SEAR BLISS - The Haunting CD

Limited to 500 copies in super jewel case format.

This is a totally fascinating and beautiful record. Sear Bliss is a band that I've never really explored- in the more formative time when I was first exploring underground black metal, I regularly heard of them but never really got around to listening. Frankly, even after listening to 'The Haunting' a few dozen times, I don't think I'm much closer to really knowing the band. According to others (and I'm in the dark here as it's the only album by the band I own), this disc is supposed to be a pretty big departure from their standard sound, with a greater melodic death edge along with doomier tempos. If this is the truth, I'm inclined to think of this album as a one-off stroke of genius: very few bands can come out with a release so far apart from the rest of the metal scene and yet so marvelously consonant within itself. This is an absolutely mesmerizing record, and one that I've listened to numerous times without ever getting tired with it.