Surprisingly, I'm pretty hyped for this one. I liked the new songs more than anything from the debut. Great cover artwork, too.

Written by God Alone on 14.07.2015 at 17:57

Surprisingly, I'm pretty hyped for this one. I liked the new songs more than anything from the debut. Great cover artwork, too.

The debut was quite a mediocre album, tbh.

^ Yup, couldn't find anything exciting about that. 'twas just okay. Hopefully they're gonna improve with this one!

Here be a stream

Funerl black, why decibel labels them such way I hear avant-garde bm something .. funeral black don't exist

Complex, creative, foreboding and totally fuckin twisted - miles better than the debut. I love it.

Brilliant album, even better than their debut!

Its extremely volatile nature is what makes it so puzzling and enthralling at the same time. Every section within the songs never overstays its welcome; when I first listened to the full stream I couldn't distinguish any song from the others. There's absolutely nothing to grab on to: one moment you're sucked in a whirlwind of madness, the moment after you're hypnotized, and then you're surrounded by a thick freezing gas until it vanishes.
I would have preferred a little bit more consistency and flow, but this is probably part of the game. The guys are not newbies, and they purposely arranged it this way. I'm taking up the challenge.

Better than expected. Wasn't too sure on first listen, but I'm digging it now. I was a pretty big fan of the debut, so I wasn't too pleased with this new direction at first.

Written by Zap on 17.08.2015 at 17:48

Better than expected. Wasn't too sure on first listen, but I'm digging it now. I was a pretty big fan of the debut, so I wasn't too pleased with this new direction at first.

I find it okay. A lot better than the truly standard generic run of the mill a dime a dozen debut. But it still isn't isn't as good as one would expect given who's involved in it.

Written by Zap on 17.08.2015 at 17:48

Better than expected. Wasn't too sure on first listen, but I'm digging it now. I was a pretty big fan of the debut, so I wasn't too pleased with this new direction at first.

I'm the opposite, I think the debut was rather subpar (at least, as far as the standards of these musicians are concerned), but this new sound is definitely much better. It is indeed kind of all over the place and very ambiguous in terms of which direction seems to take precedence, but really I think that's what the band was going for here, and overall I'd say this album shows off everyone's composing talent to a much higher degree than the debut did. Room for improvement still, but definitely a step in the right direction.

Written by Auntie Sahar on 19.08.2015 at 17:09

I'm the opposite, I think the debut was rather subpar (at least, as far as the standards of these musicians are concerned), but this new sound is definitely much better. It is indeed kind of all over the place and very ambiguous in terms of which direction seems to take precedence, but really I think that's what the band was going for here, and overall I'd say this album shows off everyone's composing talent to a much higher degree than the debut did. Room for improvement still, but definitely a step in the right direction.

I'd prefer the organ to not be in the forefront so much, but I agree the band probably achieved almost exactly what they wanted to. It is a fine album after all, and I feel like it will grow on me in the coming weeks.

Well, I'm enjoying this album a lot, I already liked their previous album, but I find this better.
Then again, I could listen to Greg Chandler's voice in front of Regional Mexican music and still I'd praise it.

Once again a good album.

Man, even Blood Music rated this album.

Quite impressed on first listens! Love the exquisite organ and keys; the atmosphere on this album is quite unique - dense, dissonant, symphonic yet claustrophobic, ultimately gripping! I truly felt immersed within someone's mind palace - chaotic, vast yet confined, ever changing and kaleidoscopic...

Written by Maco on 23.08.2015 at 23:11

Man, even Blood Music rated this album.

I thought it's a great album.

If I had my own label I would also sign only 10s stuff, haha.

A couple of listens and it's better than I expected after the song they released ages back, but still disappointing. Too much preamble, and too hotch-potch and disjointed; you're left enjoying the individual moments rather than the album as a cohesive piece but a lot of the time it just descends into an aimless and incoherent mess. I like the gothic, Castlevania-esque tones to it above everything else, but on the whole it doesn't touch the brilliant and consistent blackened Opeth-lite debut, which still sounds unlike anything else I've heard.

