I was expecting to see THA's second album continue nudging metalcore into a new direction, but it doesn't. It all but abandons it. It seems THA has gone progressive. And they're very good at it. There's still riffing and screaming, but also vocal harmonies, keys, and greatly varied song compositions. Prog-metal-core? Prog-core?
I was really missing AJ, the departed guitar player, when I first listened to this. But how I understand the new direction better. This is definitely NOT a guitar-driven album. But whoever is putting the music together definitely knows what they're doing.
The vocals are outstanding, as on Nocturne. Ells is one odd dude, but his vocal expressions benefit from it. And there are lots of vocal harmonies that add depth to this album.
I'm not sure who writes the lyrics, but they're outstanding too.
"Forging insight
by pagan torchlight,
in cadence warlike
Rain down and cleanse my soul
Flow like a river"
Yeah! Bring the crescendo!
Don't pass this album up because you were expecting another metalcore album. This is good stuff.
My only knock: it's just 43 minutes long.