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Ipsissimus are a cool little band from New Haven that play a riff-driven brand of atmospheric Black Metal that manages to be technical without venturing into prog territory. Famed for their live shows across New England, it's no small wonder the trio inked a deal with Metal Blade off the strength of their debut EP, Three Secrets Of Fatima, which is re-recorded here. The triptych in question fills the album out with blistering guitars, inhuman vocals, and drum patterns that bash chaotically behind the tumult. There's something distinctly modern about The Way Of Descent; the production goes a long way towards opening it up for lovers of more accessible violence, as it is clean-sounding but not polished. Considering you can hear everything that is going on, it does mean that some of their ideas become a little cluttered, and as Ipsissimus fall on the more zany side of the genre, tracks like "The Alchemist's Goatthrone" can become headache inducing.

Despite that, Ipsissimus have done a good job here. The strongest moments are found on the nine-minute blood-fest "Monakhourgia/The Prince Of Tyre", which goes through a cavalcade of changes, from Thrall-like doom segments to high-tremolos one might find on a lighter Leviathan album. If they write more songs like this for their sophomore album, it should be a winner.