Black Metal History Month - Olhava : "Sacrafice"

It must be an interesting time to live in Russia. Out of that, this album was born. There is beauty and blitzkrieg found in the bombastic approach to black metal being dropped from the skies here. The atmosphere is thick and it hits you with a hypnotic drone. The vocals are a layer of screaming that just adds a touch of human scorn to things. Their strengths lie in the spacious blankets of atmosphere they wrap you in. The black metal elements crash in behind these always lurking. The second song seems to have just washed you over with the ambiance, it is hard to tell if it was a song at all. 

They continued to hypnotize you with the melodic theme dominating this album on the 17-minute "I See Myself in Your Eyes". It is a wall of sound that loses you in the sonic swathe. Some of this could have been edited down and still had the same effect with a more concise nine-minute song. On top of bringing you wild wandering excursions into the unknown ambiance, they also write pieces called "Ageless River: which is broken up into parts spaced throughout the album which are just atmospheric interludes allowed to sprawl out. At over fourteen minutes" Eternal Fire" is another song that might have benefitted to have some of the excess atmosphere trimmed back to give the song more direction. As it is things move like clouds, awaiting the wind to guide them. It all sounds great. 

This album is well produced, they have everything dialed in to create an opiate of sonics, but from a song perspective it is something you feel more than listen to. The title track is an even more straightforward static drone of sound that works off the vibration of blast beats. When the screaming comes in it is just another layer, The lyrics could be in Russian and it would not matter as they are never something that stands out in the songs. Midway in the drums go half time, which takes the tension away and releases things to soar in a predictable fashion. I will give this album an 8, I like the sounds captured sometimes they work better as a song than other points, but they succeded in what they set out to do here which is hard to argue against. 

pst49

Black Metal History Month -Felsenmirror : "s/t"

 When black metal comes from Portland, my first guess is it is a bunch of crust hippies. I am not wrong here. They do have a dark sound and are very deliberate, which I prefer to a bunch of blast beats, and I am not even ten days into Black Metal History Month and running out of new stuff, so I am going to give this one a shot. I think its a woman handling the screaming, it has wretched anguish but none of the resonance of a man's scream. If you are hippie from Portland, you might think this is a sexist statement, but it is a matter of science and the density of vocal cords and how women are made different from a man's no matter how much she drinks and smokes. Anatomy is a branch of science. You remember science what you were screaming for everyone to trust two years ago with your mask on hiding under your bed. Not a fan of long songs but they keep my attention with the ten-minute opening track. 

I like their use of ambience and how they weave samples into it. The second song leans more into the open space of post-rock, allowing the song to creep together from clouds that are parting, to lead you into the listless drift. The roar back to life, which is a dynamic contrast I also appreciate. This album is said to be ab homage to the stages of grief, and I suppose I can hear it. It wanders off in the last minutes of the song, before building once more. "Fear in a Handful of Ash" is faced with the challenge of bringing something new to the table. They croak over a more sludge ridden stomp, which is a smart move as it avoids retracing their steps back into the post-rock colored black metal. The bleakness of crust can be heard here. 

The last song "the Truth Reveals Itself in the Dark" sticks closer to the parameters of black gaze, with more emphasis put on the shoe gazing as the song progresses. There is a doomy mood pounding things into place once the blast beats fade away. They continue prove themselves skilled at creating this mood, it might not be the most original band ever, but they take building blocks set forth before them and arrange them into something that is their own, I will give this one a 9.5, and see how it grows on me. If you were to take away the folk of Agalloch, long with the more technical side of their guitar work and replaced it with crust then you would get something close to what goes down here. 

