Radiohead’s Subterranean Homesick Alien dreams of traveling a country road, late at night, as a spacecraft descends and whisks the narrator into the stars to see his own home planet as the visitors do. While, sonically, Fell Voices could not possibly be more different than Radiohead, their latest album – untitled as always – would be the perfect soundtrack for the scenario the legendary English Rock band described on OK Computer.

Atmospheric Black Metal is a term bandied about so often, it’s approaching cliché. Yeah, everyone does that now, so big deal, right? Sure. But when a band actually manages to capture and take you away, that’s worth noting. It’s also noteworthy that, when one hears an album in a perfect setting, whether that was predetermined or if it happened magically, the translation can be even more powerful. This two-track album is perfect for the time when the sun has disappeared behind the horizon, nightfall is drawing near, and the navy-orange hue that stretches above and canopies into the distance requires something more poignant than silence. By total mistake, it was learned Fell Voices’ latest suits that time perfectly. And if it so happens to coincide with an extra-terrestrial visit, all the better.

The Santa Cruz, California, trio aren’t giant fans of naming things. It’s kind of surprising they drummed up a band name considering their releases are untitled and their songs are untitled. That makes it a gigantic pain when trying to make heads or tails of the band, especially if you’re trying to delve into their back catalog for the first time. They even hooked up with Ash Borer for a 2010 split, with both groups refusing to title their pieces. Frustrating? Yeah. But it’s also kind of mysterious, so why not?

The opening song actually is mired in quiet drone when it first meets your ears. You’re lulled into a false sense of peace before you’re blindsided by the eruption. Vocals are there, though they’re heavily buried (by design), and by the time all 22 minutes, 7 seconds elapse, you find yourself flattened. It’s an imaginative piece of work that’s Black Metal by trade but also combines some Post-Rock, Doom and Punk. The second cut has a bit more of a dank basement aesthetic, and at times it may remind of Xasthur in Scott Conner’s early stages. There is plenty of melody throughout the song, and that’s interspersed by stabbing abrasion, damaged guitar lines, keyboard drone, and pulsating pounding. These songs require attention, and you can’t just nod off and pick up somewhere else. But chances are, you won’t do that anyway.

This brings us all back to that flying saucer sojourn into the sky. Imagine that, if you will, when digging your needle into this. And don’t focus on subject testing or torture or thought-control devices. Think instead of a chance to exist in a different way, on a separate plane, with hosts who don’t think the same way you do. This record is one of those that’ll challenge your imagination and your very existence. It will help thoughts surface you perhaps shelved or never visited before. Just like you might in that foreign craft. Embrace the night sky, and bring Fell Voices along for the dream.