IN MY EMBRACE – Dead to Dust Descend

In My Embrace is a Swedish act who performs melancholic and melodic black metal with slight hints of doom and gothic metal to it. This 25-minute EP entitled "Dead to Dust Descend" contains 6 songs that are all rather somber and morose, and some would probably argue that they lend themselves well to a listening session on a dark and stormy night due to their atmosphere, but, unfortunately, I think the songs are a bit too uneven to make a truly lasting impression. A lot of the melodies (and even a few whole songs!) simply aren’t memorable or captivating, which is a shame really, because clearly these guys know how to handle their instruments. Some of the calm and mellow passages and parts are pretty good and certainly capture a certain mood, but the black metal sections never really take off and deliver anything that is truly intense, fascinating, or haunting. "Dead to Dust Descend" is not decidedly bad or a waste of time, but in the overall perspective it is quite mediocre.