The music of CONSECRATION has always been touched by the black hand of despair, draped in shrouds of sadness. Their songs conjure vistas of desolation and paint pale ghosts of agony and loss on backdrops of storm riven twilight skies. They have explored the depths of melancholy and the echoing chambers of the dead and now, with the perfect line-up cemented in place they have discovered the absolute essence of their sound; a fluid coalescence of the rot and decay of ancient Death Metal and the somber majesty of Doom. The terrors of the tomb and the agonies of bereavement embrace becoming one. The title, "Cinis," is taken from the Latin meaning cold ashes and has numerous associations with death, destruction and ruin, extinguished love and burnt out hate. The album contains nine tracks.

"The Dweller in the Tumulus" leads off the album. The slow, lumbering riff is accompanied by guttural vocals from a creature yet unseen by the human eye. It is rumored to be older than the forest cave where it resides. He begins to wake, as the song quickens for just a spell, but settles back into his slumber. The pace quickens towards the end of the song. "Ground to Ashes (A Cremulation)" begins with a similar sound...and could be the continuation of the previous track. A sinister laugh breaks up the foul mood. The sound stays pretty much the same throughout the song, with fewer riffs than you can count on one hand.

"Embrace of Perpetual Mourning" is a lengthy affair with very little hope. Picture of a small town in the Northeast United States where broken down cars, dilapidated houses, and a daily feeling of hopelessness abound. People rise in the morning and go to work, making just enough money to cover their bills and a few drafts after work. The slow drone makes sure that you are never given any relief to your daily grind. The riff hardens after the half-way point, turning the screws in your coffin even deeper. "A Dying Wish" is a very short connecting song from the first half of the album to the second. "These Fleeting Memories" is akin to the recollection of very painful reminders of past failures. The slow moving song makes the memories feel even deeper in your subconscious, to the point that even a vague reminder causes sharp, inconsolable pain.

"The Charnel House" is a shorter song with a faster-moving pace. In common lore, it refers to a house or vault where human bones are kept. The addition of a secondary vocal part brings more harrowing elements that could refer to the horror of the discovery of such a place. "A Sentient Haunting" means to be able to feel or perceive things...in this case, the coldness of the presence of something out there, beyond the depths of perception. The guttural vocals and sludgy guitar riffs speak of things unclean. The breakdown after the half-way mark is dreadful and frightening. "Unto the Earth Bethralled" is another slow grind with a minimal of riffs. Around the middle of the song, the sound drops to a lone widower at the grave of her lost love in the rain, on a cold November morning. The rain chills her to the bone but she refuses to move.

"In Loving Abandonment" closes the album; a title that is an oxymoron of sorts. The reluctant clean guitar tones are solemn and carry an unimaginable weight. As it departs, so does your soul. This album was formidable in the delivery of the music, and disheartening in the delivery of the lyrics. Although the sound didn't change much from one track to the next, that is typical in the genre. It's about the lasting effects of the music on your psyche. Unless you have unlimited fortitude and constitution, I would approach the album gingerly. Because once you are a few tracks in and open that rabbit hole, the blackness in your heart takes hold and it will never let you back out.