What makes this Autumn Wind Productions' release unique, is first and foremost being fairly accessible, melodic and communicative, and in stark contrast to most of the other AWP roster of incoherent noise and redundancy. When AWP releases a communicative album, it is as grand as this one, no less (as is the case with the wonderful Arbeit reviewed on CoC about a year ago and nominated among the very select albums of the year for 2007).

EVP, a one man entity, has incorporated neo-classicism, dark ambient, martial-industrial, drum 'n' bass, as well as themes of dark romanticism, necromancy and the general sound of hellish cabaret music into the band's vision, resulting in something which is as alienating as it is engaging. While on one hand the music scares the living shit out of you -- eerie, mysterious, cold and truly frightening -- on the other hand, in its own peculiar way _Postmortem Canticles of Necromancy_ makes the listener relate, internalize and awake from their everyday slumber of existence. The warm, cabaret-like rhythms and melodies stretch out, as if inviting you to dance in this murky, smoke filled, outlandish French coffee house of the departed, the damned, the undead...

These dichotomies clash in the listener's soul and psyche, causing commotion, bewilderment and ultimately bewitchment, while trumpets hammer, flutes cut through flesh and keyboards and violins (or samples of those) sear the soul.

EVP's _Postmortem Canticles of Necromancy_ is both a physical and a mental experience; a total one; and is the closest thing I have ever heard to being the musical manifestation of the border-line, the threshold between here and the hereafter...

Think of an ultra dark amalgamation between Elend's _The Umbersun_, Terry Gilliam movies' soundtracks ("12 Monkeys" would be just perfect) and the "Hellraiser" soundtracks (especially the original and the sequel). Simply wow!