This project steps even further into a bleak sea of chaos and further from their black metal beginnings, which is fine. It's more dynamic than black metal tends to be, so much like Ulver, they outgrew the bounds of the sub-genre. They do play at a more aggressive uptempo speed on 'This Moment the Life of a Memory, but there are few traces of the metallic roots of Gorgototh. Kjetil Moster, who played sax on the last album as a session musician, is now a full-fledged member of the band, and his presence can be felt muh more on this album. On this song, Gaahl just mutters his way through in a low voice, but the first two songs showcased his continued vocal growth, as he takes on higher, lighter tones.
The title track takes a minute to churn through the dense atmosphere. The eerie ringing of the chords will appeal to black metal fans even in the absence of blast beats. There is an ominous rumble to it that is dynamically aggressive enough to get the point across. The saxophone adds to the din with its wails. Gaahl finds the space to put his voice in this storm of sound, which is a feat. "Folding the Mind" finds them reating more space. The vocals have a more solemn doning chant to them. It feels a little more like a jam, even with some restraint being applied here.
On "The Word-Choose to Vanish," the drums hold the atmosphere together long enough for the guitar to take the reins. The vocals are more of a low texture, as things build like a free-jazz jam. Things get really murky with the ambiance it sinks into. They get more intense on the buzzing build of the last song. The depressive vocals have more purpose here. The saxophone seems intent on causing chaos, but it works for what they are doing here.I will give this a 9.5 despite this not being as saong focused a the previous album as I respect what they have created here, and the willingness to explore new places.
6.7
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