“The Pact…” was released in the year 2022 and emerged from unusually quiet and contemplative depths. Even though it was manifested last year, this concept album only grows stronger on repeated listens and shows the essence of ‘A Work To Stand A Thousand Years’ like it was intended, whether this assessment is based purely on music, spirit or aesthetic. Some compositions are soothing yet haunting. A decent combination between great maddening Black Metal, grandiose Horror Doom, wild Thrash Metal and traditional Heavy Metal. Despite the vast and varied array of influences, many territories are enriched with the fervor of madness and pace such an epic dramatic composition with clarity of intent – making an otherworldly opus like nobody else does. ‘Poison And The Crucifix’ and ‘Three Turns To The West’, for instance, seamlessly transitions from 80s Metal to the force of retro Thrash Metal infused with a cryptic vocal style in the mystical realms of Black Metal. The dark supremacy echoes and soars with a purposefully amateurish guitar solo that extends the level of eeriness to the forefront. Their melody is something primordial, and it is so boundless that it only adds a magical significance to the song. In order to save the grace and amplify the tension after listening to unrelenting blackened Metal, this quartet offers a hypnotizing instrumental interlude entitled ‘The Wailing Of The Immured’. A memento mori that Black Metal is more than disturbing, primitive and extreme. And the lunacy resumes in ‘Even The Devil Goes Into The Church’ and ‘The Other Door’. Their diabolical arrangements are propelled by a chaotic guitar rhythm with technical flourishes, bounding with an impressive balance of intriguing melodies, thudding basslines and their wicked vocal signature over an abundant drumming gallop. The continuum has to end with the majestic ‘And So It Came To Pass’. A perfect grand finale clocking under 16 minutes that displays the entrancing quality and ecstatic heights of their musical excellence. Given the length of the song, it is not pretentious or redundant. Each second presents the epitome of their sonic art. The immense blackened aura conspires with heavy pounding riffs, dreary classical orchestration and a ghostly doom element over the choirs towards the end of the song. The unchanging formulas that represent the outer realms and their very foundation, which NEGATIVE PLANE has aimed to deliver since 2001. The third album of these American Metallers is expanding further and traversing all kinds of genres previously mentioned, dictating some particular moods through the corridors across a series of stories – a supernatural mystery kind of tale that leads the listener into further endless exploration. The plot of each song is a treasure for the listener, the grand design of an enigma that patiently awaits to be discovered, and is one of the many great depths to this album. The story and the spiritual references that unfolded also leave lasting impressions. A yearning to venture “The Pact…” again and again. It is indeed a triumphant return for NEGATIVE PLANE after a long eleven years of silence. If you are prepared to experience the glory days of Black Metal, make sure to take some bold steps forward by clicking on the following links: https://negativeplane.bandcamp.com, www.facebook.com/invictusproductions