Fans that loved the first albums by this band will be disappointed I think. The band floated away even further from the melodic black metal style. The style they choose with their last album 'VIII - The Time Unchained' has been explored even more. Gone is the heavy and raw sound that used to torture your speakers. What came back is a kind of Paradise Lost style with grunting and clean singing. The dark and cold parts are gone for a big part.

The track "Blood Trails" is one of the songs I like most. The song has nice melodic guitar parts and solo's and is rather up-tempo. After that "Cavalcade" slows down the tempo and has too much Paradise Lost influences. Fortunately the tempo goes up again with the next song. And for the first time you can hear their black metal roots, but not for long. To keep this review short, you can conclude that fans who liked the last album will dig this one too. If you had hoped for a return to their early style, your hopes are in vain.

At the moment I would describe their style as a mix of Paradise Lost, My Dying Bride and what once Catamenia was. In my opinion not a really bad effort, but not an outstanding performance either. Check it out and make your own decision.