Folium Limina

Oppressive, heavy, folk-tinged metal with great use of violin.

Creates a bleak, immersive atmosphere. Albums like this can get exhausting or dare I say a little boring, but Folium Limina has lovely flow and unexpected transitions that kept me engaged. At the three-minute mark, for example, in "Andromeda's Wing," a new melody rises out of the murk, carried by the violin, which had been hiding in the background to that point.

Now that I'm thinking about it, the album reminds me of progressive metal (even though it isn't) because what makes it great is its flow between related, unexpected melodies. It knows when to let a droning passage linger and when to cut it off in favor of silence, or when to raise the energy to a new pitch.

I was also impressed by the second half of "Bone Dust," which substitutes the vocals with an edited Charlie Chaplin speech. I usually hate spoken-word stuff in metal albums, but this time it works because of the incredibly heavy guitar work beneath it. It feels badass.

I'm considering giving this one a 3 because it's masterfully executed, but I'm not sure that it delighted me enough. I'll think about it.