With all feet planted firmly in doom-laced apocalyptic soundscapes, the two bands embellish their shared formula, one sticking to more conventional routes while the other goes in an experimental direction.

Age of the Wolf’s two tracks 'Priestess of Cledones' and 'Slaves to the Riff' indulge in long, cinematic compositions topped off with ferociously screamed and growled lyrics of mythology and existential stress. The overall sound is one that pushes few boundaries but succeeds in being immensely heavy and consistently captivating.

Tel, on the other hand, offers up something that surprises in the most wonderful way. The general sound is much the same – except for “Salvation” which opts for an almost spine-tingling haunting acoustic atmosphere - if a bit less heavy but it’s the vocals that set the two acts apart. Rather than scream the entire way through vocalist Dante DuVall opts for a sound that brings up images of druids around fires and secret metaphysical missions as he sings about regret and addiction and other very real, universal experiences.

What gives Vigils its magic is the fact that, even though both bands exist on different points along the musical spectrum, there’s a consistent foundational sound that unifies Age of the Wolf and Tel while the contrast in the finer details gives their embellishments even more of the spotlight.

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