This is, in my opinion, Old Man's Child's most outstanding work, and one of the many reasons for this is that it is quite different from their loathsome more recent albums. This disc is far grimmer, far darker, and far more powerful then any of their other discs. The happy, quasi-Power Metal riffs you heard on The Pagan prosperity are thankfully absent from this album, and darker, more evocative riffs take their place. The vocals are very good, and occasionally blend the typical OMC vox with bass-boosted spoken/growled bits, as well as with some clean vox (most notably on track 3); all of which are executed well, and with a great deal of success. My only quip regarding the musicianship on this album is that the drums are so terribly mundane and boring; although they are, however, rendered almost inaudible due to the production (at least, on my stereo, anyway...) - so it is no great loss.

The production itself is really dull and lifeless-sounding, though it fits the music perfectly. The guitars and especially the vocals are pushed to the forefront, whilst the bass and drums are quite blurry in the background. I can only say that should I given a choice between this type of production and the ultra-clean 'Pagan Prosperity' production I would chose to stick with the prior in an instant.

This disc also comes in an utterly beautiful digipak (which has the added trait of being resistant to almost all forms of damage). As stated earlier, this disc is an essential purchase.

Pros: Flawless execution, excellent vox, fitting production, good use of acoustic guitars and various (experimental?) vocal styles, supreme packaging
Cons: Boring Drums

The Verdict: An excellent Black Metal CD (OMC's only real BM album, heh...), and an essential addition to ye olde Black Metal collection

© 2000 sauron anarazel