Coming from the city that bore THIN LIZZY 4 decades earlier, DEATH THE LEVELLER defines themselves through clarity of instrumentation and reaching themes that slip off vocal deliveries and trail into a wash of solemn oblivion; dirges and requiems whose cathartic agendas lie in the wake of obsolescent piths.

The opening track, "The Hunt Eternal", brings forward a series of depressing natures and melancholic themes each navigating around the idea of the human condition; the music has a crawling effect to it, whereupon the verses seem to carry this reaching sensation as if the guitars themselves grasp out for a force or essence beyond their reach, further illustrated by the desperation of the vocals and their falsetto transition within the chorus piece. "The Golden Bough" takes its name from a series of publishing by James Frazer who published his work on comparative religious study regarding the conductive study of anthropology and shared religious and mythological tales whose influence saw itself work into many different European literature circles, perhaps one of the more better known examples of a Dying God device being the Valar in J. R. R Tolkien's The Lord Of The Rings. The song has a harsh dynamic in it going from quiet to loud at a moment's notice and crafting with the transition jarring tones that ring out drawing attention to the vocal delivery. "So They May Face The Rising Sun" takes its name in part from John McGahern's final novel, a highly revered piece whose ilk is difficult to liken, as it deals not only with the daunting passage of time but also the social trepidations of the small community whose themes are explicated in the song: remembrance, the longing for restitution, and the embrace of sorrow in the passing of a loved one.

The guitar's wail out in crushing tones, from the diminutive and eerie clean tones to the encompassing and slightly distorted tones that follow which falls somewhere between a phase shift and a weak fuzz. The bass is subtle but heavy when can be distinguished. The drums are powerful and validate the depressive nature of the music, second only to the vocals that weave in and out of every passage with impressive dynamic precession and skill. Although the tones are different the band, as a whole, reminds me distinctly of WARNING's "Watching From A Distance".

The progression of Doom is not ideal for everyone as it leaves a sour and ashen taste in its wake, however for those who do appreciate the daunting and relentless forsaken approach of the genre might find themselves with a new album to top their playlists. "II" is a powerful piece concerned with the metaphysical nature of the humanities and given the band's proclivity for citing and referring to philosophical books and endeavors each song has layers of meaning behind every instrument and word choice.