Being only February and having the marvelous Dark Tranquillity effort, _Character_, already in regular rotation in my JVC player, 2005 is shaping up to be an incredible year for metal. I have what could amount to the number one and number two of my top 10 for this year already in hand. Nearly inconceivable, but true and I am glad for it.

After an unbelievable back catalog, Illinois's own Novembers Doom have pushed themselves to the point where everything has come together perfectly; _TPHD_ ties together a compelling culmination of style, elements and atmosphere. With all deference to My Dying Bride, Opeth or Katatonia, I would put _The Pale Haunt Departure_ up against any of their efforts for content and ability to redefine the texture of mood. The topics put forth on this album are anything but comfortable or easy, with incredibly intelligent lyrics that disquiet the soul. Complex and rich, the experience is both verbally and emotionally disconcerting down to the very fiber of one's being.

Over fifty minutes in length, _TPHD_ works the listener over with sweeping transformations ranging from lengthy passages of instrumentation to crushing sections. After eight tracks, you are pleasantly exhausted and craving more. With mixing duties compliments of Dan Swano and production by James "Disincarnate" Murphy, _The Pale Haunt Departure_ has become as a Midwestern sentinel guarding the notion that metal knows no boundaries!