DESSIDERIUM is an Extreme Metal one-man band hailing from the USA. Without any information included in their EPK, all I have to go on is their entry on the Metal Archives, which states that "Aria" is his fourth full-length release, and contains five tracks. "White Morning in a World She Knows" leads off the album. It's a fifteen-minute opus, that opens with clean guitar tones and charming vocals. When distorted guitar comes in, the track opens up with beauty. The advent of harsh vocals hears the sound energized and the melodies continue. Alex runs a very tight ship here. The rhythms are augmented with heavy accents and Progressive elements abound.

"Pale" is eleven minutes in length, and begins with some clean guitars and lead melodies. Drums begin to roll in double time along with guitars and harsh vocals, all the while the bright and active melodies still take center stage. The clean vocals following the half-way mark are nothing short of breathtaking, as is Alex's lead guitar work. The title track is just under fifteen minutes. It begins with heavy, punishing rhythms and harsh vocals. Some dexterous leads come into play as the song crescendos early. At the half-way mark, the sound shifts to some very pretty atmospheric elements. Clean vocals come in towards the end, emotive and poignant.

"Moon Lust Delirium" opens with a heavy barrage of instruments and a solemn melody in the guitar work. The ultra-tight passages of guitar and drum work are nearly impossible to permeate. "The Persecution Complex" closes the album, beginning with some strings and Classical scales. Is there anything that Alex can't do and doesn't know? From there it transitions to fortuitous melodies and dreamy landscapes that drown out your daily worries and cares. Around the half-way mark those melodies brighten and really shine, like a beacon in dark, stormy seas. Closing in at the end, they build even stronger, leaving you on a bright note of hope from a clean key run.

Every once in a while, and Extreme Metal album will cross my desk and blow me away. What a unique and robust sense of songwriting that is presented here. One thing that sets the artist apart from his peers in the genre is his attention to melody...something that often gets lost in Extreme music. The darker and more weighted side of the album is as fervent as anything out there, but the melodies spring to life around every corner, and are intertwined with the punishing elements like they belong together. Though the songs are very long, they do not drag out at all. This is indeed a masterpiece in every sense of that word.