The messy production is the first thing you stumble upon when being attacked by the first track. The mix meanders in constantly imbalanced passages where the drums dominate the whole thing, the bass frequences melt in a fuzz commanded by turmoil drum fills and the vocals are a bit low in general. Leaving the production topic and going to the sound itself, only a few minutes are needed to perceive the huge imbalance caused by the drums. Quite often you assume the main instrument are percussives and the rest are just the background, really. One could say this is drums-driven metal or something like that... too many hits, massive fills, the baroque (not virtuoso, by the way) drumming distracts the listener from the very songs. The preponderance of that instrument both in the mix and the performance has as a result a tiresome listening. This circumstance in fact diminishes the positive effects some riffage could cause on the listener, because some parts here and there are not bad at all. Allegedly this band intended to craft a brand of metal linked to space music like Vangelis, albeit the final results clearly deny firm bonds between both sonic scenarios. Only the cover version, which incidentally may become the most significant curiosity and highlight of the album, could come close to a space metal offering as we know it, with its Hawkwind-esque touch. Yes, the lyrics and the bandname are based on constellations, astral events, comets and so on, but their music is not really galactic to my ears. The dark black/death metal with some loose alien touches (such as guitar leads, clean vocals, synths, etc.) Vulpecula perform can hardly be considered as something outstanding, though some moments are enjoyable. “In Dusk Apparition” is just for “cult just for the cult thing” collectors.

written by Fjordi

Playing time: 31.43