By the time the solo that opens the title track ends, AUGURY immediately reestablish themselves as being a Death Metal band that has a passion for writing adventurous and creative music that goes beyond the standard "let's play 5,000 mph with endless blast beats for three minutes and go nowhere."  "The Illusive Age," wants to break your mind by bending it around their twisted universe instead bludgeoning it to death.

The seven tracks that follow are filled with instrumental prowess by musicians with a propensity for the highest caliber riffs, solos, and song structures possible.  Lapointe's bass alone warrants a purchase.  He weaves in and out each song like a motorcycle through crowded interstate traffic, leaving behind melodies and riffs that are pieced together to create a stronger whole. The rest of the band is in fine form and are all playing at the top of their game. Loisel and Marcotte technical skills would make NECROPHAGIST and ATHEIST smile.  The band has been gone for near a decade but it sounds like they never left.

However, after establishing how great they are as musicians, how do they fair with actually writing songs and finding a place for their technical skills to live?  For the most part, very well.  Keep in mind, this highly technical and, sometimes, almost random sounding Death Metal.  Even without throwing curve balls, this isn't something you can listen to just a couple of times and hear everything available to you.   Just when you think you might have it figured out, a song like "Master Dolorosa," suddenly goes from straight up brutal to ambient, clean melodies before going back up to speed and being led by bass that is probably what the screams of rubber bands being bend and pulled would sound like.

"Maritime," is probably one of the more harsher and focused of tracks on the album. Baril's drums are a bit more classic Death Metal intensity and Loisel's vocals eschew a deep throat roar for a raw, high pitched blackened scream.  Even on an album filled to the brim with outside the box ideas, this track still manages to set itself apart in a good way. "Parrallel Biospheres," includes slight melodic tones mixed with their brutality but it's all wrapped but in a tech death package.  The short but sweet solo is a virtuoso display that funnels the song to the ending where a cascade of drums knocks it out of the park.

Many people were afraid AUGURY would be left behind after being gone for so long but, if anything, they are returning as leaders of the pack.