Those familiar with bands in the boondocks of black metal who flirt with power electronics and dark ambience will not consider Locrian's juxtaposition to be groundbreaking, but will be hard-pressed to name any other band that has achieved such a flawless realization. Nor do Locrian resort to (everything but the) "kitchen sink" antics. Yet, still incredibly varied, Locrian's musical constructions have peaks and troughs without resorting to tired alternations between light and dark, or heavy and light, within skilful songs structures. Distorted guitars languidly seesaw on some tracks and provide a cacophonic drone that veers towards pure noise on others, while the few vocals present tend towards the standard black metal screech. All of this is wrapped in a unique, mystical, occult atmosphere that permeates every pore. The bonus provides more of the same, but is not nearly as good as the album proper, suggesting Locrian are at their Crowleyan best working within shorter strong structures. However, _Drenched Lands_ has ascended to the throne in a field that has many pretenders, but until recently, no emperor.