A Gleam in the Eye of Set Review

Band	Drowning the Light
Album	A Gleam in the Eye of Set
Type	EP
Released	September 15, 2019
Genres	Atmospheric Black Metal
Labels	Dark Adversary Productions
Length	20:49

Reviewer :  KaroshiMetal         Rating :  100 / 100

Australia's very own Drowning The Light is one of those projects whom holds a unique sound within their art of black metal and ambient. As the years passed by, we have received one specific demo that held an Egyptian theme titled "Tenth Region Of The Night" and we have now been granted a similar release after about 3 years. That brings us to this EP of 2019 titled "A Gleam in the Eye of Set".

This EP contains 4 tracks of pure Egyptian-themed black metal and this is very easy to identify based on the cover artwork, the track titles and the image the listeners are given into their minds as they experience these four tracks. The EP begins with an instrumental ambient tune that has a very old school-like fantasy vibe with two separate keyboard sections playing alongside together as the drum work eventually comes into play with it's steady snare and cymbal beats. This song's title "From the Waters of Primeval Chaos" is a very fitting title as the entire listening experience puts the listener into a deep mind of imagining they are sailing among rivers of Egypt, preparing to face a chaotic force of history. It's a very soothing instrumental piece that easily prepares the listeners for the actual chaos that takes place in the second track. As we enter the second track, we are immediately charged into fast guitar tremolo riffs with fast drum beats that easily makes the listener feel they are being swept away into a large chaotic sandstorm. While Drowning The Light is known for maintaining this specifically produced sound for recent releases, the melodies keep themselves in a steady structure that holds a unique atmosphere this EP is going for. The riffs maintain it's fast paced tremolo throughout the early stages of the song as Azgorh delivers his well-known shrieks along with gloomy chants for quite a few instances until it eventually summons the keyboard section as the guitar work switches it's chord progression into a somewhat more lightened feel. At this point, it brings back the fantasy vibe as described earlier for a good while until coming to a brief pause with a wind sound effect. Azgorh continues on with his gloomy chants as the guitar and drum work quickly return with the instrumentation structure that ends the song very much the same way as how the song began, ditching the keyboard aside.

The next song maintains the very same atmosphere with the very same production quality, although there is not much use of vocals for this track. For the most part, we are given distorted tremolo riffs with a clean keyboard section performing alongside for only one moment during the middle length of the song until it ends with the sound effect of heavy wind and thunder. And so the EP ends the experience with the fourth track, introducing clean guitar strumming for about 26 seconds until it brings us the typically fast distorted guitar and drum work while the guitar itself maintains the same similar melody pattern as what we hear during the introduction. While the early stages of the song itself maintains this similar structure in terms of musical progression, it all later comes to an end as we hear the keyboard effect that delivers slow soothing ambient for the remainder of the song while being accompanied by Azgorh's well-known gloomy vocals as he chants about the Egyptian deities Apep, Set and Horus.

"A Gleam in the Eye of Set" is a 20-minute EP with unique ambient and black metal composition that Drowning The Light is easily known for. It holds it's raw yet epic atmosphere up very well that easily takes you on a journey of pure Egyptian chaos, and it can possibly hold a strong desire for returning to such experience after the journey's end.