Close to Animal

OK, I might not be the right person to review an album like this, but I will give it a shot. Not that I am biased, or will judge this album by its cover, it’s that I do not have much experience with this type of doomy music. What attracted me to this was the fact Phil was formerly in Deströyer 666. Now, on to the album...

The album starts with the song "Oceans," a 10+ minute dirge with some of the most beautiful harmonizing I have ever heard. Next is the title track, a song with a great catchy riff and some good melody work on the guitar. The female voices are also great and well-placed - nothing to pompous or over done here.

"Deep and Hallowed" has a very powerful and imposing starting riff. There is also a very entertaining guitar solo found at 6:20-7:30 in this song. Nothing too showy and it fits the song well. "Towards the Sun" is a remake of a song found on an earlier OOP album. Vastly improved upon, I must say! (Yes, I have bought the back catalogue of LVB because I was so impressed with this album.) "Naiad" closes the album. The female vocals are the best on the album in this song. The lyrics must have been written on a hallucinogenic induced trip of some sort. I know who Naiad was, but these lyrics are messed up!

There were a handful of talented musicians helping Phil on this album. Nick plays some great guitar solos. Amber and Ngame both have beautiful voices which compliment the song structures well.

I cannot find any fault in the production. Some songs are bit lengthy for my taste, but I never found myself getting bored with their length. My only big complaint is that Phil's voice falls flat many times, especially witnessed on "The Lower Road." The lyrics are thought out, and obviously have deep meaning to the composer. Good nature-oriented, man-free-of-societal-constraints type philosophy. The cover features a beautiful nude female body, which fits the lyrical content well.

I do not know to whom to compare this album. To me it is very unique; I have heard nothing to which it resembles. It is diverse without being showy or pompous or including any techno-type stuff Norwegian extreme metal bands were fond of for awhile. This could be enjoyed by any fan of music.