Yellow Eyes : "Immersion Trench Reverie "

After seven years as a band, the forth album by the New York based based find them finally taking the time to write actual songs all the dynamic components I need from them to consider it so. They even pay attention to guitar melodies when reverting back into a more feral version of their older selves on the second song. Enough sonic dissonance to hang with the other hip black metal bands from New York. In sharpening their skills as song writers they have also learned that you can say what you need to say under ten minutes. Only one song reaches over the ten minute mark. The drums are going to be on point because this guy has also played with Fell Voices and Ashborer. He doesn't live off of blast beats alone and has a pretty mean double bass as well. How can he not if he is the go to metal drummer in New York?

Things get thankfully darker on "Shrillness In the Heated Grass". The vocals go up into a higher more scathing snarl. Everything has a horror movie like tension to it, which is how metal should feel. The guitar sounds on this album prove to take more chances and find from production stand point they did not just plug in and press record. In the murky throb of "Velvet on the Horns" there are deeper texture than the more sonic buzz saw they used to cut at you with. They revert to more of a fast and furious approach on this song. Though it has more breathing room in the riff, the title track picks up pretty much where the other song left off in terms of intensity and tempo. The stay in the same sort of static scream. The transitions riff wise can be somewhat jarring. It does speed up into more of a blur as the song progresses.

After a minute of sound effects the final song storms into place and goes on a another wrathful speed fest. Falling back into their old ways of songwriting after starting the album off with so much promise. The riffs to modulate some into some more experimental patterns melody wise, but the tempo holds steady at blast and drone and is not off set enough by what the guitar does. It doesn't slow down until the final three minutes so it was not the best use of the first seven. I will give this album an 8.5 as it is an improvement with some really strong songs starting off the album to balance things out.