The spiritual dimension is elevated as a musical element but with a stronger focus on the human aspect of nature. "The melancholy is alleviated with a glimmer of hope, and we are left with something as rare as a morally uplifting DSBM record. It almost brought me to tears at times…Somehow distant yet vital and immediate, it’s just raw and honest enough to be tormented, whilst bright enough to be… hopeful, perhaps." - Black Metal Daily "Continuing to utilise his unique sonic palette that draws as much (if not more) from alternative, goth and myriad other influences as it does from any established DSBM templates, Melancholic Waters is a heartfelt and heart-rending album that exists in a captivating duality – on one hand abrasive and agonized, yet on the other raggedly beautiful raw and crumbling yet holding itself together with shimmering gossamer thread. Truly desolate melodies traverse barren atmospheres that burst in savagery before receding to more narcotic passages, dripping with a palpable sorrow. The record is raw, even visceral, with an evolving anguish that often erupts into furious, disconsolate anger, expressed in a harsh distorted rasp through lyrical abstractions reminiscent of such 20th-century modernist poets as T.S. Melancholic Waters Ablaze With the Fires of Loss is an emotionally intense paean to grief, regret, and ultimately hope – an album that’s both salt and salve for the wounds of its creator, and for anyone else lured in by its siren songs. After debuting in February MMXX with the release of their self-titled split with Michigan’s Crown of Asteria on highly regarded boutique cassette label Realm and Ritual, lone member Cicatrix has wasted no time in readying its follow-up.