Written by Guest on 01.09.2015 at 12:26

A couple of listens and it's better than I expected after the song they released ages back, but still disappointing. Too much preamble, and too hotch-potch and disjointed; you're left enjoying the individual moments rather than the album as a cohesive piece but a lot of the time it just descends into an aimless and incoherent mess. I like the gothic, Castlevania-esque tones to it above everything else, but on the whole it doesn't touch the brilliant and consistent blackened Opeth-lite debut, which still sounds unlike anything else I've heard.

I'm glad you're back so that there is at least one person who agrees with me on Lychgate.

Written by Zap on 01.09.2015 at 21:25

I'm glad you're back so that there is at least one person who agrees with me on Lychgate.

It's good to be useful for something! The debut is still one of those records I don't quite get why quite a few people don't like it, or at least why people don't like it more. I think it might be an MS thing. Seems to do a tad better elsewhere.

Written by Guest on 01.09.2015 at 21:29

It's good to be useful for something! The debut is still one of those records I don't quite get why quite a few people don't like it, or at least why people don't like it more. I think it might be an MS thing. Seems to do a tad better elsewhere.

Yeah, I don't get why Marcel and co. call the debut generic, run of the mill, etc. Sure, it's pretty straightforward, but that doesn't mean it isn't interesting. As you said, I haven't heard anything quite like it, so I would never call it generic. It's not mindblowingly original either, but certainly unique.
I wouldn't mind them going further in this new style though, but only if the next album is more consistent and just flows better. That would make a huge difference.

Written by Zap on 01.09.2015 at 21:39

Yeah, I don't get why Marcel and co. call the debut generic, run of the mill, etc. Sure, it's pretty straightforward, but that doesn't mean it isn't interesting. As you said, I haven't heard anything quite like it, so I would never call it generic. It's not mindblowingly original either, but certainly unique.
I wouldn't mind them going further in this new style though, but only if the next album is more consistent and just flows better. That would make a huge difference.

Yeah, that baffled me too. That suggests that there are a lot of albums floating about that sound like it, which would be news to me if that were the case. Unique but not overtly original is how I would describe it too. Subtlety progressive perhaps, but in a straight forward manner that makes the most of the interesting and distinctive sound it's going for. Have been playing it a lot on journeys recently and it's a really easy album to listen to that always seems to be over before I want it to be.

Written by Guest on 01.09.2015 at 21:49

Have been playing it a lot on journeys recently and it's a really easy album to listen to that always seems to be over before I want it to be.

Haven't listened to it in a while actually. Gonna do that right now

I'm more and more convinced that this is a ground-breaking album; with each listen I'm resonating more than ever with the internal dissonance, that inner chaos and immersive atmosphere... Damn, first Arcturus, now this beast - with all the incredible (funeral) doom releases this year (and still upcoming), I wouldn't have thought that the avant-garde would be gods so far!

This album is thoroughly brilliant from start to finish. The swathes of Gothic keyboards, progressive song structures, menacing vocal delivery, beautiful guitar work, it's all tightly packed into this 50-minute package-the sound of which is right up my alley. Sure, that may sound fanboyish, but I genuinely love this album having heard it three times already. It simply gets better and better. Highlights of this album could be any song really, but for me personally it's "Letter XIX" and "An Acousmatic Guardian" (Had to look up the definition of "Acousmatic") that really effectively convey this band's best musical talents to the listener.

Written by musicalkaratekid on 11.09.2015 at 17:06

Highlights of this album could be any song really, but for me personally it's "Letter XIX" and "An Acousmatic Guardian" (Had to look up the definition of "Acousmatic")

Me too! Basically it means auditory hallucination - a great name (or part of a name) of a band. That piano solo, it transcends me... I seldom want to learn a solo on the piano that bad. It will take me more than a while though!

Written by MelancholiaC on 12.09.2015 at 09:11

Written by musicalkaratekid on 11.09.2015 at 17:06

Highlights of this album could be any song really, but for me personally it's "Letter XIX" and "An Acousmatic Guardian" (Had to look up the definition of "Acousmatic")

Me too! Basically it means auditory hallucination - a great name (or part of a name) of a band. That piano solo, it transcends me... I seldom want to learn a solo on the piano that bad. It will take me more than a while though!

Yeah, at first glance I literally thought it said "Acoustic" instead. Oh well, stunning album. The piano work here is simply delicious (Best description I could come up with).

Well, I got tired of this.