Metal Underground.com

Three years after “Earth Floods Red,” the U.S. solo metal outfit Enduring Revery finally has a follow-up to unleash in the form of “Through The Keyhole,” an album that again mixes introspective tranquility with deafening bouts of heaviness. Keeping the same format as the previous release, the album consists of four full tracks, which are then followed by instrumental versions of the same songs that nix the vocals for those who don't dig the harsher delivery.

As with the last album, “Through The Keyhole” balances a strong mix of extreme and acoustic while combining a range of genre influences. Also as before, fans of Hallowed Butchery will get a sense of familiarity with the distorted doom segments worked in and out of softer passages, but there's also a good deal of new sounds to be discovered. Opening track “Fists Of Enlightenment,” for instance, sees the rhythm section come rumbling out of the mix to the forefront for some funky bass lines in the middle of the track.

An eclectic release with lots going on musically, the four main tracks will switch between acoustic strummed intros to distorted guitar-heavy segments, and then back and forth between both incredibly hoarse and abrasive yells and clean singing. “Disintegrate” in particular plays with all these elements, mixing up melancholy acoustic sounds with heavier and more extreme material. The album as a whole is absolutely dripping with atmosphere, even during the heaviest segments, although there are times where a boost in speed wouldn't be unwelcome, as the frequently slower pacing can drag down each of the tracks.

Sound-wise much of “Through The Keyhole” also leans more towards demo quality, but at least all the instruments are audible and the vocals don't overpower the guitars or drums. The release is hard to peg down with a specific genre tag, as there are numerous echoes of different identifiable styles, but the music is presented in a format that sort of ignores the traditional metal delivery modes. Between the stylistic mashups and production style, “Through The Keyhole” is definitely an underground experience for metal fans who like to go way off the mainstream map.