Review Summary: You are nowhere to be found.
The fog closes in quickly once you’re past the line of aspens. You’re not sure what’s brought you here, but an invisible hand beckons you beyond the trees. There no longer seems to be an edge to surroundings as the gray gradually obfuscates the horizon line, forging a nondescript expanse where there’s no clear path ahead and no trace of where you came from. An unnerving calm permeates this quiet realm; it shows nothing and seemingly hides everything, developing some warped sense of curiosity. Loops of ambient noise and stray synth keys part for lush acoustic strumming, but the respite proves temporary when the steady march of percussion is heard approaching. Abruptly, a legion of biting electric guitars, swirling electronics, and foreboding harsh vocals cut through the mix in a cacophony while static reigns, fashioning an atmosphere both claustrophobic and strangely enticing, as if something vital lurks barely out of arm’s reach. You’re left staring blanky, slowly succumbing to the droning buzz of the bass and the endless layers of electronic noise, unsure about this otherworldly setting and the secrets it contains.
The tranquility of this dreamlike realm is amplified by a wave of echoing chords and invites you to travel forward--whatever forward means at this juncture. You feel weightless, your name forfeited to the gray like you’ve merged into its ethereal form. Hazy, reverb-laden soundscapes decorate the space, with soft vocals concealed in the background--a call to push further, to find something in the blankness. A few steps more and something shifts; lulling synths are distorted, transformed into amorphous, glitching masses, and the once comforting voice reverts to a desperate shout. The gravity of your situation becomes terrifyingly apparent: the fog has taken you, and you’ve willingly abandoned any sense of self to explore the depths. Calm gives way quickly to a crushing anxiety, warping into an aggressive, volatile onslaught of clashing instrumentals as you hopelessly lash out against this cluttered environment, maze-like in its intricately-layered arrangements. The fog refuses to budge, and as the violence declines from peak intensity, a quiet, somber feeling creeps underneath your skin.
Suddenly, it’s there: nestled in the grass, barely visible through the haze, is a glowing orb not larger than a lightbulb. The faint glow seems to increase in your hand until you begin to notice another nearby, then another, then another--a field of tiny, shining bulbs not larger than a marble. You can’t hold back your excitement as you collect each and every light, clutching them tightly as you rediscover a sense of peace buried inside the ceaseless gray, morphing ferocity into soothing white noise. This must have been what brought you here--small treasures, their meaning unknown, though there’s solace in their discovery. It doesn’t last long; the misty plains reassert themselves--a spiraling, unpredictable build-up fronted by bass strumming, cascading synths, tempo shifts, and caustic guitar riffs--reminding you again of your circumstances. You may not know where you came from, but you’re absolutely certain that you have to make an escape attempt regardless. The relentless percussion closes in as the synths maintain their pursuit, causing the tension to rise until the bedlam spikes one final time. The gray recedes swiftly, and eventually everything--the calm, the violence, the curiosity, the lights--vanishes. Perhaps nothing was there to begin with.
