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Sixth full-length from From the Vastland, originally a one-man project from Iranian musician Sina, is now a three-piece with Tjalve on bass and Kevin Kvåle on drums. The band had to flee from their home country to Norway to avoid persecution, which makes sense when you consider that this band has always been about creating grim, vicious old-school Norwegian Black Metal. Sadly, as much as I respect anyone willing to put their life on the line for the music they make, they continue to have the same problem that's plagued them over their past few releases: their music is increasingly cliched and generic. That's not to say it's incompetent, far from it, but where other bands can at least make up for their plagiarism by doing it well, From the Vastland seem content in using those ideas to make songs that all sound the same, all of which are monotonous and tedious. This makes for an album and band that's overall kind of a chore to listen to, and unless you are a fervent devotee to the second-wave sound and want to support a band who's defiant in their desire to make it, there's not too much here to really recommend.