. The first two extended tracks make up almost two-thirds of the album.
"Solace" is a good mix of ebbing and flowing synthesizer tones with the sound of distant, liquid percussion, while "Timeshift" brings in some more interesting
sounds that make up for the rather sterile drum loop that plods through the first
half of the track. The title track is again built around a drum loop, with more rhythmic synthesizer patterns, followed by "Warp," which starts out with some interesting, mysterious soundscapes until a clunky mechanical rhythm grabs
most of the attention. "The Ice Fields of Neptune" brings in the sound of
the flute amidst planetarium-esque synthesizer excursions. Unfortunately, on the album-closing "Cave Dweller,"Pacifici abandons all restraint and falls
into a lite-jazz appropriation of native American clichés. Though somewhat
uneven, Hallowed Ground demonstrates that Pacifici has the talent and
ability to create decent ambient music, when he
can restrain his more showy tendencies.

Eric J. Prindle - Ujamaa's Ambient Experience