Following their blast of black metal-inspired Heart of the Ages, In the Woods came up with this devastatingly beautiful marriage of prog metal, gothic texture, epic scope, and amazingly intricate, deeply moving songwriting for a tour de force that stands as one of European metal's classic recordings. Leaving the screaming vocals to the ashes of black metal's first wave, Omnio instead concentrates on creating long (there are only five tracks here), gorgeously woven narratives with emotions such as grief, sorrow, reverence, mysticism, paganism, and Norse lore. With slowly unfolding schemata, In the Woods manages to accomplish the darker side of what Marillion did in the early days: creating mood, atmosphere, and drama with stunningly clear male and female vocals, wailing guitars, and a string quartet just atop the drum kit.