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Visions of the Night is another very strong addition to Ontario’s extreme metal scene. They play a unique mixture of death metal in the vein of Cryptopsy and Morbid Angel, along with sampling and atmospheric techniques used to create a horrifying, borderline gothic and to an extent black metal persona for themselves. Pipe-organs accompanying blast beats, static reverberation lacing the punishing, deep-toned guitar riffs and a monstrous vocal performance courtesy of Wolvesblood, who hosts an impressive range of growls and screeches at his disposal, encompass EnVisioning the New Age. This album really clicks with me, not necessarily for the bells and whistles that go along with the confidently played tech-death contained within. This style of music has always been hit or miss with me. It’s safe to say that Visions of the Night hit me head on with this one.

For a three-piece band, they certainly know how to churn out a quality recording. Alexander Erhardt (guitar and backing vocals) is known for his work with Horde of Worms, Jenn Kilburn takes on bass and cello duties, and Wolvesblood, who appears to have taken on the brunt of this project, plays guitar, drums, keyboards and lead vocals. The trio manages to pull off an impressive and well executed first effort.

EnVisioning the New Age is pretty much a straight-up offering of brutality, with side elements that seem to have been used sparingly when looking back at the overall sound of the album. It’ll be interesting to see what kind of direction the band takes in the future, whether they beef up the usage of their darker influences or decide to play it safe and stick to the death metal goods. Either way, I’m very much looking forward to the future of Visions of the Night!