An Autumn For Crippled Children : " the light of September"

I had to go back an listen to the first song twice to make sure I heard what I heard. I had. It was a band who was once at the forefront of the depressive black metal scene, making bouncy happy music. They have been straying from black metal for some time. However they did it in a way that stayed true to their more down trodden sense of self. This is their 7th album, so change is bound to happen, lets just hope the first song is an isolated incident. They return to that somewhat on the second song , which is much closer than the title track to the band's identity up to this point. There is a little more of a shoe gazing thing to "Hiding in the Dark" , but it is briskly paced. There seems to be more reliance on electronics on this albums than in the past. I like that "lovelorn" has a more somber David Lynch like atmosphere going into it. Its not until two minutes into this drone that the guitar kicks in and goes in the direction we want it to. I would complain that this song is an instrumental if the vocals were not upon to their same bag of tricks on this album. Its a scream that sounds the same every time and has become this projects weak link though sometimes the only element making this metal.

Beginning to pick up on a little more of a formula. Despite the fact "Fragility' is more piano driven at two minutes in the guitars come in a sweep every thing away. I will say it does capture their mood better than the first song that was way off base. The guitar tone is interesting to "the Silence Inside" which builds into something that sounds like it might be from their more classic work, as the dynamic intensities clash well against one another. "A new day has come" remembers what made the old days work, though not recycling ideas."Still Dreaming" just kinda breezes by without leaving me much i can latch on to. It sounds good I just don't feel like it tells much of a story..

"The Golden Years" races along the same smooth pace the previous song hit cruise control with. It is just not as emotive or dynamically driven as what I normally get from these guys. What works on this album is how they are balancing out new sounds while not trying to isolate their audience. I'll give this album an 8 as it does return to the sound I would from them without ripping themselves off like AC\DC. Sure in the process of experimentation not every shot they take hits the mark , but over all it's nothing for them to be ashamed of as they pretty much redeem themselves by the end of the album.

Respire : "Gravity and Grace"

So if Godspeedyoublackemperor! and Deafheaven decided to make a screamo album together I suppose it might sound like this. The first two songs kinda run together and I know I like at least one of them. They bring other instruments aside from your typical guitar, bass & drums into the mix and this is what gives their sound a more expansive quality. Funny side note a noticed while listening to the very pretty 'Eternal Light" that some one had posted on their Bandcamp page that the guys in this band are douche bags, but this sounds alright. I can hear this being played by hipsters who might earn such and adjective, but I am fine with what they are doing here sonically. Come to think of it are there Hipsters in Canada?  The black metal elements seems organic enough and they are not rushing to the blast beats so this earns them points in my book.

There is more of the "blackgaze" shimmer to things on the furious "Waltz" though overall I would say post-rock is a much bigger influence on these guys than shoe-gaze. The title track is more of an instrumental interlude than an actual song. The trumpet leads into "Eternal Nothing" which at nine minutes is the albums longest song, so these guys get point for not dragging you around in a wandering self indulgent drone. The vocals get meaner on on this song when they kick around the two minute mark. The long flow of the song slowly makes me zone out despite some interesting melodies surfacing before the blast beat at the end.

"Evening Melancholy" is broken up into three sections. The first features breathy shoe gaze like clean vocals. They bring a band like Nothing to mind. It all flows together more like one song, I think the first part is the most like a song that can stand on it's own two feet. I'll give this album an 8.5, not sure it's something I feel drawn to having in my iPod , but it's a great listen and worth checking out if you are a fan of Deafheaven or like more aggressive forms of post-rock.

Falaise : As Time Goes By"

A Sad Sadness Song is becoming one of my favorite labels as I know I can depend on them to bring me melancholy.  Their first album that released themselves is now being officially released. While this band hails from Italy their sweeping fusion of post-rock and Black metal will make you think they came from France. They songs flow together more like classical compositions with the vocals buried almost to obscurity behind the shimmering walls of soaring guitars that still manage to come across as being heavy rather than the kind of meandering in atmosphere that the bulk of bands stumble into when attempting this fusion.  The drumming to "Lost Moments" give the song a lighter indie rock feel until it collides into the blast beats. Their guitar melodies sprinkled over even the song's harshest moments and they return to to the them established at the beginning of the song.

