Place of Skulls is back with their third full-length, The Black Is Never Far. What�s most noticeable about this album is that their time in deathly limbo has given them the desire to shake things up. While you still have the merciless, lumbering doom grooves that were prevalent on Nailed, With Vision, and Love Through Blood , the band � Victor Griffin (guitar/vocals), Tim Tomaselli (drums), and Dennis Cornelius (bass) � shakes things up with songs that just plain rock. There�s also more melody to The Black Is Never Far , with the band, in both the guitar parts and vocals. What this all adds up to is a very layered, textured album that shows more sides to Place of Skulls than any of their previous work. It seems their momentary lapse of living has freed them from genre constraints, thus giving them the freedom to write one hell of a comeback album. This is easily Place of Skull�s best work.

After many listens and careful consideration I'm am going to say that The Black Is Never Far is the best thing Victor has done since Day of Reckoning (Pentagram). What struck me about the album is that it is diverse without being disjointed and all over the place. It's moody and emotional without forsaking the heaviness. The vocals are stronger and have more depth than previously and I already thought Victor sang very very well - this album REALLY emphasises how good he is. The guitar leads are flawless. The pacing of the album, again, flawless.

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