Band:	Mare Infinitum
Album:	Sea Of Infinity
Style:	Atmospheric doom metal
Release date:	December 19, 2011
A review by:	BitterCOld

01. In Absence We Dwell
02. Sea Of Infinity
03. Beholding the Unseen
04. November Euphoria
05. In The Name Of My Sin

Next up from Solitude Productions, the label which also features doom acts Comatose Vigil, Abstract Spirit, and Who Dies In Siberian Slush, we have Mare Infinitum, a collaboration consisting of A.K. iEezor (Comatose Vigil, Abstract Spirit) and Homer (ex-Who Dies In Siberian Slush).

The aptly titled debut Sea Of Infinity is a sprawling death doom endeavor, featuring five songs that register nearly an hour.

When recalling my listening experience of this release, two key elements immediately spring to mind.

First being the vocals. A.K. possesses a ridiculously powerful low end growl that puts most death vocalists to shame. Whenever he of the inevitable throat surgery starts a-growling he dominates those passages of the tune, pushing everything else to the back. His subsonic barking is countered at times by some clean vocals provided by guest musicians.

The other is the keyboard, which, provides the basic flow of the songs. At times it slows and allows the other instruments to the fore, but for oft extended periods of time, if feels like the keyboard catches everything else up and drowns it out in its wake. Sure, the crushing guitar riffs are still there, but the keyboard simply fills up the vast empty space between strums, thus seeming to overpower the six strings.

There is the occasional solo or "guest instrument", i.e. the violin(?) in the opening of "In The Name Of My Sin" to add a little extra texture to the longer pieces. A nice, short scenic view as the rolling on the river continues.

To continue along with the rolling river metaphor, upon first listening to the opening track, "In Absence We Dwell", I immediately took a slight dislike to the album. For some reason it just didn't click? but as the album wears on, Mare Infinitum gradually erode away my feelings of discontent to the point where midway through the instrumental "November Euphoria", I am thinking happy thoughts and have a positive opinion of the release as a whole.

I found it "meh" at some points, but flat out beautiful at others, with the beautiful segments having a much stronger, more lasting impact. This release is at least on par with the latest from their other associated projects and is worth checking out.