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After a decade of existence and the demise of Anthemon, Monolithe released the final chapter of their 4-part story about the endless cycle of the universe, here displaying the thoughts of the universe as it reflects on the nature of its existence. I skipped reviewing the third album because Sargon already covered it and I didn't really have much more to add besides calling it another step down from the debut, and this one took a while to get to because the copy I got didn't work and I dragged my heels getting another one. Shame on me for not doing that sooner, because this is easily the best album in the series.

If you've heard the previous albums, then you already have a pretty good idea of what this is going to sound like: slow, drawn out arrangements, crushing riffs with a massive guitar tone, and an encompassing, mystical atmosphere that calls to mind the cold depths of space being filled with the light of long dead stars. The difference here is that the songwriting is tighter than ever before, lacking the odd lags and disjointed segments that held back previous works from being all they could. The arrangements are also a little more experimental, with more synths, some female choirs, and even a horns and percussion section tossed in, all of it coming together to make a sound that's unearthly and sometimes breathtaking. Basically, this is the sum total of everything the band was working towards, and it serves as a fitting end to this era of the band.