Working in science, this is easily the evilest band name I have seen in metal for a while. Professor Emeritus—named after the honorary title reserved for retired university professors who can make your life hell—play stomping and epic heavy metal with a distinct flavor of doom that screams Iron Maiden and Candlemass in particular. The riffs are heavy, trudging and packed with crunchy swagger and flavored by nice double guitar harmonies, while the bass is distorted and wonderfully murky. The drumming is stellar and loud, nicely accentuating every blow with the academic hammer blow delivered by this dreaded elder. Vocalist Esteban Julian Pena sounds like the adopted child of Messiah Marcolin and Bruce Dickinson, and while I have to say that I find some of the vocal melodies a little odd, he helms this band and their music excellently.

While this album has me mostly smiling, especially considering the lackluster efforts put out by Candlemass the past couple of years, it is not without its flaws. The songwriting is somewhat uneven and I find myself getting lost in some of the longer songs on here, and they lose some steam towards the end with "Hubris," the first half of "Conundrum" and parts of "Kalopsia Caves." Generally speaking, though, this is a strong album with tons of flesh to sink your claws into if you are into epic, doomy heavy metal.