The thing about reality is discovering its dark and ironic nature. In life, it seems we tend to cling to the hopes that our own individual perception is right. Questioning ourselves and our choices is the greatest key one can acquire in living an honest life. At first, it may not seem that way but in more than one you have to realize there's a duality. THE NIGHTSTALKER is an angel who goes through the moods of this concept. The music and lyrics do their best to recreate this experience in an audible form. While music can be interpreted in many ways, I believe THE NIGHTSTALKER reached a fitting closure.

"Against The Anesthetist" in coherence with its concept, experiences a duality of its genre. When "Snow Falls on Natural City" first comes in it's easy to assume you'll most likely be exposed to a demonstration of either Gothic Metal or Dark Metal. The organ sounding synth is the most compelling component in the album's introduction. No percussion is present illustrating its dark and austere nature. As the album proceeds, it's apparent minimalism and darkness is the goal. Thus, collectively, a sense of ambience is achieved. With this line of thinking, I believe "Against the Anesthetist" is a Dark Ambient album more than its subtle disposition in other areas (i.e. Dark Metal, Gothic Metal, Folk, and Black Metal). Seeping into "Strange World" you start to hear the prevalent attributions of ambience. It's a track mysterious with its simple display of dear and honest guitar; light-hearted folk with its acoustics and Celtic synths. Midway, the strategy changes by implementing electric guitar; lucid strums that fade perfectly contrasting the acoustics in the background.

As I go on, I discover that the variation is similar but daintily so that such changes end up being vast in characterizing emotion.  First, you have a track that leads mainly with organ/synth (i.e. "Snow Falls on Natural City"). Secondly, leading with guitar (more than one track) and then bass and percussion (respectively). "If I Had Never Felt" is special in that the bass leads. I came to recognize that even it can follow the minimalist path while being in the foreground where all eyes are drawn. After said track, the bass became salient almost as if a premature blind was lifted from my vision. The percussion aspect also follows a similar path of utmost minimalism. It marks about 60% of the compositions. Of that percentage, 20% is different in that the percussion is vibrant and assertive. It's still firm but progressively it reaches out to give the rest of the sound an edge (i.e. "Against the Anesthetist" and "An Escape").

The vocals, all in all, are what made the album so personal and meaningful. The vocals, unlike the rest of the instrumentation, sticks out like snow during nightfall. The vocals are raspy yet worn to whispers. Most importantly, they're draped in sadness and regret. The duality between the vocals and the rest of the instruments is so extravagant that it works perfectly well. It isn't until "Some Blood in The Snow" where the voice abates its raspy quality yet still speaks in whispers. The concept is authenticated since the lyrics mention the angel's peace of mind while it lays battered in the snow.