I listened to this once and immediately made up my mind: "No, not as good as the first disc". I then put it away and didn't bother listening to it again. I was dead wrong though, since this is an incredibly genius album. It could very well be the metal scenes personal plague, since it will be the cause of death after self-inflicted death, due to the bleak and depressive elements it makes one experience.

Track one is rather poor actually, the main reason why I somewhat avoided giving the album more than a handful of listens. The album picks up though, and by the time it's finished….well I didn't exactly have a huge fucking smile on my face. Have Skepticism become the greatest Finnish doom band ever with this release? Possibly, but obviously some will still prefer an album such as "Streams from the Heavens". Listening to tracks 2 and six makes me wonder though….

Production is powerful, and works wonders for the bleak and lifeless music. Having trouble deciding if jumping out the window is a better idea than heading off to work yet AGAIN tomorrow. "Lead and Aether" may help you make that decision……doom death at it's fucking finest.

© 1998 brand