This is an impressive debut. Aeranea are certainly not the first artists to present a distilled work of pure, bleak depression, but "As the Sun Dies" never revels in or glamorizes the melancholy. Their palette here only shows a few different shades of gray, but they paint the songs with talent, passion, and loving attention to detail. It's rare indeed for an album so devoid of joy and fire to be so engagingly listenable.

Lead guitarist Christopher F. Kassad appears to be the primary songwriting force for the band, but vocalist Christina Vogt is probably the perfect representative. She delivers almost every line in the same listless tones, no growls, no screams, hardly any wavering, bringing restraint and gravitas to the doomy musical landscape. Her voice is lovely, sad, subdued, and mesmerizing, with occasional flashes of Cristina Scabbia, Shirley Manson, and Siouxsie Sioux.

The songwriting instincts are strong with this one. The four tunes, ‘As the Sun Dies’, ‘Impurity’, ‘Ways to Hell’, and ‘Transition’ are beautiful, honest depictions of lethargy and hopelessness. They've already found their way into my listening rotation, and these are not the only gems to be found in the dark soil of Aeranea's dead sun world. I encourage you to sift through the rubble for yourself.