My immediate thought upon listening to this album from US Death-Doomers is that it sounds a little like Swallow the Sun’s debut The Morning Never Came, only with a less progressive mentality. Emotion and melody are very high in the mix but there is definitely a set idea as to how the band should sound rather than a more malleable mindset. It’s not a bad thing though the writing and performance are very strong.
An instrumental track, “Bereft”, opens the album to build atmosphere in a Cradle of Filth circa Dusk and Her Embrace way. “Breathe Deep the Cinders” is full of mournful keyboards and melodic guitar work - the vocals feel a bit stilted though, but otherwise it’s a nice dark opener. “Vast But Desolate” follows with a strong bass and melodic guitar opening that winds through the drums before crashing in with the distortion and vocals - definitely a more self-assured song. “Anhedonia” is a nice relaxing acoustic guitar instrumental that again goes for melody and emotion.
“The Air is Still” crashes into an atmospheric slice of death doom befitting the likes of Swallow The Sun - a real stand out track. “A Long Silence” caries on the heart of the previous track but as on “Breath Deep…” I can’t help but feel like the spoken vocals hinder it. “Lifeless in my Arms” is another acoustic track that would have been better placed as an outro rather than a second interlude. “Veins Split Wide” is a soft, slow number that recalls The Silent Enigma era Anathema that kicks up the emotional side of the album with its anguished vocals. The closing track “Catharsis” has an old school Death Metal quality to it that is a strange change of pace from the atmospheric doom of the rest of the album, but the outro claws it back nicely.
On the whole this is a good album: atmospheric, heavy, emotional, and dark. The band are obviously ambitious and good at what they do but I can’t help but feel like they’re sticking to a blueprint rather than thinking outside of the box, which is what could make them a great band.
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