Though their EPK did not contain a press sheet, I was able to find just a little bit of information on this Atmospheric/Progressive Black Metal band from Seattle, Washington. It features the recording and engineering prowess of Billy Anderson and mastering done by Justin Weis. It also features the incredible artwork of Andrzej Masianis. Beyond that, I was unable to find any information on the band. Record labels-please include press sheets! The album contains eight tracks.

"Ever Beneath His Gaze (He Will Drown the World in his Tears)" leads off the album. It's a one-minute track of just some ambient soft noise with whispered spoken words. "The Shadow of our Disillusionment" is a ten-minute beast, opening with lead guitars and a bit of haste. A scream enters, along with a wall of guitars. From there, the vocals vary from high screams to low gutturals with a good deal of reverb. There is just a bit of disconnect between the vocals and the music, but it sounds purposeful. The music is Progressive in the sense that it doesn't fit neatly into any norms within the genre boundaries, and the ambient passage is quite mystical.

"To Know" is another very short track, and I am sensing a repetitive progression between these shorter, ambient songs couple with the marathon beasts. "The Laughable Semblance of Freedom" begins with clean, easy tones and background vocal screams. The screams segue to distorted guitars and a fuller sound of rage and anger. The drops to ambient passages are really nice, but at times the transitions are stark. It heads back to the original sound before finishing. "I Bleed with the Wind" is the third short track on the album...I wonder what the purpose even is of these tracks without much sonority.

"It's as if it Were" is back to the angry screams again. The fast pace of the guitars works with the vocals well. The chaos is tempered by clean guitar passages that shoot in and out of the darkness like a light of hope here and there, but it ultimately has nowhere to go. "Leaving This World" is a three-minute track of quiet, calm music, juxtapositioned with the heavier, chaotic songs with a sharp tear. "Leaving it all Behind" closes the album. It's the final push of chaos for an album marred with moments of brilliance followed by moments of questions. It's an opus of some exploration along with more linear moments...it really runs the gamut.

This was a very unique album for me, musically. Strange, haunting, eerie, and particular are four words that come to mind. Take away the vocal screams and that is where the true magic on the album lies. I would loosely call the music Black Metal, and/or Progressive Black Metal, but the music and chord progressions are quite different than anything else I have heard this year. The bottom line is that this was a creative album, with high ambitions that were mostly met. But I can't get past the odd disconnect between the vocals and the music. The cover art is indeed beautiful. The biggest problem might be finding an audience who will appreciate the music.