Secrets Of The Moon "Carved In Stigmata Wounds" CD

The album is split into three parts.
Part one is called "Prophecy" and includes tracks 1-4.
Part two is called "Destiny" and includes tracks 5-7.
Part three is called "Extinction" and includes tracks 8-10

"Carved in Stigmata Wounds" features competent playing, varied riffs (ranging from slow, doomy ones through death metal stuff to fast tremolo-picked black metal ones and good lead melodies), and even compelling atmosphere at times, but its main failing is in the structuring of these ingredients into memorable songs, which frankly happens only twice on the entire album. More than once the riffs, combined with military rhythms, remind of Marduk.
The failing of at least half of the tracks is that they're too progressive for their own good. They start off nicely enough with good riffs and melodies, but diverge into several sections that are mediocre at best, most of times ill-fitting with the rest, and each time ruining the atmosphere that's been conjured up so far. The incessant stopping and starting of songs in-between their 1 to 2 minute smaller parts within gets tiring after a while and is simply detrimental to the impact of the song as a whole.
There are some very good moments, notably on tracks 7 and 9 where the drumming is quite exceptional and the riffs and vocal performance come all together for something greater than the sum of the parts.
Verdict: certainly not a classic (let alone a cult one). If you're bored and looking for something new or are really into the band already, then give it a spin, otherwise you won't miss anything essential.

Sample: