Don't get the wrong impression though: where this band shows its teeth their innate Swedish flair becomes assertively prominent, especially when they embark on fast, pummelling exercises in black metal ferocity. The pounding, slower interims of doom-ish sludgery are effective and appropriately menacing. But still, as a whole this offering remains unconvincing. Perhaps it's because their black metal lacks the caustic conviction of Dark Funeral's early spells or even the six-stringed incisiveness of Dissection's seminal output. Or perhaps because most of the creative élan that this band possesses is shamelessly squandered due to the album's loose musical set-up and dishevelled vocal parts. And this is notwithstanding the fact that their sound is seriously hamstrung by an appalling and incongruent production. In any case, it leaves much to be desired, not necessarily in terms of execution, because there's a lot of eye-poking quality in that area, but mostly in structural cohesion. So to sum it up, although _As_ is definitely a respectful effort, their sound could certainly use some contextual maturity before it can evolve into a standalone and solid musical identity.