This split gathers DYING EMBRACE from India and DUSK from Pakistan, both playing Death / Doom Metal and sharing the record with equity, since each one offers five songs including a cover version. DYING EMBRACE are rather experimental, with speedier passages, a rather Blackish voice, and weird structures. The production is not very powerful, lacking some weight. But there is some originality to be found here, and you may be surprised by the way the songs progress… listen to those passages, the riffing and soloing, for instance in their best song, ‘Horns Of The Divine’. There must be some oriental influence in the way those guitars are played. I was gripped mainly by the unusual way of playing those riffs, that still sound rather good, even if it is all sometimes rather disjointed (as is obvious from the very beginning of the split). They close with a cover of AUTOPSY, ‘Twisted Mass Of Burnt Decay’, done in their very own personal way, sounding again rather weird, with the thin sound and completely gargled vocals. As for DUSK, they are a band that travelled much as long as their musical style goes, but are now back to their Doomy roots. Their side begins with a melancholic acoustic guitar with background effects and then they proceed to delivering the goods. Much tighter than DYING EMBRACE, they play a strong and imposing brand of Doom Metal, well played and well composed that I much enjoyed. Reminiscent of CENOTAPH or early CATHEDRAL, there are moments of real brilliance, like on the wonderful ‘Forged By Fires Of Duality’. They sure know how to take advantage of two guitars, and the vocals are very good, employing different styles other than deathly rasps, such as clean voices and whisperings. They end with a cover of MOTÖRHEAD’s ‘Bomber’ featuring Shyaithan of IMPIETY on vocals, a very fast Black  / Thrash version, a bit chaotic but quite cool. It’s great to see how far and wide the power of Metal reaches; salutations to these eastern keepers of the flame. A recommended and worthwhile release. www.reverbnation.com/dyingembrace, http://duskhorde.bandcamp.com, www.cyclopeaneye.com