I find genres funny sometimes. Not in the sense that they are useless rather they can be a wonderful tool once people find the right way to speak. Luminous Vault is listed under death / black rather than black / death since this US based act shares more in common with slow plodding death than bands who owe more the black metal. This could be needless hair splitting but the fact remains that Luminous Vault is unique in their crypt walking variety of death / black.

It hasn’t been since Wederganger’s 2014 demo, that I have been so annoyed at the short length of a release. Communion is so good that its 9 minute running time is frustrating in the fact that it offers a world and quickly yanks the listener away screaming for a few more songs. 9 minutes is a woefully short length for an EP but if the desired intent of Communion was to pique interest then Luminous Vault has done so with malicious intent. Both tracks on the release possess wonderful qualities which are not usually inherent to the genre. The twin leads on “Flesh of the Daemon,” the post metal styled riffs which lap like waves in “Deliver the Wound,” and the tasteful synth which oozes atmosphere all make Communion all the more interesting for people who came expecting annihilation.

The whole presentation for communion allows each part to shine. Its vocals drip nostalgia hearkening back to Benediction styled strangulation with a pace and tempo which is strangely inviting. There is not much information about this band which makes my obsession for it all the more awkward and frustrating. Here I will be, sitting on a stone sarcophagus, waiting for more material in this oddly well lit vault.