The latest offering from West Coast black metallers Fell Voices (previously released by the band as a limited edition cdr), whose previous (and likewise self-titled) album on Human Resources was one of the most sought after records that we've carried. The sound on this two song album is a continuation of the powerful, multifaceted black metal of their debut, with long sprawling songs that move through multiple passages, melding the complex melodic arrangements of bands like Krallice and Liturgy with a classic black metal aggression. Their music is often described as being "ambient", but that gives the impression that this is easily relegated to the background, indistinct and featureless. This is not the case. This music is atmospheric, yes, but also equally ferocious, with snarling punky violence emerging from their sprawling, side-long arrangements, creating a potent balance of trance inducing speed and buzz and gnarled buzzing aggression.

As the first side opens, thick harmonium-like drones slowly fade in, buzzing and humming and glowing in the darkness for a minute, then fading back out into nothingness. Then the band kicks in with a swarming mid-tempo black metal assault, the drums holding down a propulsive mid paced tempo, the guitars droning and swarming, the riffing ominous and majestic, a fairly simple melodic riff repeating over and over, and the sound thick and somewhat murky. It suddenly changes direction into a much more frenzied blast of thrash, the drums shifting into chaotic blastbeats, the guitars warping into sliding slippery riffs vaguely reminiscent of something from Blut Aus Nord, but this only lasts for a moment, as the band quickly returns to the central galloping hook. Throughout the song, the music branches off into a number of different sections, slowing down and speeding up, introducing skronky, punky riffing, distant chanting voices and skillful riff changes, long stretches of somber, sorrowful slower BM and ending with a relentless blizzard of chaotic sliding riffs and dissonant swarming guitars and blastbeats and howling vokills that crumbles into a long coda of rumbling dark ambience.

The second side begins with slow, twangy guitars unfolding over a slow steady drumbeat, then everything rises up in a seething blast, droning tremolo riffs cascading across furious blastbeats, clean guitars mixing with distorted buzz and deep wordless chants, stretches of intricate proggy guitar and atmospheric doom laden heaviness, walls of dissonant chords and rolling toms, blackened thrash riding into near-orchestral tremolo arrangements. It's as epic as anything these guys have done before. Throughout most of the album, the vocals are buried and almost subliminal, but in the second half of the b-side they finally fully materialize into fearsome shrieking, gasping screams that are drawn out over the droning hypnotic BM. The band finally returns to the harmonium-like feedback drones that began the album, distant war-drums booming in the distance, a haunting piano melody creeping across the wavering buzz, the drones slowly burning off, leaving just the somber piano reverberating through the last few minutes of the song.

The album comes on heavyweight black vinyl and comes with a digital download of the album, a canvas patch, a huge foldout poster, and an insert card.