When people think of Portugal, they generally tend to think of the old Portuguese empire and port wine. But when you ask most anyone in the Portuguese, goth, industrial, or metal scenes what they think of when they think Portugal these days and this will most likely be their response. Being one of the first to bridge the bridge between gothic, electronic dance (as displayed on "Sin Pecado") and dark metal, they still play it as one of the very finest. Add to that a distinctive and proud showing of their home country (Portugal, of course), mysticism derived from sources as disparate as Lusitanian mysticism to Paganism, and a very dark and strangely logical view on the world, and you also have one that is extremely unique and inimitable. This CD pushes the bar up several notches on the artistic meter, incorporating a collaboration with famed Portuguese author Jose Luis Peixoto for the novel "Antidote", which is featured in great detail on the CD, as well as a very high grade video for "Everything Invaded", which has some very good nature visuals as well as a good bit of gore and horror. Unto the sound of the CD.................. The slowness of releases such as "Wolfheart" and "Darkness And Hope" is traded in for a more furious combination of blistering goth-metal patterns mixed with softer more subtle acoustic tones, dancey and rhythmic drum patterns (especially on the song "From Lowering Skies") modeled after Portuguese tribal drumming and Mediterranean elements, atmospheric and unsettling keyboards (a little less to the forefront than "Wolfheart", where they played as much as the guitars), lingering and patient bass, and the Carl McCoy meets Andrew Eldrich (with a very thick Portuguese accent) vocals of Fernando Ribeiro. As in other words, it’s a melting pot of multiple diverse elements that I don’t think anyone else has dared to attempt so far. Think of Fields Of The Nephilim with a bit more of a metal edge, a bit of Paradise Lost, a bit of Madredeus gone insane, a bit of Das Ich, and a twisted version of DeSade wit, but that would only be a start to what his group sounds like. My favorite songs on here would have to be "From Lowering Skies", which has one of the danciest natural drum lines this side of anything "Roots" era Sepultura ever put out (if only half of the electronic groups could start making drum patterns like this!), and "In And Above Man", which is pretty much an ode to Nietschian style power and will (or at least to me). Another superb effort from Portugal’s finest, and one of it’s most challenging (I love how metal elitists hate these guys for their experimentation) to date, as if they could get any more eccentric in their formula. They may have broke the way for bands like Type O Negative and Opeth into fame and success, but I think these guys are more than content with hometown glory and the opportunity to say "fuck you" to those who say that goth, metal, and experimentation are exclusive to themselves. Rating: 10.