Aimee Nash and Scott Von Ryper have returned (after a breakup and an absence of several years) and their style has transformed. Unlike their debut, they have created a much more expansive, experimental, and epic recording. They have discovered their own sound and it’s hypnotic.

From the stunningly romantic melody of “Seventh Moon” and the soaring choral vocals embellished with church bells on “Let Me Be Your Light” to the downcast and melancholy heartache of “The Going Up Was Worth The Coming Down” and “All That We Are”, The Black Ryder have truly evolved.

The “Moonlight Mile” guitar and Spiritualized gospel choir of “Throwing Stones” is awe-inspiring.

This is the soundtrack for a dark night of the soul and it’s difficult not to feel the tears welling up inside as it ends with the childlike sadness (reminiscent of Mercury Rev’s Deserter’s Songs) of “Until The Calm Of Dawn” and the windswept desolation of the orchestral instrumental “Le Dernier Sommeil (The Final Sleep)” where the mournful, sepulchral strings summon the same funereal atmosphere found in the final songs of Joy Division’s Closer.

The Door Behind The Door is one of the standout albums of 2015.