American Black Metal, more often than not, is on the very edge of what can be classed as listenable. The best examples of this are bands like XASTHUR and LEVIATHAN, who's music is so raw and grim sounding that even the most hardened Black Metal fans have a hard time getting into the music. TWILIGHT FAUNA, a one man Black Metal band from Tennessee, teeters on the very edge of plunging into this precipice. The sole member, Ravenwood, has been putting out Black Metal in some of its rawest forms consistently since 2011, already boasting

The opening track on this album, "Coming Home (A Wilted Harvest)" begins with an acoustic, folk based guitar riff, which gives way to some really grating, harsh and raw Black Metal. The embittered howls of Ravenwood are barely discernable amidst the music. "Baying in the Hills" is very similar; the Black Metal elements are punctuated by sweet acoustic melodies. "An Autumn Longing" serves to counterpoint the harsher elements on the first side of the record, and sends Side A away in a calm and actually quite relaxing manner. Then it is time for Side B, which kicks off with "Roots Stained by Time"; a song which begins as a slow dirge, which crawls slowly up in pace as the song progresses. "The Wind Chimes Through the Trees", is, for the most part, a relaxed affair. It's more relaxing than unnerving. This is one of the best things about this album; it's genuinely atmospheric, and relaxes the music every so often to increase the harshness on the Black Metal. Mercifully, the final track on the album, "Of River Willows", is a more relaxed and chilled affair, and we aren't subjected to this genuinely nerve-wracking Black Metal.

As far as Atmospheric Black Metal goes, this does exactly what it says on the tin. It builds an atmosphere. There are, in all honesty, some parts of this album that are quite eerie, and are just as jarring and dark as the acoustic sections are nice and relaxed. I would only recommend this to the sort of Black Metaller who is accustomed to this kind of music though, because I'm sure it's an acquired taste.<