The Metal Observer review

When this one man Death Metal machine sent his demo out to all the zines, quite frankly, everyone went bonkers. Not since Muhammed Suicmez came on the scene with NECROPHAGIST's own "Onset Of Putrefaction" has a one man band received quite this level of critical acclaim and general buzz... and it is not undeserved.

The one man thing is where the comparisons end to that "other" band, however. Richard Tomsett's music is a completely different beast - the focus here is not the technical aspect of the playing, but more the crafting of the songs - it's obvious that there is a huge amount of inspiration from both sides of the fence, being Black Metal and Death Metal, with a very progressive tinge to it. This is not the kind of album you want to jam while chilling with your buddies and grabbing a cold one - it demands your full attention, lest you be lost in the song structures which are admittedly complex... but also rewarding. Tomsett obviously plays all of the instruments on this album and while the guitar work is the thing most likely to be praised - I'm personally in love with the bass playing on this album. Very catchy and melodic, just like the music. The only thing better is that you can hear every note of it - the production is very clear; impressive for a home job and although it might not sound as polished as a studio recording might, I'm not going to dock any points because quite frankly, basement production jobs don't get MUCH better than this (save for a few acts like TESSERACT). Also, the programmed drums are as realistic and organic as any I've ever heard - it's obvious the man put a great deal of effort into them.

One thing that stood out to me was the choicely placed and sweeping, well-composed instrumental string ballad that is the unnamed fifth track. It is the perfect way to segment from "Dust" into the album's title track... and also, the record's closer, "The Life Parade" which pushes past the 9 minute mark and without a second of filler - epic in every sense of the word!

The only downsides I can think of are the vocals... which, while deep and decidedly dark sounding... lack a bit of "oomph". You can tell that the sound is mainly coming from his throat, whereas the rule of thumb is for the experienced Death Metal vocalist, you must sing/growl/whatever from your diaphragm. Other than the volume issue... I was actually instantly reminded of Mikael Akerfeldt's vocal performance on the OPETH classic "Demon Of The Fall". Which isn't too bad of a compliment! Also, the man doesn't appear to be too confident of a lyricist... the majority of the lyrics (save for two tracks) were written by some fellow who calls himself "Bleakmage", whose lyrics aren't half bad!

Minor nitpickings aside, all fans of bands like OPETH, DARK TRANQUILLITY, KATATONIA, EMPEROR... pick this one up and keep your ears open in the future... a part of me tells me this isn't the last the Metal world is going to hear from INDIGENT... far from it!!

Sean............9/10