By the time of Firmament II’s release in 1994, Main had already put out a massive number of releases both as the original duo of Robert Hampson and Scott Dowson and as a trio with G. C. Green of Godflesh temporarily joining. At the same time, they had equally shown how much more intriguing, abstract and unusual they were aiming to be beyond the duo’s original work in Loop, taking the call to both explore possibilities of electric guitar and their vision of ‘drumless space’ to even more unexpected but always compelling levels. The two lengthy pieces on the album – “IX” and “X,” marking them as further entries in a series of similarly Roman-numeral titled compositions across further Firmament series entries and beyond – consist of a variety of shorter elements grouped together feeling like some kind of obscure alien communication in the best of senses. Feedback and crackle form loops and dissipate, silences stretch out deep in the mix, breathing sounds float amidst drones, and above all a sense of rhythms created from all these elements mark this work, with only the rarest of moments seeming like ‘normal’ guitars.