It has been three year's since Blueneck's Scars of the Midwest, an album that won over fans with its haunting beauty and remorseful tone. Lots of emotions get thrown around in the post-rock circuit, but it is rare to find a band with such command of the bottom end of the spectrum; despair, grief, and regret are this band's bread and butter. Some might think that Blueneck could only go up from there, but instead The Fallen Host digs deeper and discovers the band at its most pure, raw form. Blueneck goes bigger and louder in order to devastate the audience with its musical elixir. And even though The Fallen Host isn't a large departure from Scars of the Midwest stylistically, it resonates so profoundly with the audience that we're reminded that no one is capable of affecting us in such a manner. Consider this essential listening for 2009.