Review by Jack on April 24, 2002.

The third of The End Records compilations. The End present us with a brief and sharp smattering of what their latest showcase of bands comprises of. “At the End of Infinity” is jam-packed with some extremely competent and very individual bands, hailing from all over the globe. From Australia (yay!) we have Virgin Black, from Norway two of this month’s greatest albums and bands in the form of Winds and Arcturus. Also from the cold reaches of the European continent comes Green Carnation. Hailing from The End Records native country (USA) is Agalloch and Scholomance who play dark, depressive metal and kaleidoscopic dark/black metal, respectively. To round out the diverse nationalities is Sleepless, who originate from a extremely topical, as of late country, in Israel.

The music on “At the End of Infinity”, whilst extremely diverse in genre and reach to an audience; Green Carnation being a mammoth progressive symphony and Sleepless falling into the sphere of a dark tinged jazz entity, for example, does not detract from the overall coherency of the eight selected tracks. Each track seems to roll off onto one another. A perfect illustration of this being how the end of Virgin Black’s ‘Walk Without Limbs’ culminates in a gentle piano piece, which subsequently moves into another classical piano opening in the form of Arcturus’ ‘Star-Crossed’. The sheer diversity can often be tumultuous for a compilation album, as you can often not know which way you are being swung. The listing and final composition of all tracks is extremely important, and certainly one facet that The End Records have taken into account when producing “At the End of Infinity”. My only gripe with “At the End of Infinity” is the length, which considering the amount of new stuff these guys are putting out, it might not have hurt to chuck a few extra tracks on, bumping the length up to 55-60 odd minutes and maybe resting at 10-11 tracks.

Bottom Line: Flowing meticulously from end to end, “At the End of Infinity” is a very compulsive listen. Somewhat too brief, but still addictive, nonetheless. A good sampler of some wonderful bands.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Originality: 8
Musicianship: 8
Atmosphere: 7
Production: 8
Overall: 7

Rating: 7.6 out of 10