Fast, frantic and familiar. Dynamic, methodical, and alien. In their very nature, these are opposing themes. The juxtaposition of numerous dynamic sections and styles should not work, but, for the most part, DE LIRIUM'S ORDER glues these together effortlessly. At moments seams crack and begin to show, but with "Singularity", DE LIRIUM'S ORDER have created a highly enjoyable and creative record.

"Orion's Cry"is a perfect example of what this band does well. Starting with furious and technical riffing akin to "Planetary Duality"-era "THE FACELESS", transitioning naturally to gentle vocals and subtle synths, and then into pure Death Metal. Sections seamlessly link together, keeping the listener engaged, whilst still feeling like one coherent piece of music. Songs feel like developed ideas, rather than random riffs stitched together poorly like a budget Frankenstein's Monster, as is the case with many bands labeled 'progressive'. "Surfaced" is another stellar example of DE LIRIUM'S ORDER firing on all cylinders and create an interesting and varied piece. Starting with a furiously techy riff that is just fantastic, before calming everything down and mixing in almost funky rhythms, before executing a superlative, bluesy and incredibly melodic solo. This solo isn't just in the song for the sake of it, so the guitarist can show off, but because the song needs it. Unfortunately, "The Billion Year Contract" does show a moment of weakness by including one of these generic 'how fast can you sweep pick?', so wonderfully avoided on the rest of the album, but this is the only exception.

One thing I really appreciate about this record is the sheer creativity and passion on display. Not every experiment works, but most do, and create a really fascinating album, if one that you wish had been taken further. For example, the  "John Carpenter"-esque synths (on "I Have Awakened" and "Orion's Cry") are excellent and create a really interesting atmosphere, but this barely exploited, and is almost forgotten by the end of the album. As well as this, the inclusion of Accordion, on the tracks "Acoustic Medley" and "Piazzola" is an experiment that unfortunately fails. It feels out of place in the atmosphere that so much effort has been spent creating, and feels like an attempt to recreate what worked with the Saxophone in "Rivers Of Nihil"'s phenomenal record, "Where Owls Know My Name" from last year. One form of experimentation that definitely is successful however is with this album's use of space. Instead of constant blast beats for 40 minutes, which can be exhausting and repetitive, silence and reverb is used to great effect to make for some insanely interesting rhythmic sections. "Singularity" uses this in particular, as well as some great use of the stereo field, to create an unwieldy amount of groove, whilst forging a perfect sinister and macabre atmosphere.

On first listen, the vocal performances slightly worried me. The screams originally came across poorly, summoning an image of the Cookie Monster, with their bright blue fur dyed deepest black, but with time I grew to love the vocals. Stunning screamed vocals on the track "The End Of Time", will convert even the most resistant listeners. The clean vocals however, except the guest vocals on "Piazzolla" by "M Salonen", leave a little to be desired. This may be due to my own personal preferences however, as clean singer M Salo's vocals are a tad too vibrato heavy for my liking, evoking images of the cheesiest of power metal bands. Melodically however, the cleans are possibly the weakest part of the album. Melodies are inconstant as to quality, and most, if not all, are forgettable. They don't detract from the album however. That is except for the spoken word section at the end of "Singularity", which made me laugh out loud. They're aiming for profound and sinister with this section, but fail, instead summoning the image of a video game tutorial level's voiceover.

Whilst not all the experimentation works, "Singularity" is a fascinating and highly enjoyable record, with some phenomenal musicianship, slightly harmed by not knowing when to develop ideas further, and when to develop them less (special shout out to the "Acoustic Medley" for encompassing both of these problems). An enjoyable record, that is just in need of some slight polish and refinement.<