Review by Adam M on July 13, 2017.

Persefone performs progressive death metal that would make Cynic blush. There are all kinds of things going on with their music and it’s difficult to pay attention to all of them. The album opens with a subtle atmospheric flair before getting right into the main attraction of progressive death metal. This intro is very interesting and takes a while to become accustomed to. The actual death metal has a lot of progressive riffing that is very difficult to come to grips with.

The hardcore Cynic fan will feel right at home with these gyrations, however, and should take a good liking to the outfit. The band separates themselves by the more subtle elements of their music, however. It’s refreshing to hear a death metal album that has this much variety associated with it. In fact this album simply has a lot of stuff associated with it. This could lead to overindulgence and this is only slightly the case with Persefone, as they traverse the progressive stylings quite nicely. There is so much going on that it’s hard to completely come to terms with and this is the element that prevents this disc from being one of the highlights of the year in metal.   This band worships at the altar of Cynic and simultaneously shows itself to be more indulgent than Cynic, which is a huge draw with the music here. Fans of that band are likely to apply the most, while those looking for more tightly constructed death metal like the new Immolation may want to avoid this.

There is a lot to like, but it takes a lot of dedication to come to terms with the music here. Those looking for a challenge will find one for certain. Aathma is music for the progressive music lover and will apply to those listeners.

Rating: 7.6 out of 10