First full-length for these Canadian purveyors of progressive sludge. And I'd say it's a welcome arrival in a world that recently lost both Kylesa and Secrets of the Sky in a short period of time. Big, thunderous riffs and powerful grooves are peppered with proggy complexity in a way that should delight fans of both acts, though Astrakhan are definitely their own band. Vocals combine fairly laid back cleans and ugly shouts, the latter being about the only thing I don't like here. We start off in the deep end with "Omajod," which hardly wastes a moment of its almost eleven minutes. Other tracks are shorter, but still fairly ambitious, with a couple of interlude-type things thrown in. A rather dark but inviting and colorful ride.