2x****
This debut disc may not be the best, but at least you can't call it dawdling - "Help Us Stay Alive"**** kicks in with a tremendous melodic theme almost immediately, though when it breaks it takes its sweet time building to a spacious, ringing riff. The beginning of "Die" resembles the peaceful variety; when it does get going it's good and loud but not catchy. "Greet Death" sounds like it's building to something, but ends up stopping, and point B isn't very far from point A until almost the end at a cool siren-like lead part. "Yasmin The Light" and "Moon Is Down", the shortest at a mere 6 minutes, both make use of a single effective but monotonous progression (each); "Moon Is Down" throws in a noisy coda started with a spacey mid-Pink Floyd arpeggiated figure. Most of the songs tend to stick to a predictable progression from delayed-arpeggios to crashing chords, all in the same progression, but "Plane Will Crash Tomorrow"**** takes a bit more time to evolve; though the first 2 minutes are kind of a waste, a new dramatic theme quickly emerges, which gives way to one guitar, eerily pulsating discordantly. Other these float by or ratchet up the intensity, but all are strong melodically, including the Westminster chime-based fade-out ending.
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