WITHIN NOSTALGIA is a Post/Blackgaze band from Canada; "Conjuring A New Reality," is their debut.   Although music within the realm of Post isn't the happiest music anyway, "Conjuring A New Reality," is quite a bit more abrasive and darker than a lot of Post-Metal bands.  At least it is in places—they also add in a hefty amount of melody.  Fortunately, the songs are composed well-the band definitely knows when to be more aggressive and when to dial back the gas a bit to let some more introspective moments in.

Their sound also brings in some Doom and Gothic tendencies, the album's atmosphere standing on the line between Gothic gloom/Doom and the more open approach that Post elements so often bring. The opening track, "Heart In The Eye Of The Skull," immediately throws in some melody into the guitars.  The barrage of drums ups the intensity right away, allowing the guitars to transition smoothly to more of a Black Metal style.  Alyssa's vocals are extremely potent: not too high nor too low, her voice is balanced perfectly.  The album's mix puts her voice firmly in the middle of everything so nothing is overpowering.

The song has a wonderfully executed acoustic mid-section that seems right at home with the metallic elements.  The clean vocals that show up afterwards are as equally well placed-again, this band really knows how to change a song up and present different elements without anything sounding forced out of place. "Code Of The Common," is made up of "light" and "dark" elements that entwine perfectly with respect to the overall song.  Specifically, the clean and Blackened vocals high light the heavier riffs when melody is used to push the song's elements together.

"Lost In Aversion," is the album's highlight for me.  Within the first few seconds, the band's sound really comes together.  The melodic leads accent the clean vocals while the drums and bass help the Blackened vocals go for the throat.  The song is both tense and laid back at the same time, an arresting melting pot of sounds and styles that never gets boring or contrived. "Conjuring A New Reality," is a very strong debut and the band won me over fairly quickly.  WITHIN NOSTALGIA have definitely shown me they are a band to watch out for-and to greatly anticipate their next round of music.