Once my disappointment faded and I gave it a chance, I realised it is more than merely ordinary, and that mastermind Simon Heath has not lost his touch. _Ptahil_ is, in its own minimallistically bleak way, every bit as dark and oppressive as his previous opus. Although the atmosphere is still decidedly bleak and oppressive, it is not as despairingly claustrophobic as before. If _Kapnobatai_ was the soundtrack to the external constraint of an institution, this is the soundtrack to the internal constraints of a broken mind.

My review may seem overwhelmingly negative for an album with such a comparatively high rating, but the stakes are automatically raised whenever an artist deliverers an album that is worth a rare 10. Would I have bought it? I can say that yes, I would still have bought it, even having heard it. It is pretty good, but it's not going to threaten my 2007 top 10.