On only their debut full length, US band Noltem have crafted an album with astonishing maturity and emotional depth. Their brand of atmospheric black metal is virtually flawless, blending all the elements that make this style of music work. It's got perfectly tempered music, melodies that greatly enhance the expression of the inherently black metal riffing, elegant acoustic passages, tasteful keyboard sections, soaring guitar solos, vocals that go hand-in-hand with the plaintive music and much more. The song-structuring is akin to the retelling of someone's heartfelt life story - it's multi-faceted, encompassing countless myriad emotions, and immaculately put together as if the outcome was predetermined and executed to perfection. The 40-min album gets over before you even realize it, but that's because it's way too easy to get absolutely immersed in its beauty and lose track of reality. Albums like these don't come by very often, and Noltem have just concocted a masterpiece here.

FOR FANS OF: Agalloch, Saor, Felled, Panopticon, Falls of Rauros, Nechochwen