From Bandcamp, "THE HOLEUM is related to the dark matter that forms the black holes in the universe. The Holeum is not a black hole but the black holes are formed by The Holeum. That is the idea where we extract our concept from, we are a sonic and cosmic vision of the sublime." The new album has seven songs, and "The Fermi Paradox" is first. That term refers to several different scenarios that describe time and space limitations that might address why we have never been visited by alien life…at least, not that we know of. I have always maintained that due to the estimate of two trillion galaxies in the universe, it's a mathematical certainty that one planet in one of these galaxies must contain alien life. Of course, it's impossible to know for sure, but let's get to the song.

The opening tones are tense and shadowy, and the pacing is steady. I get the feeling that a fuse has been lit on a bomb that you can't see. It explodes with harsh vocals and an impending sense of Doom. The sound is like a thief, who darts in and out of shadows and comes away with his winnings. "Cosmic Void Spheres" is much firmer out of the gates, and it has both raging and dreadful tones. You can decide which might be worse from the two. Clean vocals help to mellow the song a bit, and that clean interlude of guitars and vocals might be where some of the Post elements come into play. "Macrocosm + Microcosm" begins with gentle tones, but harsh vocals cut against them like a monsoon threatening to wipe out the entire village.

"Spontaneous Synchronization" retreats back into the shadows of the early night. There are intense moments of rage followed by warmer moments of melancholy melodies. The contrast is actually quite sharp, but the sound flows freely between the two. "Hyperdimensional Physics" brings some sharp aggression along with the deep rage. There are also somber tones, and the band does a good job presenting both styles into a synergistic whole. "Esoteric Futuristic Visions" has a little more pacing behind it, but still that mysterious sound. Like a black hole, so little is actually known about how they function within the universe. "Geometric Congruence Vortex" is the final song, and it's perfect closer, bringing introspective and exploratory thoughts along with its clean tones.

This was an outstanding album for me, and their genre/style can't be pigeon holed. Part Doom, part Post Rock, part Progressive, and part Death, it's the way that they mix these styles and the way they constantly shift between the two that is the best feature of the album. It forces me into a reflective state to ponder the many mysteries of the universe…and they are ones that we will never have answers for in our lifetime. Still, that exercise of deep thought isn't a waste of time.