Review by David on February 18, 2014.

The title track of this EP was actually the obligatory bonus track for the Japanese release of the debut album Eparistera Daimones. Maybe there'll be another EP along soon with the lead-off track being the Japanese bonus for this release? Who knows...? It's just a thought that tickled me, and seemed a pleasant little ice-breaker.

To open, "Shatter" is a fantastic track and leaves you wondering why it didn't make the album proper. The effects laden guitar leads seem stark on the backdrop of thickly distorted doom-filled riffs, but despite their initial awkwardness they continue to hang in the air in a sentimental manner. The vocals added by Simone Vollenweider during the chorus seem equally poignant and make this a much more refined affair. “I Am the Twilight” (another studio floor pick-up) is perhaps more in the style of the album on the whole, trudging along as it does with Tom Fischer's croaking and strained shouting; the problem is that it just doesn't inspire the emotions in the same way that "The Prolonging" did, for instance.

Really the EP should stop after the first two tracks as the rest of the content fails to provide anything in the way of compelling listening. “Crucifixus” is four minutes of unnecessary ambience aided by the sound of someone putting the lids back on the trash cans. Then there are two live versions of Celtic Frost classics in more of a Triptykon style, neither of which really seems special enough to warrant inclusion. Yeah “Dethroned Emperor” features Nocturno Culto doing vocals - which apparently demands a special caps locked mention on the sticker - but big whoop. This is perhaps my natural bias against live tracks as filler, but there is also the unnecessary anachronism of CF material in the light of this successful current project. We all know the past, but this is something different; allow us to enjoy it instead of shoehorning past glories in.

It isn't fair to advise avoiding this release without also stating that “Shatter” is such an interesting track that it's worth obtaining somehow *wink wink*. If it weren't for the astronomical prices of Japanese pressings, I'd just suggest getting an import of Eparistera Daimones so you get a pretty good album and the best track of this EP packaged on one shiny disc. As it is it's probably cheaper for those of a mind to splash the cash to buy this EP, thereby filling out your CD collection a little more and probably earning some special status on Last.fm... even if you only rip the title track to your iPod.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Originality: 4
Musicianship: 7
Atmosphere: 3.5
Production: 6.5
Overall: 3.5

Rating: 4.9 out of 10