Formed in 2018 in Aberdeen, Scotland, CYCLOPS CATARACT are here to debut their EP, "Swallow the World." They describe themselves as a mix between Black Metal, Death Metal, and Ambient Metal. The album contains five songs. "Descending" kicks things off. It's a brief, just under three-minute mood setting track. Odd, ambient noises open the song, sounding like they come from the depths under the earth. Drums begin to roll in, along with guitar and bass. The sound begins to expand...it's powerful and climatic.

"Raise the Banners" opens with a full-on Black/Death Metal sound, with thunderous drumming and riffing, and guttural utterances for vocals, combined at times with screams. The riffing varies a bit here and there, but there really isn't anything overly special here. "Cyclops" opens with the fury and harrowing sounds of Black Metal. The riffing is scary, and the vocals are as well. To me, they sound like they come from Lucifer himself. Following the first verse, the guitars build a little bit of melody, and the vocals turn to screams. It moves slowly, to allow the sound to seep into you. The drums then begin a galloping sequence, while the guitars hold the melody. Then comes the ambient passage...it's wonderfully done.

"Contagion" opens with a slow, grinding riff and drums working overtime. The vocals are again guttural utterances, that combine with screams in the chorus. Another ambient passage made mostly of charming piano notes takes over at the half-way mar. They are fragile but short-lived, because the aggressiveness returns double-time, taking the song to completion, with some somber electronica. "The Deep" closes the album. A slow riff opens the song, along with some dissonance. It begins to climb a bit, and the vocals take over, along with more of those galloping drums. The grinding riff then comes to a complete halt as atmospheric elements take over. Then, the riff returns, followed by an ambient closing.

Overall, this was pretty interesting to me. Though the ambient passages appeared with little to no transitions, the band did show some strong musicianship here, and they have a foundation that they can build on for sure. I think the album just needed a bit of transitions in and out of those ambient passages, and that is something that they can figure out for their next release. I think any fans of Black and Death Metal will find this album to their liking, and definitely keep an eye on this Scottish quintet, because they may release a real fire cracker for their next album.