• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• 5

Sixth album for this iconoclastic one-man band, which has produced some of the best Black Metal in the world over the years, but has always maintained a more experimental edge. After the masterful trilogy of his first three albums, Meilenwald had a bit of a misstep with the rather dull Blood Vaults but gained back a lot of ground with the harder, darker Exuvia. But whereas Exuvia was much more orthodox Black Metal, this album harks back to the more adventurous sounds of the older works.

This album carries a lot of the sonic adventurousness of Unlock the Shrine as well as the density and melodic sense of Rain Upon the Impure. This doesn't have the hard edge of Exuvia, and it dabbles in more Doom and Gothic sounds rather than pure Black Metal. For one, there are a lot more clean vocals on here, and the guitar sound is much more about doomy thundering than anything like the hollow sawing of a typical Black Metal tone. The songs are still long and deeply involved, showing off both Meilenwald's mastery of composition as well as his often highly technical drumming.

Once again, I find the only real weakness to be a bit too much goth sound in the works, as there are places where the sounds and vocals combine to create something a lot like Type O Negative, which is not really what I am here for on a Ruins of Beverast album. Still, this remains a strong effort in the canon, experimental, moody, and unlike anything else you will hear.