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CD hardcover book. With their sixth full-length, InchÜber den SternenInch, an allegorical German rendering of their band name meaning InchAbove the StarsInch, Empyrium still draw from the magic and spirits of wild places, nature's beauty, and human relics of ages long past. InchÜber den SternenInch echoes this reconciliation of the old with the new on a musical level as well. The Franconian duo is putting more emphasis on the electric guitars and harsh vocals again, which marked their first two albums and stood strong upon the band's melodic black metal foundations. Yet Empyrium also revisit the dark folk style, which the Germans had progressively embraced on their third and fourth albums. What used to appear to be a crossroad in their musical development has now merged into one breath-taking sound. The combined force of mastermind, multi-instrumentalist, clean and extreme vocalist as well as producer Markus InchSchwadorfInch Stock and classical singer Thomas Helm, who lends his amazing voice also to the Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich, is painting a radiant sonic picture. It comes with the melancholic grounding of the sophomore album InchSongs of Moors & Misty FieldsInch (1997), adds brushstrokes of the fairy-tale tempera colours of InchWhere at Night the Wood Grouse PlaysInch (1999), and also makes use of a few hues from the palette that DEAD CAN DANCE have infused with world music, which Empyrium have already employed on InchThe Turn of the TidesInch (2014). The crowning varnish is diligently crafted from rougher elements that reach all the way back to the Germans' legendary debut Inch A WintersunsetInch (1996). Empyrium have reconciled their early vintage sound with the acoustic expression of later recordings.Inch Staying true to the Romantic tradition, Empyrium continue to take inspiration for their lyrical flights of fantasy from the local myths, ancient places,
