Sermon : "Of Golden Verse"

 This is a very interesting band. If you were to dissect their influences and the sounds compiled here it might not be that original , but their approach to this is unique when the parts are all assembled . The use a building tension on the first actual song, that is almost like what it might sound like if Tool was a thrash band. At times the commanding croon of the vocals reminds me of how band's like Opeth and Enslaved's use of clean vocals. Musically there is an expand and contract dynamic that keeps the song moving with an impressive sense of groove at times. The Tool style of prog is given a denser tension for the riff to keep in motion on "Light the Witch". 

The bass line to "the Distance" lays the ground work for an impressive droning groove. The effects on the vocals and way they provide a different shade of atmosphere works well, though over all the feel of the song has a uniform feel. They back off on this and get more melodic on  the song after this, though it not as metallic in it's intentions. There is a subtle drone as it creates more of a hypnotic feel. At the same time it does not hook you in as tightly as some of their harder rock moments. The vocals go for a solemn cadence more often than not , and are not particularly soulful. Not that they need to be.  It is just an interesting observation in how they voice can be used to capture a wide array of moods, these guys do so will a hopefully depressive languish. 

"Wake the Silent" is more metal than most of this album. The vocals have a more aggressive cadence. They are shouted with a great deal of command. There is more experimentation with sounds going into "Golden". The darker proggy vibe I like. The vocals sit  back a little more in the swirl of instrumentation building around them. Though the sound gathered are interesting I do not feel the song really builds into something that hooks you in . Some of this is due to the more atmospheric role of the vocals. It might just be more of a personal preference on my end, as when it comes to prog I am more of a Pink Floyd or King Crimson guy.

 They hammer you with blast beats to press this points, though as the song progresses, it more thickly groove oriented while still being very driving. They are willing to explore other dynamics and by the midway point of this song go off into more proggy places. They do all of this in under seven minutes which proves smart song writing do not have to draw things out into the ten minute plus opuses so many bands these days indulged themselves in. The drummer is as fucking maniac, that is a statement you can take to the damn bank. Overall it's a fun listen, that I might need to let grow on me more, but I will give this album a 9.