This cult Dutch band brings us their second full-length album with dark, epic incantations of pure 70s-style hard rock perfection, remaining refreshingly original despite the retro vibes. They’ve been described as Jefferson Airplane if they were into Satan instead of flowers. The thick, grooving guitars and gothic keyboards are reminiscent of recent horror rock revivalists such as Sweden’s Ghost (on the a-file last year), as well as the real deal a.k.a. [insert awesome band from the 70s here] with hints of King Diamond and Iron Maiden. The singer adds a neoclassical element to the mix with her soulful, operatic harmonies (in some places they sound a bit “lighter” than they’ve been before, though no less gothic). It’s worth noting that she performs standing completely still, with fake blood smeared over her face. RIYL: the 70s, Alice Cooper videos on mute, the full moon—also recommended if you went through a gawth-kid phase in middle school and have matured since then, but you still get black-eyeliner nostalgia sometimes.

FCC clean. Amazing tracks: 5, 7, 8
Most songs fade into each other with cleverly arranged ambient interludes; still, it tends to sound abrupt in single player mode, so be sure to fade volume in/out.

1. (2:18) a rather pointless intro that builds from soft wind to lilting jazzy piano and eventually fades into the epic rock of the next track…
2. (7:04) wicked psych-rock with haunting vox and bluesy riffs, pummeling drums and searing lead guitar
3. (3:53) sick lead riff, vox are soaring and operatic. Bit of goth-pop with “lalala” interludes and crooning harmonies.
4. (3:35) a tad forgettable, vox are hushed and relaxed at first, meandering guitars eventually settle on thick riffs with a heavy backbeat
5. (7:26) AMAZING!!! Bluesy slide guitar gives way to a massive, minor-key groove: rockin’ tune about the delights of sexual forays with hellspawn.
6. (5:39) Maiden harmonies, catchy as fuck classic rock with tambourine
7. (9:02) Epic prog hard rock—symphonic synth/acoustic guitar intro, gives way to enervating dark rock amazingness; I repeat, FUCKING AMAZING.
8. (5:06) horror movie synth chords lead into another apocalyptic rocker. Stellar vocal performance, twin-guitar leads, ALSO AMAZING
9. (6:13) chaotic guitar feedback and echoing intro, becomes a lumbering doom overture after a minute or so; this subsides into pretty-yet-creepy arpeggios and lullaby singing with some power-ballad guitar solos. Crescendo at the end is similar to the intro, fades into next song
10. (8:28) chugging guitar chords and soaring keyboards, psychedelic layers of reverb and fuzz, vocals are overpowered in the mix. Not that amazing. Descends into a slow, plodding outro, crescendos before fading into whispering ambience that carries into the next song.
11. (15:15) lush acoustic ballad starts after a minute of drifting fuzz; halfway through, it transitions into a drifting psych-rock jam with lots of wah solos and a slowly building backbeat.