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A contemplative study of the mind, the spirit, and the nature of reality itself may seem incongruent with the trappings of heavy metal to the uninitiated casual observer. But those who descend into the darkest subterranean abyss of the art form s most aggressive nihilism, only to soar under protection of a meditative cloak of aural pleasure, are those who may share in the near-supernatural wonder and inward carnal primitivism alike found within the progressive death metal of BLACK CROWN INITIATE. Selves We Can Not Forgive, the band s sophomore album, is a lean and focused collection that jettisons the extraneous fat found too often within ambitious metal bands, striking a balance between fearless adventurousness and methodical might. It follows their sprawling full-length debut, The Wreckage of Stars, which together with their self-financed Song of the Crippled Bull EP introduced Black Crown Initiate s unapologetic exploration of everything from Friedrich Nietzsche and Greek Sophist Gorgias to Hinduism, Buddhism, and indigenous mysticism, with a pragmatic skepticism.