This is definitely the best and most complete work yet from Murderous Vision. This time the entire CD is basically rather calm dark ambient material without a great deal of diversity, but the consistency works in favor of the disc, and there are just enough subtle details to keep things moving. "I Must Set This World Aflame" ends with some bleak musical tones and completely insane spoken vocals that are very heavily treated with effects (namely some low pitch shifting). "A Crimson Offering" runs more than eight minutes and is one of the darkest tracks, complete with manipulated samples and totally dismal ambient soundscapes. "Like Lambs to Slaughter" brings in some subtle percussion towards the end that really works well and helps the piece stand out, as does the acoustic guitar towards the final moments of "Journey Onward". "Cries of Mankind" is far more musical than most of the pieces. It's quite hypnotic and one of my favorites here. It may be simple and minimal, but it unloads a huge impact... very emotional. I think the recording is also very consistent throughout the disc. There are a lot of low tones, the depth is there, the volume is there, nothing is too muddy or overly bright. Good stuff. The layout is pretty cool. There are three distinct panels of imagery consisting of altered photographs of women with lots of busy textures and interesting color schemes. The front cover is absolutely beautiful and superbly executed, and the back cover is also very interesting (though not quite as visually forceful), but I don't like the panel under the CD tray because it sticks out as very obviously manipulated by a computer, whereas the other two almost create the illusion of being bizarre paintings or something. All in all this is a great CD from Murderous Vision, and I hope they continue to develop along the same path. I would say this is probably the first step in the direction of greater recognition for Murderous Vision, and once they get there it will be well deserved.
[Live Bait]
Running time - 59:39, Tracks: 9
[Notable tracks: Like Lambs to Slaughter, Fall Before Christ, Cries of Mankind]
Live Bait Recording Foundation - http://www.livebaitrecording.com
