Seeming Emptiness is the brain-child of multi-instrumentalist Kevin M. This is his second release under the SEEMING EMPTINESS moniker after 2015's "Conversion" EP. "Heavy Rain" is a wholly instrumental album that encompasses the bleakness of Black and Doom metal with the ambience of Post-Rock. Opener "Dispatched Fortune" exemplifies this heady mix of sound as it drifts on a wave of heavily distorted, Shoegazey guitars. Kevin M adeptly creates a rich wall of sound that allows him to add atmospheric guitar lines and subtle melodies. By generating such a dense soundscape the sudden arrival of crunching doomy guitars and blast beats is genuinely unexpected. This is a heavy album but not in the way you would expect. The ambient drone of second song "Retrogression" reflects the bleakness of the music itself. It's a hypnotic, almost reflective song until halfway through it twists into a chugging monster that veers disarmingly into doom metal territory whilst maintaining the post-rock tempo.

"Riven" is a more straightforward Black Metal song. However, by weaving elements of Post-Rock he is able to move from suffocating darkness to a lighter shade of grey with ease. The floaty almost ambient bridge is skilfully handled and is another example at how accomplished he is at shifting between moods. "Heavy Rain" builds to a furious crescendo of blast beats that sound all the more effective as they push through a wall of distortion. "Red Glowing Night" begins with a rudimentary drum beat and, ethereal, haunting keyboards. Kevin M manages to create a real sense of space with the guitar notes allowed the freedom to echo around the mix. The crystalline, heavy guitars crash through as the song builds to a euphoric climax. It is an intoxicating mix of ambient structure and dense guitar work. Album closer "Enliven The Dust" does exactly that. It's the equivalent of opening the curtains in a room that has been shut off from the world for years. It's an exceptional end to the album. There is a pervading sense of hope after the asphyxiating gloom of what has come before.

This is an album that exists in the shadows. Kevin M is adept at creating desolate, melancholic soundscapes. It's a well realised vision and he has a keen ear for tone. The album has a character all of its own and he should be commended for following through with his vision. It would be easy to add some vocals here and there but, in all honesty, they would detract from how well accomplished the music is. In many ways the music is reminiscent of the post-metal work of bands like DEAFHEAVEN and LITURGY without the vocals. It's an album that repays repeat listens as long as you give it the time.

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