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I reviewed Far Beyond's debut album, An Angel's Requiem, back in like 2005, where I tendered the thesis that Black Metal was not really what the band was about. Now I get this EP, and that thesis has grown into a sort of tumor. I speak to Eugen, the sole member/composer for this project, and I say: Dude, this is so far from Black Metal you can't even see it from here.

This EP offers up acoustic strumming, keyboards, and a lot of soothing, happy melodies. Now you can get away with calling this kind of thing Black Metal if it is depressive, but note that I said "happy melodies". This is basically gothic rock, including lots and lots of clean singing. Not bad clean singing, but the style is much more pop/goth than anything else. Sample lyrics like "I'm cryin' I'm cryin'/I'm dyin' I'm dyin'/I'm flyin' on the wings of hope". I mean, not only is that trite in the extreme, but it is a lyric that maybe only Dragonforce could actually record without shame. There are a few harsh vocals here and there, but after the first track they fade away almost entirely, and I don't know why they are there.

This is a gothic rock EP, along the lines of HIM or Tiamat. It's not bad, but it's not my thing, and from a band that claims to be Black Metal it is a complete disgrace.