Band:	Advent Sorrow
Album:	As All Light Leaves Her
Style:	Atmospheric black metal, Depressive black metal
Release date:	August 2015

01. Hopeless
02. With Storming Death
03. The Agony Courses Through My Veins
04. While Bones Are Broken
05. As All Light Leaves Her
06. Shining Hollow
07. Skin To Suffer In
08. Absolute Perpetual Death

"Do not go gently into that good night" indeed.

In order to delve into this manic depressive soundtrack's content, one must first explore its origins by way of the band's debut EP, Before The Dimming Light, which generated plenty of hype upon its release for its bombastic, enticing style. It isn't a required task most of the time to take on the additional homework of investigating back catalogs, but as a result of the dichotomy presented with such differing styles between that EP and this album, it serves to further illuminate why these differences are so important, highlighting the necessity for change even with the opportunity for success eagerly waiting at the doorstep.

Moving away from their symphonic keyboard-centric style may not net them a wider array of fans, but it was clearly in the band's best interest to change direction. Before The Dimming Light works better as a stand-alone piece, with its concept and writing proving to be either too difficult to follow up naturally, or simply fulfilling in the sense the band felt they had laid to rest that chapter of their musical lives. Whatever the reason, it led to the creation of this near-total departure in sound, with the tortured, agonizing screams of vocalist Rhys King the main signature element staging a return -- though his enveloping death metal growls have been completely abandoned. The pianos and keyboards managed to tag along for the ride as well, though their prominence is considerably lessened this time around.

As All Light Leaves Her, this depressive, vile, disturbing display of sickness and self-loathing, is significantly less dynamic and aggressive, but offers up a far more sinister vibe in place of its predecessor's blunt approach. The production plays a primary role in this, clouding the instruments at times with a thickness that coats your ears and forces you to cut through just to hear it all properly. The piercing melodies break through on their own, and of course the inescapable "vocals" (not sure that term is entirely applicable at times) are always forward in the mix, but the lack of individuality from song to song can lead to a feeling of sameness over its 44 minute run time. There are enough tempo changes and supporting keyboard work to prevent it all from completely blending together, but even then there's a noticeable formula present that takes any guesswork out of the journey, which isn't a problem on this album's follow-up, Kali Yuga Crown.

From the moment you hear those iconic Dylan Thomas words set to a gentle piano tune with slowly rising keyboards in the background, right up until the bittersweet conclusion of "Absolute Perpetual Death" -- every inch of this album's life struggling to take a breath in its final minute -- you'll be swept up in this beautifully orchestrated, yet horribly exhausting mental breakdown. It's a lot to endure, but there's a sense of relief in this performance if listening to other people's trauma is therapeutic for you. And for what it is, it deserves its place in the upper tier of depressive black metal releases, but won't ever get much exposure outside of that circle being that it only offers a sense of satisfaction to fans of that particular genre.