When they lash into black metal of a purer darkness of "No Destination" , they might be plenty mean, but lose some of the songwriting smarts by dumbing it down to get heavy. This makes them sound more like every other black metal band with a little atmosphere to them. The title track finds a better balance, though it leans more towards the ambiance of their post-rock side. Here the guitar is more thoughtful and a delicate piano melody is allowed to unfold. This song drones on while other landscapes evolve around it. The song that follows feels like an extension of this song rather than a song on it's own two feet.'Pointless" holds it own as a song, though it might not be as powerful of an expression that we heard earlier in the album.

"The Lump In My Throat" gives a more energetic take on post-rock. It still ebbs and flows with a sense of dynamics, and is a pretty well written song over all, perhaps one of the album's best moments. There is a more droning rock in the post- rock throb of "Waiting Time". I like how this song shifts at the three minute mark. I'll round this album up to an 8.5, there are some solid songs and sounds on this and they find a place where metal can meet post-rock in a place that doesn't feel like Deafheaven's hand me downs.

Vukari : "Divination"

The title track from the Chicago band's upcoming album, kicks things off in two parts, one being a more post-rock intro piece the other brings in metal which builds into this more post -rock melancholy with blast beats running under it's beautiful sway. There is a more conventional sound of American black metal attached to "Cursus Honorum". Imagine a less tormented version of Nachtmystium that was steeped in cavernous death metal. Their is a really cool guitar riff to "Invictus Maneo" that encapsulates many sonic aspects I enjoy in music as it is both dark and sonic.The drummer does a great job of laying down the groove and allowing the song plenty of room to breathe.

There is a more boomy sound to "Ad Delirium" , even though it is one of the more melodic songs. In some ways it reminds me more of "Souls At Zero" era Neurosis than black metal. More mid paced than blasty. This more melodic current continues to flow through "Sovereignty Through Extreme Tyranny". I think it's very interesting how they put at new spin on the post- rock, shoe gazey styled black metal that doesn't leave them really sounding much like Deafheaven. The metal base seemed pretty strong for them to build this off of rather than coming across like a bunch of hipsters who thought it would be cool or ironic to play blast beats. That is very obvious on "Bathe in the Divine Light".

This album is tempting me to move it over to the iPod, and since I am giving it a 9 then it is certainly worth your consideration since you have to factor in how I am an endless stream of new black metal sitting in my in-box on any given monday. What sets these guys apart is the fact they care about their songs and do not get lost in the all too common blur.

5.5 /6

Numenorean : " Home"

This album appeared to hold the promise of being the depressive black metal I was looking for. It did open up with crying which is always a good sign. The vocals carry a pained whine that echoes out into the distance. There are blast beaten sections and atmospheric sections. The sweeping guitars that injected what all assume to be the shoe gaze like influence into this music. Granted Deafheaven earned the biggest name for themselves but combining the two and Alcest let go of the metal all together so here we are with these guys.The nine minute title track that opens this album flows through the range of dynamics we have now come to take for granted in this brand of black metal. My only complaint coming out of the first song is that it could have been darker. Like the midget in Twin Peaks' Black Lodge, I want all your pain and suffering. As some one with a mental illness, you can not fake your funk with me.  So maybe these guys just need to develop a drug habit.


The second song confirms that they are really good at the one thing they do, but I do not hear anything that wasn't already done on the first song. So I get my hopes up for "Shoreless" , but alas it proves only to be an intro for "Devour" that hits a little harder when coming back into the fray from the post-rock interlude. It's a harder and angrier take on the range of dynamics they displayed on the first song, but no depression being expressed. At over 12 minutes they have enough time to explore a pretty wide range of dynamics. The last minute of which is wasted with ambiance that doesn't really add anything to the song. The opening guitar tone of "Laid Down" suggests a more introspective indie rock like post-vibe as it rips into blasting. When they come out of the blast and into the heavier chug its much more effective , but this doesn't stop them from going back into the blast for better or worse. I like the riff that comes at the four minute mark. Like the other more sprawling songs there is still a little fat that could have been trimmed here and there. There is also a cool breakdown where the bass comes more prominent, I'll give this album an 8.5 as it's  well executed and sounds great, fans of Deafheaven looking for an entry point to take them further into real metal will find this to be an easy transition.

