Well, I don't know, but it seems like this Norwegian act may never top the absolute mastery that was "Light of Day, Day of Darkness" that they unleashed some years ago. Don't get me wrong, this is a competent record, and I highly respect bands that don't want to repeat themselves, but... this simply isn't something I'd choose to listen to, even within the realm of music that it's going for. So, what's it sound like? I guess you could say the band has started to go in a more rocked out direction, and not just with shorter songs, but with simpler songwriting, the occasional presence of full blown rock riffs, a rock styled vocal performance, etc. Make no mistake, there's still a lot of progressiveness to it, blending lush clean guitars and keyboards into significantly more creative passages that are almost always 10 times stronger than the rock stuff, but let's face it... tracks like "Between the Gentle Small and the Standing Tall" are just painful. It sounds like they're trying too hard to write catchy songs, coming off somewhere between the Spiritual Beggars, Sentenced, and Amorphis (in "Just When You Think it's Safe" especially), with random hints of the once innovative Green Carnation of old tossed in to keep things from being wholly boring. I mean, they're not bad songwriters, it just doesn't sound natural, it sounds like they're out of their element. The vocalist seems alright, but something about the music doesn't work for his range, maybe the music's just not stripped down enough, I don't know, but there are definitely a lot of areas where the singing just ain't cutting it for me. During some of the more emphatic choruses where he cranks out some harmonies it feels like he's putting more effort into it, but most of the time he lacks energy and range and just sort of hacks his way through, and it definitely hurts the songs. But a lot of the riffs aren't that great either. There are too many midpaced tempos and similar sounding runs that simply aren't enjoyable. What saves the record at all, aside from the passages that sound like the Green Carnation of yesteryear, are a few impressive choruses, notably in "Purple Door, Pitch Black" and "Dead But Dreaming". But then you've got "A Place for Me" which is based predominantly around programmed drums, synths, acoustic guitars, and softer singing; or "The Everlasting Moment" and its groovy and mindnumbingly boring tedium. And I can't help but question what they were thinking when the ruined an otherwise great track like "Pile of Doubt" by aimlessly tossing in a retarded Slayer riff and some tremolo picking that makes no sense in the context of the song!? Man, that one really angered the fuck out of me, because sans that falter it's the only song on the disc that I'd enjoy from start to finish. And there are too damn many softer songs that feel more like interludes, except that they're full-length tracks that clutter up the latter half of the disc and slow the momentum big time. For the most part at least the recording is really nice. It's clear and full, and I think all of the tones sound good for the most part. The first riff on the album is also the worst of the entire disc and had me fearing an inconceivably annoying guitar tone, but thankfully that's not something that sticks around throughout. I like that the mix is really cohesive and the bass plays a good role, the keyboards are audible without overpowering anything, etc. The clean guitars sound a shitload better than the distorted guitars, though. The acoustics and all of that stuff, I mean, it's just beautiful, and I do think the distortion ought to have a little more of an edge to it, but... that's not a big deal in the long run. The production is easily one of the record's strengths overall. And the layout looks so much better than their last record (which looked so horrendous that I refused to even listen to it - I won't lie). The visuals are fairly interesting, the text clean, the presentation wholly consistent, etc. I'm split down the middle on the lyrics, which vary from fair to actually catching my interest on occasion: "A face will tell you stories, Some hands will always seem to care, The fading light that blurs your mind, You stumble on with your given time..." I don't know, this is just a bland record that lacks direction in the end. There's a lot going on, but it doesn't make sense, it's not cohesive or logical. They'll jump from a shitty staccato chord progression to a gorgeous acoustic passage, or from mediocre heavy rock 'n' roll to brilliantly lush progressive rock, etc. I respect these guys and I can't deny the quality of certain passages on this disc, but I'm disappointed by the big picture on this one. Maybe an eclectic musical genius like Dan Swan? ought to give these dudes some lessons and show them how it's done... I'm sure he could take that chorus from "Purple Door, Pitch Black" and turn it into one of the greatest songs anyone's ever heard.
[The End]
Running time - 55:01, Tracks: 11
[Notable tracks: almost every song has both great and weak moments, but I don't think one single song wins me over entirely]
The End Records - http://www.theendrecords.com
