Possibly none of the above. The first track sets the somewhat unrelenting tone: swirling, over-saturated guitar noise churn, with buried howls and cries. Its like lost recordings from Bardo Pond, when they were pissed-off kids. The second track is a more linear take on the same sound, with more prominent vocals; but its anchored by a submerged bass drone which gives the whole thing a grand ominousness. “The Lament (3 of Swords)”, the third track, builds from the same materials as before, but achieves a darker sound; and does it without recourse to a drone. There’s less bluster and squall, a bit more space for the churn to breathe.

Although being the second shortest track at just under five minutes, “Removing The Blade” is probably the most expansive; as a high pitched skyward whine emerges from the swirling noise, and reverberates towards the heavens. With the arrival of the fifth track, the clouds of distortion disappear, and a different sound is revealed. Its a welcome change, and one my ears needed. The trouble with such saturation, is that it crushes light and shade; so the previous tracks all had a very similar palette and timbre. Given that I’m listening to the tracks very much as sound - as opposed to songs, say - this can be a tad wearing on the ears. So “A New Scar” is a timely change in tone, with echoing synth lines and a vocal laid bare. Its a very nice track. Its very dark, without necessarily trying too hard. (In a similar vein, the whole cd is harsh in sound without being overtly coupled to a harsh aesthetic/intention.) It actually sounds like something from the further reaches of black metal. The last track, “Autonomous Kingdom”, takes this black metal feel and then runs towards power electronics; with echoing shrieks riding whining treble and spitting bass. Its a succinct ending to the cd.

So, from our initial three clues, its tempting to say that this could indeed be described as a truly psychedelic take on metal  - a bad trip explored through overloaded distortion and reverb - but I can’t explain the fiery cat. Yet.