The album actually sounds like its title.
From the introduction of dissonant organs that make way to the guitars before the bass and the drums break out, you know you listening to something inspired. The album boasts a surprisingly immediate and ferocious production (even at a dynamic range of DR5!), and it sounds almost alien to hear the angular basslines in a black metal track.
A lot of things to take note from the album; there is a tinge of progressive and dissonant classical (okay, a lot more of the latter). I instantly recognized a stolen passage from Mahavishnu Orchestra's 'Birds Of Fire' on the second track of this album (embedded here). The production is ace, balancing psychedelic and full-speed moments well. The third thing that caught my attention was the amazing songwriting on the album; every one of the six songs here are fully fleshed out to their maximum potential. Blastbeats lead to progressive passages, guitar riffs fade out to ominous acapella (and eventually to the track 'Gasping In Darkness'). The band plays with numerous speeds, making it a very bumpy but satisfying listen (as opposed to most bands chugging along at midpace or going full throttle). The riffs are heavily influenced by classical compositions, something akin to how Christian Muenzner would play. Most importantly, the songs sound coherent even with all the different trajectories, a triumph I would associate with pre-Watershed Opeth.
I have almost nothing bad to say about this album. It may not have the gimmicks most modern black metal bands are inclined to have (then again, the genre was born from gimmickry). I have almost no favourite track here, since all six songs are masterfully written (yes, even the interlude track). The vocals aren't extraordinary but they are sincere, which is possibly the band's secret weapon; its honesty. The album has been continuously replayed on iPod since I got it in March, and they sound just as exciting as on my first listen. A truly riveting metal album in a year that has seen so many new game-changers.
★★★★★
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