After the coming of Norwegian Black Metal, the country earned attention for Metal fans throughout the world. And soon after Black Metal uprising, many different Metal genres appeared there as well. So to hear a work from a band as CLOTH isn't something so hard to understand. And "Axis Mundi", their latest release, is really a good EP.

Four songs filled with energy and an eerie and deep melodic approach can be heard. Their music could be described as a fusion of elements of Black Metal with some deeper and introspective touches from Avant-garde/Doom Metal of the 90's. The final result is something nasty and aggressive (with some nasty crude touches), with a good technical level, but filled with an elegant and sad Doom Metal aesthetics. And yes, it's good, indeed.

The sonority of "Axis Mundi" is really very good. The main efforts were done to create something clean and defined, with the crude touch coming from the set of instrumental tunes. So be prepared, because the flux of aggressiveness and brutality, sharpened by a clean insight, is hard to resist.

"Ghost Town" is a fine mix between a good technical work on the rhythm with some Doom Metal introspective elements (the melodies on guitars are very good). On "Signifiant", the classic Black Metal side of their music becomes evident, with a very good work from bass guitars and drums. "Ad Baculum" has a slow paced set of tempos, but with very good experimental touches. And mixing Avant-garde moments with Black Metal aggressiveness, "Ouroboros" is shown a remarkable song, indeed. It's not difficult to like this EP.

"Axis Mundi" comes to show that Norway still has a lot of to show. And CLOTH is really a name to follow.