In last month’s Black Market, we named the Locrian track “Eternal Return” the second-best new metal song to be released in May. “Eternal Return” is a pretty bold advancement of Locrian’s sound, and their forthcoming album, Return To Annihilation, promises to be one of the most intriguing new releases of 2013’s second half. “Two Moons” hews closer to Locrian’s ambient/drone roots than “Eternal Return” did, but that assessment is belied somewhat by song’s clarity, melody, and momentum. It’s a wondrous and captivating piece of music, like a fog lifting on an unfamiliar landscape. Locrian have never fit easily into any genre — or even any cross-genre hybrid, honestly — but Return To Annihilation seems to be a reinvention even of their own singular sound. Listen.

[Via Invisible Oranges, who also have an excellent interview with the band.]

Return To Annihilation is out 6/25 via Relapse.