Out on limited run cassette on Portland's mighty Fiadh Productions (and now Dodsrune), Zothique has dropped their first and only full length. They just went for it - no singles or demos in the runup to the release at all. I was quite surprised to see a band name themselves after a literary creation of Clark Ashton Smith, as well as naming their album after a story of his. They also have a track titled "Averoigne," which is another of his creations. I really don't understand why he isn't held in the same regard in the cultural zeitgeist as his contemporary H.P. Lovecraft. I honestly like C.A.S.'s work more. The band's music reminds me just slightly of Nemesis Divina-era Satyricon, but the vocals are a wall of harshness with layers of reverb and distortion. However, what makes the vocals special is still there - this singer can fuckin' scream. At several points his vocals almost become shrill white noise, reaching full aural penetration, and that's incredible, whether achieved by effects or not. The actual performance still needs to be solid. Those looking for black metal with a little morose melody and longer songs, but with a constant intensity, need look no further.