From Bandcamp, “Elements are necessary for the foundation of life as we know it in our universe. Through the personification of these elements, show and the musical story we provide, we give ourselves and hopefully others, tools to achieve this growth and personal development. This is what SEA OF CONSCIOUSNESS stands for. The elements must be balanced before a sea of consciousness can emerge.”

The title track is first. Dark, electronic tones emerge in the beginning, followed by a combination of Melodic Death Metal and Black Metal. The vocals vary from screams to deep gutturals, but the riffs are fairly trite. The smooth acoustical breakdown is decent however. “From the Ashes” mixes in some Thrash Metal elements into the hasty sound. Again, the breakdown is where the band shines best. “Reflections” begins with clean, somber, and charming sounds, and the clean vocals are a bit of a surprise. I like them, and just when the album was beginning to be a bit predictable, this song saunters in.

 “Traversals” features a thunderstorm in the background, followed by more clean guitars. It’s a mood-setting song and the mood is sober. I like how the band mixes things up a bit with pieces like this. “Solitudo” continues the clean guitars and carries clean vocals with it, along with a tortured depression. For me, it sounds like the band is trying to make sense of the enormity of the universe, and the bit of harsh vocals provides an opposite anger. “Persistence” brings the band back to the hasty harsh sound again, and the guttural vocals are very punishing. Again, the riffs could use a little updating but the diversity on the album is strong.

 “Torchbearer” closes the album, and it showcases some of the band’s talent as well as their tight sense of timing. The best part of the album is the band’s strong musicianship, followed by the diversity in sound they showed. My only critique would be some of the riffs…they are ones that you have heard before. But I would keep my eye on this band for the future.