Tristwood have been wise enough not to just throw beats and samples here and there, but rather to employ certain industrial / techno intensity added to the ferocity and speed of their death / black metal hybrid. Their use of drum machine might turn away a good deal of fans who are always on the look for the next Pete Sandoval; but if you're OK with programmed drumming, the obvious lack of live percussions won't bother you that much. The approach is undoubtedly death metal (especially on the vocal front) with dominating speed sections that are borderline black plus a bunch of melodic leads and solos weaving Oriental tunes akin to Nile. Keyboards are heavily involved and so are samples and beats, though techno or drum 'n' bass elements are so interwoven with the guitar distortion they rarely stand out at their own.

Lyrical subjects are obviously hermetic traditions, arcane magick and forgotten rituals of the East and South, thus reminding the listener once more of the likes of Nile and Stargazer.

The final verdict is that this is a rather good album, characterized by an adventurous if not quite so unique approach, well executed and undoubtedly an entertaining listen. A bit more variety would have been welcome, but hey, you can't have it all, can you?