Harakiri For the Sky : " III : Trauma"

The post rock infused in this post- metal seems to be more post-hardcore if the half time stomps are any indication. The drums of this Austrian project are more double bass heavy than they are blast beaten. The vocals feel more hardcore in their mid range dry screams. The guitars have a range of colors and sonic textures making them the centerpiece of this projects sound. The drumming is a close runner up, and the two work well to make the most out of every punch. I think I make it no secret that I am burned out on the whole ten minute plus epic, but these guys made me forget to look at the time and made the most of the eleven minutes the opener takes up. "Funeral Dreams" is more up tempo, but doesn't pull you into like the opener did and comes across as being a little indifferent when the double bass is not hammering at you. "Thanatos" comes at you harder with the double bass driving eve more relentlessly. The guitar tones begin to stray from your typical metal over drive right before the blast beats come in. This gives a wide range of sonic space that is being covered here. The clean vocals that surface really add a lot and don't fall along the lines of most melodic singing that is still left over from the days of Myspace metal. They blast back into a more black metal direction after this.

With Agalloch broken up these guys are just as suited as any to claim that crown. Things slow down for "This Life as a Dagger" . The screams are pretty emotive and very post-hardcore vibe going in the way this groove flows against the atmosphere.There is a really awesome guitar break at the six and a half minute mark. The half time punch at the end of the song is pretty powerful as well. 'The Traces We Leave" starts off with a more black metal feel, though very entrenched in melody. The half time stomp is now beginning to become part of the formula here. The vocals morph into something more interesting meeting between a scream and singing. "Viaticum" finds them locked in a throaty chant that reminds me of Nachtmystium. There is a cleaner post-rock like tone to the brighter "Dry the River", that has an almost screamo cadence to it. The vocal chant becomes clearer toward the midway point of the song, as their bag of sonic tricks continues to swell.  The last song wraps what they have been doing up nicely with a bow, it doesn't take you any where new, just sums what the strengths of this experience have been.I'll give this one an 8.5 it's pretty solid.

Panopticon : "Autumn Eternal"

This one man black metal band's new album opens with an acoustic Appalachian piece before the metal swells up in the form of "Into the North Woods" which is not color by numbers black metal, really thoughtful drumming moves the song in a way that blast beats couldn't showing showing what black metal can be if you are brave and talented enough to step away from conventions. Sure you might argue this is closer of the more post- rock influenced brand that bands like Deafheaven made popular and you would not be wrong but it works here.Its crazy to think Lunn is up in Kentucky doing this. He does bring in a violinist, cellist and Finntroll vocalist  to help out in a few places. The more conventional blast beats to come in the title track. Lunn's vocals have improved he goes into a lower gurgle on a few spots. The title track doesn't blow me away like the first metal on here does, but it's still better than most of the black metal that has come out this year. The bass work compliments the drums well on the break down section, giving the build up the added intensity as intended.

On "Oaks Ablaze" the drums are an even more impressive pummeling machine. The galloping groove doesn't find its hooves until a minute in. The vocals give weight to my theory that often harsh vocals in metal serve as s layer of white noise to give the music just a human touch. Midway into the song it breaks down into the somewhat folk metal cliche of the sound of crunching leaves being walked on. The drums begin a tribal around around this before it builds back up.The sound effects continue on with " Sleep to the Sound of the Waves Crashing" it opens as a blast fest, which for what  we know Lunn is capable of would be a cop out if it ended there. Three minutes in it begins to grow more melodic. If you read my review here on a regular basis you might notice I am always scrutinizing bands for melody and dynamic. I know this is a vulgar habit of mine, but since we are talking about music those to things are essential and what seperates it from being noise. The song goes into a Philip Glass like classical section that has a mourning quality to it. The song blasts back with a rapid fire yet melodic section.

