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Ustalost ("fatigue" in Russian) is a project of Yellow Eyes guitarist/vocalist Will Skartstad whose existence I only learned about after the release of their sophomore album last year. Their previous album, the excellent The Spoor of Vipers, was very much like a darker continuation of what Yellow Eyes did on Sick with Bloom, and Before the Glinting Spell Unvests is very much a refinement of that approach. That's not to say this project is just more Yellow Eyes, though, for while Skartstad employs the same complex, rambling approach to riffs and songwriting, Ustalost employs synths to create a more uneasy atmosphere and uses the bass in place of a second guitar to harmonize with and give counterpoint to the leading guitar work. While being recognizable to any longtime fan of Yellow Eyes, the sound Ustalost crafts with these elements is entirely its own, often being harsher and bleaker without losing the grasp for stirring songwriting and dense mood that defines Skartstad's other band. I'd say more, but this is an exciting and novel album that can't be adequately described with words, as it gives an experience of murky desolation and freezing triumph that can't really compare to much else out there, and one that any fan of more experimental Black Metal will treasure. Awe-inspiring.