From Bandcamp, "Timor Lucis" is an album written while feeling alone, rejected, and being isolated. An analogy for this feeling was sparked by thinking on the times of lighthouse keepers. Alone, they sit through bad weather and their own isolation, and they did it to save and benefit others. Letting their light guide sailors to safety. But "Timor Lucis" is Latin for the fear of light. There's always that part that finds the isolation addicting. We absolutely have times we want someone to connect with us, but what do you do once you've grown accustomed to being alone with your thoughts. Where the idea of bringing someone to you to see and know you now feels uncomfortable. So, then you selfishly dim the light as to not be seen. To not be known. Until you just want to turn the light out altogether and just accept being alone.

The album has seven songs, and "Approaching Light" is first. There is a very slow opening, with dreadfully somber tones. Slowly, more layers are added, but the sound remains very much in the shadows until harsh vocals break through. At this point, it's more anger than despair. "Shrouded by the Sea" opens with a towering and crushing riff, and it reverberates for what seems like forever. The guttural vocals and lumbering pace remind you of the darker things in life, but also that they can be beautiful. There is a certain solace one can find in solitude and isolation. It's not for everyone however. "Disavowed" is heavily emotionally laden in the sense that the feeling is so massive, it threatens to overtake your very spirit. This is an example of what a life of solitude can bring to someone who doesn't have the constitution to deal with it.

"A Curse, Now a Plague" is another slow, crushing death that recounts the evolution from something as simple as a curse that is now a plague, and the towering riffs and gutturals are there to remind you of death. "I Welcome in the Cold" is sort of an allegory for someone who doesn't mind the constant isolation, and maybe even the thought that their solitary life is helping others is enough for them get through it. The deep guttural vocals are about as punishing as any I have heard this year. "Sunken Fate" is almost held in suspended animation…the riff strikes reverberate for days, and the vocals rattle inside your hear for much longer than the notes. It almost begs you just to give up. "In Water" is the final song, and the clean vocals carry just as much weight as the harsh ones. It sooths the listener, but also serves as a reminder that once you choose a lonely existence, you can never return.

This was an excellent album, and the way that composer Ian weaved the themes mentioned above into reach song was expertly done. He made the story come to life in your head, with constant images as the album moved. Like the great sea, the tale undulated, rising and swelling with the tide, and in the end, you have to ask yourself…can I live a life of isolation, or will it slowly drive me mad?