The Comforting Grip of Misery

Despite the weird name, this is not some metalcore abomination but a Black Metal band with epic and depressive tendencies who create a rather distinct soundscape on this, their second full-length. I say "they" but this is another one of those one-man projects who nevertheless produce very fine work. The riffs on this thing are a pleasure: layered and deeply melodic, fueled by a raw guitar sound and a lot of polish in the compositions. The songs all have quite distinct identities, quite an accomplishment in extreme metal. Sole band member Nre has an adequate rasp, and layered in among all the other sounds it does not distract. There are also some clean vocals, and those actually have some quite magnetic melodies and help make the songs memorable. Of special note is the short, a capella track "Winter's Elegy", sung by guest vocalist Linds Bestwicke. Set against sounds of howling wind, it sounds like some kind of medieval witch hymn and is haunting as fuck. Overall this is a really strong album.