These tundra warriors return with their followup to the excellent 2006 album Stained With The Blood Of An Empire, their burly debut that merged a seething tribal doomcore fury influenced by Neurosis with that screamathon deathcore sound that is native to the Dakotas and surrounding regions. That album was crushing, evocative, and stood out from the pack of bands that simply ape Neurosis and Isis. So now it's a year later, and from the sounds on this CD single, it sounds like Battlefields are taking the same route that their forward-thinking peers in Rosetta, Mouth Of The Architect and Year Of No Light are opting for - continued experimentation and mutation of the apocalyptic dirge sound that ultimately moves them further and further from the realm of mere clonedom. This disc features a single 13 minute track that is leagues ahead of their previous work, an expansive psych-metal jam that begins as a field of tinny electronic noise and lonely piano notes that are gra

dually joined by slow scraping violin-like notes and dark rumbling ambience. Eventually the entire band kicks in with crushing, crusty sludge metal, massive riffing and death metal vocals and wah-soaked guitar leads rolling out oppressively. The band plunges into passages of quieter, ambient rock that remind me somewhat of Red Sparowes, though Battlefields have their own mystical quality to the softer instrumental twists and turns. Pretty great, certainly recommended for those into the aforementioned bands like Rosetta and MOTA as well as Tides, Across Tundras, Pelican, and Time To Burn. Limited edition of 500 copies, and is pressed on a clear fan disc with cool artwork.