Only Southern Lord would have the balls to nurture and support this album: a confluence of American black metal's most radical composers, working under the single heading of Twilight. Frankly, it's amazing this five-headed hydra (consisting of the normally self-sufficient demons behind cult favorites Xasthur, Krieg, Nachtmystium, Draguar, Leviathan, and Lurker of Chalice) didn't simply self-combust, Norwegian church-like, in a blaze of Satanic glory; but, no, they managed to connive their dark artistry into nine tracks and a wide range of black metal sub-strains visited herewith. These range from the impenetrably dissonant, Blut Aus Nord-like barrage of Woe Is the Contagion, to the conversely zombie-paced advance of Larval Liaise and the tortuously unending, gothic-tinged Winter Before, to the relatively more "traditional," high-speed but still melody-inflected Scandinavian blueprint exercised in White Fire Under Black Text, Hopeless Etheride, and Swollen Voices in Silence. All of these are characterized by intentionally lo-fi production and recording standards for that authentic, old-school Venom/Sarcofago/Darkthrone feel, dig? Occasional, ghostly background synths, in fact, are as digitally advanced and sophisticated as these analog-worshipping sessions get, as their primal thrust remains locked in on raw guitars, bass, and drums, and animalistic grunts and ragged screams for vocals. With not a dull moment to be had from start to finish, dishonorable mention also goes to Exact Agony, Take Life (with its oddly swing-dancing back-and-forth riffs), As the March of Worms (which unexpectedly transforms from a storming assault into haunting layered melodies), and the final epic of majestic dread that is Beyond Light (Beautiful and Malignant). All told, these nihilistic nuggets foment an oppressive, claustrophobic, soul-sapping listening experience, which, like the best black metal, speaks to one's most masochistic instincts while somehow encouraging the purest form of emotional and aggressive catharsis. In sum, a new black mass for all the evil boys and girls to enjoy. ~ Eduardo Rivadavia, Rovi

1		Woe Is the Contagion
2		Exact Agony, Take Life
3		Larval Liaise
4		As the March of Worms
5		Winter Before
6		White Fire Under Black Text
7		Hopeless Etheride
8		Swollen Voices in Silence
9		Beyond Flight (Beautiful and Malignant)