Wanderers: Astrology of the Nine

Before I get into the actual album I'd like to mention that I have a huge affinity for Gustav Holst's masterpiece The Planets Suite, and being as some of these song titles include the exact same parenthetical descriptions of each planet I would bet a significant chunk of cash that they are inspired in some part by that awesome piece of classical music. That being said my interest was immediately piqued when I first heard of this release, especially since I truly enjoy Mare Cognitums' work and am a huge fan of atmospheric black metal in general. My expectations were quite high for this and let me say that I was pleasantly surprised to find out that this split lives up to all the hype surrounding it.

This album encapsulates everything I love about atmospheric black metal, weaving intricate song song structures that gradually evolve as the track moves forward. It incorporates many tremolo style riffs, layered with just the right amount of reverb and exactly the right balance between the instrumentation and the vocals. The drums get pretty repetitive by both bands but that seems par for the course on an atmospheric release like this so it doesn't really bother me. I think every track is great, even the ones that are "weaker." However there are no bad tracks or throwaways this album is full of gorgeous masterpieces that engulf you in atmospheric intensity. I also love that every now and then both bands opt to take a break from the hypnotic atmosphere and launch incredibly awesome lead guitar melodies, and there's something to be spoken for the fact that bass is audible much of the time and really shows a lot of skill.

The final point I will make on this is that even though every single track is amazing I, along with many many others that have commented on this record feel that Mare Cognitum absolute slays on this and they have the best tracks with the possible exception of Earth( The Mother) I would say that the stand out tracks include Earth ( The Mother), Venus( The Priestess) and Jupiter( The Giant). That's not to take away anything from the rest of the album which is overall an excellent concept album and a possible early contender for album of the year.