It's been awhile since I heard symphonic black metal that made me stop and notice. This EP clocks in at just over 20 minutes but it's quite packed and varied, so you get your money's worth. Often, bands overdo the symphonic thing and the black metal aspect ends up too diluted. Anguis Dei have – mostly – managed to keep things fast, dark and brutal, even a bit raw here and there while putting the symphonic parts up front. This brought me back to the very early 2000s before the subgenre got saturated and overrun by bands that "just didn't have it". Anguis Dei show there's still some hope for this subgenre.