MERCIFUL NUNS
‘Xibalba III'
SOLAR LODGE

Artuad Seth and his Merciful Nuns have, in a very short space of time, climbed back to the heights of his Garden Of Delight heyday. Already onto the band's third full length release with two EPs and a live album in the discography, Seth isn't hanging about in projecting his musical and philosophical vision to the world any more. But is this a case of rushing in where angels fear to tread?

With the opener ‘The Prophecy' slowly stirring into life and projecting a still, emptiness with great power it is immediately evident that this isn't the case. The band craft atmosphere around a solid rock core with ease and show that even the more progressive inclinations they have are well within their comfort zone.
There are plenty of standout songs on display here with ‘Radiation', ‘Ancient Astronauts', ‘The Return', and ‘In Between Worlds' in particular harking back to the effective gothic rock of Seth's early career, showing why Merciful Nuns is billed as GOD's only legitimate successor.
One of the most notable points with any Merciful Nuns release though is the steady improvement in the production and mixes. Despite their fast schedule the album has been given plenty of time in order to get the right balance of sounds.

Confidence has never been an issue for Seth and his cohorts, but Merciful Nuns still get stronger with every release. ‘Xibalba III' continues to walk the fine line between gothic rock and ambient atmospherics while still keeping to an impressively trim musical formula. There is no excess, just good song writing.

[4/5]