CRYPT OF SILENCE is a Ukrainian Death-Doom Metal band formed back in 2009. "Awareness Ephemera" is their second full-length album that was released in December 2016 through the Russian company Solitude Productions. It has only four tracks total but it clocks in at almost fifty-five minutes long. If you can handle the soul-wrenching level of bleakness that CRYPT OF SILENCE has to offer, you won't ever be bored. There are moments of beautiful clarity where the sun shines through these dismal clouds, but there is always that looming spectre of melancholy. Somehow CRYPT OF SILENCE managed to put out an hour of gloomy yet ever so slightly hopeful music without it ever getting monotonous.

"Longest Winter" is a chilly, brutally dank track that slow and heavy. It leans towards Folk Metal at times, with acoustic segments that possess that unique fantasy element. That natural yet supernatural flavour that brings to mind ancient rituals at twilight, dedicated to gods long forgotten. "Insignificant Sense"has that same oppressive weight; not with the apocalyptic satanism of Black Metal, but filled with a sense of futility and mourning.

"Life Passed By" is a dreary anthem, with whispered voices climbing to guttural painful vocals. This track is dripping with remorse and grief. It brings to mind all the things in life that you wish you had done or said to those who have left us. But then, around the nine-minute mark, the sun shines through the clouds a bit, and brighter tones bursting onto the scene to remind you that even bitter can be sweet.

Bringing us to a close is "Meridian", a gentle sorrowful instrumental that clashes with the vicious vocals for a tonal blend that sums up the emotional content that CRYPT OF SILENCE presents. There is a strange sort of beauty to be had in spite of - or perhaps precisely because of-  the bleakness of the experience. Like life itself, even the most unpleasant emotions can be wonderful because it is proof of life that we can feel such things. As they say, the show must go on, but "Awareness Ephemera" must also come to an end, and all things considered, this was a good way to close. Follow the link to the official music video of this track and you'll see what I mean.