Despite their attempts to cancel themselves, it pleases me to know the ghost of Neurosis still haunts music despite the Press's efforts to ignore their legacy in hopes it will fade away. This German band shows how far the band's influence extended even into Europe. The first manner in which Neurosis's presence is felt in the band's musical DNA is the anguished roar that follows in Scotty Kelly's footsteps. This is combined with crushing chords touched with eerie dissonance. "Pale Grey Snow" finds the band adding more melodic colors, less howled almost sung vocals, and post-rock atmosphere, that can only further comparisons but at the same time allows the band to find themselves amidst this.
"Tears From Acrid Smoke" finds the band continuing to rumble through an apocalyptic landscape of sound. I always say metal or any type of darker or aggressive music needs to come from a place of pain. The band's bassist died of cancer, and one of the guitarists was also diagnosed with it, which creates a real tangible feeling of looming doom over the proceedings. The feeling put into the songwriting helps them to achieve a sound that is just as heavy sonically as it is metal. This can be best heard on how the chords of "Restless" ring out to create a chilling effect.
"Under You Wings" creeps along. It retains its established sound, without pushing it forward with any new colors. They continue to churn out sludge-ridden gloom on the last song. I like how even for these riffs they work some form of melody into it to compensate for the coarse cooking of the vocals. The sung vocals that float into the song, feel like earlier Mastodon. Overall I will give this album a 9, as they are very effective at painting the picture they set out to convey with their instruments and it's a fun listen .
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