This might be the strongest effort from this band. You can hear how much their composition has matured. This album is packed with dynamics and versatility, which gives it replay value. It’s definitely one of those albums that you can keep coming back to. I consider this to be a modern progressive death metal masterpiece, for that very reason.
“The Silent Life” opens with a nice chunky verse that leads into some cool “techy” riffing. There’s a lot of atmosphere in the background adding a nice ambient effect to the riffs. They even venture into some Pink Floyd territory in the bridge. I love the guitar solo on this track. Excellent phrasing.
“A Home” really pushes the point that this band is expanding their sound towards a more progressive direction, as opposed to letting themselves get trapped into the whole “tech death” label. This far in, you can already hear their growth. The vocals fit very well into the overall mix. There’s a nice clean interlude with some nice clean vocals that adds a nice new dynamic.
“Old Nothing” starts out as a heavy hitter. This one slaps you right in the face. The verse is quite badass to put it lightly. Riff after riff. It’s a little more reminiscent of their previous album.
“Subtle Change (Including The Forest Of Transition And Dissatisfaction Dance)” really showcases all kinds of dynamics. Clean vocals everywhere. Some more traditional prog elements floating around in this song. This track takes you on a journey, no question. It has excellent use of note choices and chords. I really love how much they utilize the Sax on this album. They enter into, dare I say, Dream Theater territory, as far as that traditional prog metal sound goes. They do it very tastefully I might add. This is one of the highlights for me personally. And the ending of the song… Well, just listen.
“Hollow” kind of brings things back a bit. This track has a bit more of a grounded feel. Super solid, and packed with punchy riffs. The solo is another great one. It’s really melodic, but flashy enough to get the point across.
“Death Is Real” has a pretty cool sounding intro that leads into a crushing riff. The chorus is so mean and powerful. It’s actually one of my favorite moments. It just has a nice erie feel. The interlude is pretty cool and creates a cool groove with interesting atmosphere. You get a second interlude later that’s equally as atmospheric, but more melodic.
Give this album a spin. I won’t give away the rest.
