The Bees and the Butterflies

Book of Sand have shared their innovativeness once again. Most obvious piece of experimentalism is in the introduction of almost each song, which begins by the snugly iridescent sound of viola (or violin, though it sounds a bit lower for violin, maybe even cello). Classic string instruments are routinely used by metal bands, however in this case the sound and atmosphere is unique. Epic melodies on some of the songs are pleasantly familiar. No, not from the other black metal bands, but maybe from some European or American folk melody. They are sweetly melodic, which is joyful to hear. Another advantage of these melodies is that they differ from what you generally hear from typical black metal band. All in all, due to this zest, the atmosphere of the whole release is created and to me sounds like the folklore of the New World. The sound in general resembles more their first release. This work is a decent continuation of what Book of Sand has been doing so far and I hope there is more yet to come.

Foggy, noisy guitars and husky vocals that sound a bit below other instruments are similar to previous works and leave a pretty bad impression. This kind of sound was rarely handled well (Beastcraft and Veil are exceptions). Overall, interesting music ideas are hard to compete with in such a recording.