Written by Boxcar Willy on 22.06.2015 at 07:41

Something with a little soul. Any soul.

Soul? Pls describe.

Total Madness. Where do they find such energy? The band seem to have limitless creativity too, they never seem to tire down from making awesome releases.

All time fave BTBAM album. Lay Your Ghosts to Rest & Bloom are my fave tracks. so amazing

Holly shit. An album that requires actual effort to listen properly, exactly as Colors, but that if accomplished will reward you with an awesome experience. Now I'm hooked and can't stop listen to this masterpiece.

I am a fan of very weird and bonkers prog metal (Devin Townsend is my favourite artist) but this one didn't really hit as hard as I'd hoped. There are some great riffs and solos, and the more avantgarde-influenced interludes gives the album some effective dynamics, but overall it's lacking an emotional impact or some melody-based hooklines. I didn't really care for the vocals at all either, they felt a little flat and emotionless, especially compared to other singers of similar style. Lastly, I thought there were often too many unnecessary layers of guitars that didn't really propel the music in any significant way.

I did enjoy some parts of this album though, particularly "Astral Body" and "Silent Flight Parliament". I will listen again sometime, I am not stupid to just throw it away now, it is clearly the kind of album that takes multiple listens.

Edit: (listen no. 2) Way better, so it's a high 6 now. "Bloom" is excellent, with genuine Devy vibes at times. There is a lot of good stuff on this album, I still think it is bogged down by the vocals and a lot of aimless passages, but these may be less an issue on my next few listens.