BLACK MARE's "Woman The Throne" bleak, cold opening riffs chip against the previous silence like hammered chisel into centuries-old slabs of ice before opening up just before the 2:00 mark, eventually revealing the cavernous domain of sonic textures beneath the dense exoskeleton. This track was conceived, written, and recorded around the sessions that produced the Death Magick Mother full-length album. OFFRET's "We Are Waiting" is the ominous summoning that its title infers. Air-siren-conjuring drones and deep, guttural organ tones topped with rattlesnake percussion instantly transport the ear and the mind to another land in another time. Russian lyrics effectively drive the concept home, as most listeners will find themselves strangers in an ominous setting before a triumphant second and third act unfolds from the midpoint on.