Locrian : "Infinite Dissolution"

Formed ten years ago, this trio has amassed a prolific body of work that they have now pushed into the most refined form to date. Some of this is due to producer Greg Norman, who as worked with Pelican and Russian Circles. The first song was closer to what I expect out of them. There were some new synth sounds layered over the tomb like depth of  distant black metal. There was more atmosphere on  the instrumental space invasion that is "Dark Shales". Noise and drone coat this less than their previous work , but this album is not devoid of it, they jsut get to the point sooner. The point is more dreamy with a tenderness not found on earlier work,"KXL 1" has the metal guitar fade in while the more surreal side keeps center stage. The biggest change in their sonic scope comes with the more rock beat of "the Future of Death". The vocals screaming in the distance are really the only metal thing about this song , but it retains power and drive and is the first song that stands out and grabs me.

They revert back to more minimal ambient noise on " An Index of Air " it does explode into black metal that pounds more than it blasts. There are even sung vocals in the final minute of this song. There are also brief clean sung vocals that around out the tail end of the more electronic attack of " the Great Dying" . The most scathing of the black metal vocals come out from under one of the albums most ambient passages, demonstrating the symphony of opposites that create the dynamics here. This album is a fine step forward for a band I have been on  the fence with over the years, I'll give it an 8, if you are fan, while the times they are a changing, this is just good music that you should still embrace, even if it is another step away from black metal.