The sweeping Deafheaven like feel returns to " Pale Ghosts". In fact the blast beats only further lean the sound into that direction. It is not the albums most original moment by any stretch of the imagination. I am surprised more of the Appalachian sounds haven't re surfaced. One of the album's longest songs is the slower but more driving "A Superior Lament" . The guitar work manages to keep up with the drumming and the vocals drop into the lower growl to create an overall more unique sound than the previous song mustered. The guitar harmonies are almost Iron Maiden like. Lunn is becoming more of a drummer than a guitar player , but the guitar parts aren't shabby. Its just clear where the albums strengths lie.

The album closes with " Wind's Farewell" which gets its start as more of a post-rock thing. The guitar tone on this one is great backing off from the standard metal crunch. Four minutes in the blast beats return but in a very organic manner. I typically don't like instrumentals , but the guitar here really sings to make up for it. This is one of Lunn's better offerings he keeps getting better. If you are a fan round it up a point from the 8.5 I think this album is worth.

Bosse De Nage : "All Fours"

One of the more experimental USBM bands. The first songs sounds just as much like the Deftones as it does black metal. The guitar tone is more organic. The album sounds great. There is a thick sonic wall that hits you and they are impressive right out the gate leaving you to wonder if they can keep this up for an entire album.There is more of a Deafheaven like post-hardcore inspired metal drone to "the Industry of Distance". Not as strong as the first song, but pretty intense as it doesn't let you up for air. They have a similar attack, but with a few more blast beats on " a Subtle Change" which follows. They hit all the classic sweeping triumph of USBM riffs with a wink to punk rock tossed in for good measure. The drummer keeps the chaos moving and has some insane flurries here.

We are taken back to the post-hard core of 98 on "Washerwoman" . They are good at recreating this very Appleseed Cast like sound, before they explode into a more metallic spasm. 'In a Yard Somewhere" finds the band back in a more straight ahead path at least for the sort of sonic warfare they normally engage in. The vocals take on that static white noise like Deafheavens where there is just a layer of screaming. They slow into a few good grooves along the way.

They go back to a more black metal place on " To Fall Down". It blasts away with a sublime coating to it's snarl. When it breaks down into the bass thump it goes back to that 90s indie rock place. About five minutes in when it blasts back to its angry place it begins to make me zone out on it and seems less engaging than some of the other songs on this album. The album closes with the ten minute " The Most Modern Staircase" as song that is bigger on atmosphere than the sort of heaviness normally thought of in regards to black metal. The riffs glide along once the songs comes out of the slower intro. It is another song that lends itself to zoning out to so you might not be as fully engaged as you were earlier in the album. Not to say that there is not a pay off for some of the drone. The metal bursts back in at the two and a half minute mark. The tormented howls are not the same kind of harsh screams associated with this kind of thing.

I will give these guys credit as this is well executed and falls in like with the current landscape of post- blackmetal,so despite not being blown away there were some surprises so I will give this one an 8.5.

Pyramids: "A Northern Meadow"

This album has been getting some hype so I though I would give it a listen to see if it's worth downloading. First listen the mix seemed thin and the very Porcupine Tree like vocals did not help thicken things up . So I got up and grabbed the ear buds. This album must be played loudly. I know every album from the 80s used to say that in the liner notes, but that's how this is going down. At first it sounds like a more dreamy take on Enslaved if the keyboardist solely handled the vocals and I am normally a fan of clean vocals. Not to say the guy doesn't have a decent voice, the melodies just wander around the song rather than working with it. He floats off into his head voice like Jeff Buckley if  he was falling asleep rather than drowning. There are some growls they are mixed very low. The drummer is one of the stars for sure and the guitarists get an A for originality when it comes to using a unorthodox guitar tone to play metal with.

