Norway's LEGACY OF EMPTINESS was originally born as a two-piece act called PERMAFROST in 1995. A Symphonic/Black/Extreme Metal band, their release their eponymous debut in 2011. Now this year, the band released their second full-length album "Over the Past," which contains nine new tracks. Black Metal in general has enjoyed much success lately, as new waves of bands appear in the genre like stars in the night sky. It still remains an underground product for the most part...perhaps the best kept secrets in all of the Metal world. I have heard some truly outstanding albums this year, and it has pushed my foray into the genre with great haste. Let's get to the album here. "Reminisce" is the opening song. A beautiful and haunting keyboard passage leads into the main riff. Slightly faster than mid-tempo but not in the realm of frenetic, the music is intense and heavy but clear to understand. The blackened vocals are also steady and discernable, and not over-the-top shrieks. An ambient keyboard passage connects some of the chaos with a pause for emotional effect.

"Despair" is a bit shorter. The Symphonic elements are there but they do not threaten to take over the track, but rather add that layer of support that keeps the sound unique. They mix up some of the riffs here as well, with texture and character. The clean vocal passages over the featherbed of acoustical guitars is graceful and angelic. "Angelmaker" opens with a slower pace but picks up speed leading into the main sound. It gathers darkness as it moves along; oppressive and foreboding from drum blasts. About half way through, it slows again and the keyboard notes ring out in the background, warm and inviting. Sometimes the refined despondent sound reminds me of some of the chord progressions by the band INSOMNIUM. They are poetic and curvaceous, pleasing to the ear.

By contrast, "Into the Eternal Pits of Nothingness" is vehement and brutal from the opening note. After a minute of throat-cutting razor swipes, it slows a little, gathering elegance from some sweet lead guitar notes and keyboards. It picks back up soon however. If you are in the mood for an earth-scorching incineration, this would be your go to track on the album. "Drawn by Nightmares" has a beautiful opening, with a mix of major and minor chords under a bed of clean vocals that are almost chants in their delivery. It's a hypnotic dirge, despite the fierceness of the blackened vocals here and there. If this doesn't give you nightmares, you might want to check your pulse. The piano notes remind of the bells that accompany the theme song in the movie classic "A Nightmare on Elm Street."

"There Was a Man" lets some Symphonic elements lead in the sound before the tsunami of sound hits you in the mid-section and sends you feet over head into the abyss. The rhythm established here is a thick affair as well. "Four Hundred Years" has some great keyboard work that sounds more like a church organ...but not the kind of church you might visit on a Sunday morning. From there it has a nice doomy sound, and allows the desolation to creep into your mind slowly, turning it to black cell by cell. The ending comes at you like a Classical movement, with strings abounding and the end of the world on the horizon. "Transition" is a nice mood-breaking song on the album. The piano parts are simple but exquisite, and create a somber sound.

"Evening Star" closes the album. At this point, all of the pain is at full mast and there is no escaping it. The guitar work here is very well done. The notes sing high in the sky, like silent screams brought to life, and the brutality is akin to the merciless slayings of a decorated swordsman on the battle field. This song seems to embody the sound on the album the best for me. Balance is the key to this being as well-crafted as it is. It strikes a near-perfect contrast between the intensity of Black Metal, the despondent and teary elements of Doom, and just the right amount of symphony. Don't let this album pass you by this year as it is excellent from start to finish.