THE EXTENT OF DAMAGE

The band certainly likes their black and white album covers, and like the previous album I feel the album cover doesn't represent the music very well, but that's just me. The album cover is disturbing in my opinion but thankfully it's the music that's important and it's excellent. I do feel this is their best release yet and while I would describe it as melancholic and dark it's far from creepy and disturbing as the cover would suggest. By the way the music on this album is very cinematic and it certainly is enhanced when headphones are in use.

"Necro" opens with a dark atmosphere that seems to hover. It turns fuller and even brightens just before 2 minutes. Sweeping string-like sounds come over the top. It calms right down 4 1/2 minutes in and when it builds it has a surprisingly feel-good vibe to it. Another calm before 8 minutes but this one is more haunting. It's building again 9 1/2 minutes in with outbursts of guitar and sound as the thick atmosphere continues. Percussion sounds come in loudly a minute later then sounds pulse and wash over the dark soundscape.

"The Lies We Share" is dark with guitar expressions and more. The mood changes 2 1/2 minutes in as the atmosphere subsides and eerie sounds dominate before the guitar expressions return. A beat arrives at 4 minutes as does the thick atmosphere. Back to those eerie sounds after 5 1/2 minutes. There's a beauty to the sound here at 6 minutes as we get a soft sound with strings and more. Bass joins in then we get a calm 8 minutes in and it's haunting with eerie sounds again but then that beauty over-takes it all to the end.

"The Great Divide" is dark as various intricate sounds come and go. Waves of atmosphere as well join in, then a disturbing mood arrives after a minute and builds. A calm before 3 1/2 minutes but there's lots of atmosphere. A beat just before 7 minutes as it starts to brighten somewhat to the end. "They Sleep While We Burn" is dark with a rhythm and plenty of atmosphere. This continues on for some time then we get a change after 6 minutes and it turns into that Post-Rock style. Beautiful stuff as it winds down to the end. "The Extent Of Damage" ends it all and I love the waves of sound in this one.

Another fantastic release by this band from Belgium. And yes Post-Rock does seem to fit their style more than any other sub-genre in my opinion even if this is far from being typical Post-Rock.