"The Earth Melts into..." finds a more tremolo picked guitar that veers from the opener where the swirling angular intangible nature of what Pyramids do can bring to mind Cynic, they do use sounds loosely connected with black metal, but I would not say they are a black metal band. Progressive metal sure. Some of the floating vocals begin to work with the music rather than against it, though
it's not until the third song that the band really begins to gather some heft.I am surprised that these guys are on Profound Lore, it seems that they are a step away from being like Dredg at times. When cool effects are applied to clean vocal in heavy music the result is always outstanding, ask Ozzy and Uncle Al. Even though the vocal locks in even more into an actual hook on the fourth song , the nature of the music makes my attention space out as they float into the background.

The first riff that seems like black metal to me and it's for the fleeting intro is "I Have Four Sons..." . The mumbled emotive vocals plead around the angular dissonance. It's not as dark as I normally prefer my metal, but there is a jarring feeling you get from not being able to distinguish dream from waking life that I get from listening to this that makes it worth my while. The fractal mathematics this drummer seems to be counting out the beats to these songs, gets weirder on "I am So Sorry, Goodbye". The only draw back is the song does not have much in the way of form aside from the intersecting math rock riffs until the vocals give a glimmer of melody.

"My Father, Tall as Goliath" just falls out of the droning outro of the preceding song in an abrupt manner. The singer wants the song to be more straight forward than the rest of the band. They come to an intersection where they find a compromise between the two different directions.The albums ends strong. They don't converge into one epic metal chug, but rather dance elusively around each other. in some ways it's like what Krallice does but more melodic and what Liturgy is aiming for on the new on just without the rap influence. I'm impressive with the sonics of what they have thrown together here, it's not the Canadian band's first rodeo, but it is a good jumping on point for first time listeners. I'll give it a 9.5 , we will see how this grow on me once I give it a spot in the iPod.

Black Metal History Month : Caiina's "Setter of Unseen Snares"

After another "True Detective " sample which is what all the cool kids are going to be sampling this year, the project finds it's self kicking into some of the more harder hitting metal than has touched upon in some time, after dabbling in many other elements the past few releases. The bass carries a denser and more powerful punch than what's been put out from the sole sonic conspirator Andrew Curtis- Brignell previous to this. This seems to be just the right blend of the sounds they have been playing with over the past few years. It carries a deep echo that might remind you of Nachtmystium as it charges forward.

The title track carries a similar delving into the deep dissonance. The vocals low and throaty against blast beats, this one is a little more death metal in feel along the lines of Ulcerate. "Vow Bound" picks up where the blast from the previous song left off and continues to mutilate it. There are so cool punchy of time accents that creep up into this.There is much more ebb and flow with dynamics for this song to play off of than the previous song offered which seemed boring in comparison. The vocals take on more of a choked croak that gives "Applicant Supplicant" more of a black metal feel. There is a single note melody the guitar plays that carries a little bit of a punk edge to the chant of "We are the damned..." which precedes the blast fest. The you hear of clean vocals which have been predominant in some of this projects other releases doesn't surface until the cool break down around the three and a half minute mark and  then it's a single not chant.

The actual sung vocal return on the final song "Orphan", they are oddly mixed in, falling out of the first three minutes of feedback and noise. The song takes a more doom turn and the vocals have goth like pleading that reminds me of My Dying Bride. Right before the six minute mark the croaky growls come back to scare the singing away. There is a dreary feel that works of the disjointed nature of the chord progression. You can hear a little Pallbearer in the angular nature the chords are worked against one another. I am most impressed by the final fifteen minutes of "Orphan" and thinks this is a much more accessible take on metal than Brigell has taken on previous albums. I will give it a 9. The influences are worn on his sleeve a little more , but he continues to grow as a song writer.

