Death By Drone released Complex II: Meditations on April 15, 2025 through Labile Records. It is a 14-track album with a total running time of about 49 minutes.
Inside the release
Complex II: Meditations is the second part of Bryan Thomas Burdick's Death By Drone series, according to the notes. It picks up from President Eisenhower's 1961 warning about the military-industrial complex and moves through programs like Operation Mockingbird and MK Ultra. It then turns to artificial intelligence and introduces Gaia, a character who represents the next stage of the story.
The notes also describe a companion ambient side album that follows Gaia's story through dreamlike sequences placed between tracks nine and ten. Listeners can move between the two albums as they choose. The notes frame the record around questions about how hidden forces shape thinking and what role artificial intelligence will play.
From the release notes
The notes on the album's Bandcamp page set the scene: "This release delves into historical revelations, particularly the chilling excesses uncovered by intelligence operations such as Operation Mockingbird and MK Ultra, exposing the unsettling reach of psychological warfare and manipulation."
Later, the notes add: "Here listeners are introduced to Gaia, a central character within this expansive narrative, representing the technological evolution of the Complex. Gaia's presence marks a pivotal shift, blending philosophical introspection and speculative futurism into an immersive sonic journey."
Tracklist
- Sum of Divisions (2:36)
- Little Birds (5:02)
- These Exotic Things (2:15)
- Emerging Systems (3:39)
- The Technical Problem of Death (3:43)
- Meditations (4:16)
- Tearing Myself Apart (3:25)
- Somewhere Along The Way II (3:21)
- The Mind of A Machine (3:17)
- Divine Circuitry (3:39)
- Terminal (3:27)
- They Came For Me (4:11)
- Reflections II (2:58)
- Being and God II (3:11)
Running times are from Apple Music. Apple Music files it under ambient; the Bandcamp tags list experimental and united states.
Release details
- Release date: April 15, 2025
- Label: Labile Records
- Copyright line on Apple Music: ℗ 2025 Labile Records
- Format on Bandcamp: digital album
- Number of tracks: 14
- Total running time: 49:00
About Death By Drone
The artist bio there reads: "DeathByDrone is a dark ambient/electronic artist." Other Labile Records releases from Death By Drone include Complex (October 2024).
About Labile Records
Labile Records is an independent label based in Raleigh, North Carolina. Its Bandcamp roster lists artists from across the United States and from the United Kingdom, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden and Finland. Recent label releases covered here include Neutrino Effect's They Shall Bring Death Upon Us and Subtlemanor's Never Alone.
The release is tagged dark ambient on Bandcamp. For the labels and albums that built that sound, see our dark ambient starter guide.
Listen
- Bandcamp. Complex II: Meditations on Bandcamp, sold as a digital album, with more from the artist at Death By Drone on Bandcamp.
- Apple Music. Stream Complex II: Meditations on Apple Music.
Disclosure: Labile Records is owned by the publisher of Unknowndivide.
