( )

Honestly, if I had reviewed this album right after I first listened to it, the rating would be far worse than this. It didn't help that the first four tracks sounded like a slow funeral procession, and I first listened to it at night when I was mentally tired. I could have given up on () at this point, but curiosity ended up getting the better of me, and I've slowly grown warm to ().

The thing to keep in mind here is that all of the compositions (none are given names anywhere on the CD or booklet) develop very slowly and many times just seem to swamp on time. It's basically this eerie, organic atmosphere that draws the attention; those who enjoy the album might know what I'm talking about. It's very hard to describe this to a newbie or non- fan, so it's a matter of listening to the album and seeing if it sucks you in. The tension and intensity in the last track is just too good to pass up. By the way, the album kind of gives me a mental picture of a winter forest.