Valerian (herb) nervous system depression, they should not be used with other depressants, such as ethanol, benzodiazepines, barbiturates, opiates, kava, or antihistamine drugs. Moreover, non-pregnant adult human hepatotoxicity has been associated with short-term use (i.e., a few days to several months) of herbal preparations containing valerian and "Scutellaria" (commonly called skullcap). As an unregulated product, the concentration, contents, and potential contaminants in valerian preparations cannot be easily determined. Because of this uncertainty and the potential for toxicity in the fetus and hepatotoxicity in the mother, valerian use is discouraged during pregnancy. Valerian root is a cat attractant in a way similar to
Out of a Center Which Is Neither Dead nor Alive Freeman of "The Wire" remarked: "What's most striking about this music is how adeptly it subverts or sidesteps metal's traditional insistence on catharsis. It's New Age music of a sort: it fills the room, and it's often quite beautiful, but its ebb and flow are so regular and smooth that it acts as a sedative rather than a stimulant." It was ranked the 17th best metal album of 2005 by PopMatters, whose Adrien Begrand called the album a "mind-blowing, richly textured debut" and "the cream of this year’s avant crop." Jeff Pizek of "Daily Herald" said that the album's songs