OSMIUM GATE crafts instrumental metal as a ritual of weight and space, drawing on elemental force and cosmic decay. Their sound moves between crushing density and vast emptiness, where slow-burning tension and gravitational riffs collide. "Cannibal Galaxy" is an immersion into the unknown, heavy and unrelenting. The album has eight songs, and "Waters of Natron" is first. It rumbles out of the gate with a heavy and aggressive sound that stays pretty steady without a lot of changes. There are subtle shifts here and there, but they don't introduce that big punch of melody that you often get in instrumental music. Instead, it stays in the shadows of the night. "Sailing Stone" has a similar sound, and the band continues to push weighted rhythms. Although it's a heavy and energetic song, they don't steer off the course much. "Booming Dunes" might be just a little darker, and there are some lead breaks, but it isn't much different than the previous two.

"Whale Fall" is more of the same, and it's evident that the band wants to concentrate on the guitar rhythms rather than the leads. The drums also hold a steady presence. "Nacreous" is really the first song that present some variation, and that is some doses of atmospheric sounds within the heavy moving bottom end. The lead work is eerie as well and a little more of this would go a long way. "Blood Rain" goes back another rhythm heavy sound, and although there are some fills here and there, the constant cadence of double kick drums is becoming harder for me to listen to. The title track is a song that just doesn't grab me much. I also don't mean this to sound like a harsh critic, but I am not getting many progressive elements either. "Lights over Hessdalen" is the final song, and it continues a similar sound.

This was a decent album, but just not diverse enough for me. It has plenty of weight and presence, but no big shifts or punches of melody. I also don't hear the vast emptiness that they talk about. Indeed, the constant hum of double bass moves to the forefront of their music and takes over. Through eight songs, it becomes a burden for me.