After the dark, trippy ritual of the opening track, when it gets to the title track, things are dark, elegant, and move with a smooth, doom-laden grace. "Hour of the Wolf' finds the pace picking up, though there is a little more chaos in motion. There is a stormy heaviness looming over it. Rozz's vocals are a free-form declaration. "In Absentia " is back to a more ritualistic darkness expressed in the creeping synth melody, as Roozz's vocals haunt the foreground. The funeral feeling of this is peak goth. His vocals sound great as the song builds in its bizarre ebb and flow.
"Mother' is so atmospheric it almost lacks form and function as sparse piano plays around his voice. William's croons over the droning strum of "the Angels" wander into shadowy places. The abstract qualities of these songs are intentional, but take some getting used to when you compare it to their classic work that was rooted in a rowdier energy. "Book of Lies" is held together by the strum of the gutiar, giving Rozz more to work with. "A Widow's Dream" wanders around without making a solid landing until the third act.
"Easter" opens with speculative poetry musing over minimal sounds. Synths linger with dreams of building into something more solid. The cover of "Venus in Furs" is very fitting, and Rozz's voice works well with it. I will round this down to a 9, as there are strong moments, but the bar is set pretty high for these guys, be it Valor or Rozz. Not the album to start with; more for fans.
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