Black Metal History Month: "An Autumn For Crippled Children:"The Long Goodbye"

I am overjoyed that this band has returned to their black metal roots. They had taken the post- rock shoe gaze thing past the point of being metal at all much less black metal. The only thing is that though the albums hit with static distortion coating it like an alien transmission it also makes the first two songs sound the same. Their is a shift in tempo on "A New Form of Stillness", which blends some of the textured melodies they discovered by not playing metal and have speed them up into their current frothing form. They drop down into more of a Mogwai like dream state on "Only Skin". The lift off when distortion engages is fairly gentle in a Deafheaven like manner. Of course these guys preceded Deafheaven by a couple of years, but the vocal patterns that are spastic bursts of screaming paced out like if Morrissey was a flesh eating zombie with rabies.

"When Night Leaves Again" raises a pretty raucous , the shoe gaze section is more distant and spacious than I remember their previous work being. The My Bloody Valentine influence looms over some of these guitar tones. They touch on some beautiful melodies, but also fall prey to having some of the songs sound like continuations of the song before it. This is better handled dynamically on songs like "Endless Skies" where the pitter patter of the drum machine makes this a distinctly different entity. The vocals even come in with a renewed scathing to them. This reminds of how this shoe-gazing style of black metal descended from depressive suicidal black metal.

There is also no trouble distinguishing "Gleam" from the other songs on the album. It rockets off at a pretty up beat pace. Not fast  for black metal , but fast for the kind of indie rock the origins of this sound could be traced from. The synths are really tasteful on this album and sit well in the mix.They close the album out with a decent compromise of past and present. "The Sleep of Rust" is a floating mid paced song with synths largely overtaking the guitars , but the result it better than that sounds. it has a dynamic ebb and flow. While the guitar who handles the vocal duties of this three piece, has expanded his placement of his screams they sit in the same register through out the album. They are pretty impassioned, but the icing on the cake and not the focal point.

This album is a good return to form for the band, even if a few of the songs bled together, some of that is in the production as a uniform distortion coats most of the album. I'll round it up to a 9 and throw in the old iPod, which after my tax return will be a new iPod so I can load albums that are even 7's onto it if I am hopeful enough. Die hard fans of the band make think it's ten, I have been following them for at least four years now and I'm glad they did not run their back on metal but brought back what they picked up out wandering in other genres for the past two albums and applied it here.

Suffering in Solitude: "A Place Apart"

This started off a solo project in California and members .... keyboardist and guitarist joined in a culminated into this  album  that opens with more ambiance than I expected. Going into this under the assumption is was going to be more of a dsbm type thing with some synth washes. There is they grey melancholy feel to the album, it is much more minimalistic is it's initial approach and lighter on the metal than say Cold World, though the vocals that gurgle up, they are from the same sphere of black metal.

The production is very lo-fi and raw. The blast comes by the second song, though there a minute and a half of build into and the don't stay locked into going into a more Alcest like half time feel. The album is largely instrumental. Suppose it comes from a sub-genre's era that I liked so it makes me more sympathetic to production faults. No new ground is being forged here, but it invokes fond memories.

At times some of the fuzz to the recording makes this sound like home demos. "Exit" crashes to life in a blast nasty spew, evened over by the ringing chords. The song return to mood calm before the storm sections , that erupt back into the furious anguish they are trying to capture here. The song named after the project ,which is alway weird to me, is one of the more straight forward yet shoe gazing exploits. The instrumental "Distance" is more of an interlude. The title track that wraps up the album, is slower paced and dreamy with the Gullom like vocals croaking over the trancey chords.  

 I like what going on here , the production holds it back as the lushness that could have been is scaled back for what sounds to be recorded in a bedroom. I'll round this album down to a 9 and look forward to when what they hear can be translated back  to my ears in a more refined manner while still embrcing the raw black metal elements.