Penumbra - Code: Pandorum

The good: Typical of his style, "Penumbra" is heavy enough to be impactful, loud enough to hold your attention, and dark enough to be esoteric. Code: Pandorum's production is relentless, but his mixdowns are precise, resulting in a polished four-track EP with a rather simplisitc structure and themeing. Motifs of the dark and the occult persist all the way through, from the slightly edgy rap opener "wake up. kill. repeat.", through the vocal-less dubstep midsection, and down to the final track, also the title track, hoisting its own vocal. It's the crashing deathstep sound design and solid flows that mark "Penumbra" out as a trademark Code: Pandorum project, no matter the stylistic choice, but with a welcome polish to it — a polish that does not go unnoticed.

The bad: Still, something about this EP feels a little safe. Admittedly I am much more of a fan of the two instrumental tracks that make up the midsection of "Penumbra", perhaps adding a bias to my view of this project, but I can't shake the feeling that Code: Pandorum could have tried something a little more unique here. Whilst the rap in the opener and the vocal in the closer are interesting, they don't quite hit the mark for me.