A collection of EPs, demo, and remix tracks that help to chart the creative arc of this progressive metalcore band, who started out as a fairly standard spazzcore outfit but then went on to incorporate an eclectic range of sounds into their style, coming out on the other side as an atmospheric and experimental collective that transcends the 'metalcore' tag altogether. All I had ever heard from Back When prior to getting this CD in from Init was an EP that they released on Imagine It; that disc was frantic, fucking super chaotic, along the lines of early Daughters and grindy screamo outfits but not breaking any new ground. So when I popped In The Presence in, I was pretty surprised with how immense these songs were, and the range of influences and styles that Back When began to incorporate with their newer material. The disc opens with "Exodus, Phobos" from their Swords Against The Father EP, and it reminds me of a more chaotic Buried Inside, mass

ive walls of distorted atmosphere and processed feedback, death metal roars intertwining with frantic screams, blastbeats and epic riffage. The next three songs are from the same EP, and further mix it up: "Examining The Lives Of The After" initally takes form as a brutal deathcore dirge before freaking out completely into spastic fret wankery and then slipping into a punishing bluesy swamp metal riff straight out of Eyehategod;"A Hero's Welcome" is psychedelic tech-core that drops a massive grooving riff right in the middle; and "Sons Against The Father" again combines psychedelic space rock guitars with crushing chaotic blasts.

"Fraud Of Scibes" is take from Back When's split 7" with The Setup, and once again we see them shapeshift, this time into a spacey dirge metal beast, like a heavier, grittier Mouth Of The Architect, delayed guitars rising up to the heavens while the band remains anchored to the earth with a crushing sludge riff that finally ends in a surge of electronic ambience. After that is a demo version of their song "We Giveth And We Taketh", another spacey psych-doom behemoth. Track seven is a previously unreleased cover of a Jerome's Dream song, and the final track is a gorgeous remix of "Essays In The Moonlight III" that merges their celestial guitar melodies with crackling electronic pulses.