Wow, just listened to the whole album! My first impression is that I am very impressed! This album will take a lot more listening to digest but I have to say the boys have done it again, releasing another killer rock record!
I can immediately tell this album will have more staying power than ABIII and will probably wrestle with Blackbird for my favorite AB album. They really did a great job, mixed up their song writing a little and it sounds like they pulled in lots of different influences too!
Quick highlights from my first listen:
Cry of Achilles: This might be my early favorite on the record, the whole thing is killer with great guitar work throughout and an amazing chorus!
Bleed It Dry: Love the huge heavy riff intro, almost so heavy I didn't think it was AB till the vocals came in! Also probably Marks best solo on the record, he got a real David Gilmour vibe on this one, which provided a great change of pace from the rest of the song.
Lover: Has a killer groove and mood, reminded me a lot of the Mayfield Four.
Calm the Fire: Really interesting intro and riff, sorta sounds like Muse, really different for AB and they pulled it off!
Waters Rising: Classic Mark clean sound in the verses and his vocals work really well with Myles joining him on choruses and then taking over later in the song.
All Ends Well: Beautiful vocal and chorus section!
Fortress: Great guitar work with battling solos, this one will take some time to sink in, but its definitely a great tune!
Those were just a few things that stuck out in my mind with a first listen, can't wait to play this album more and really dive in, but overall I would say these guys haven't let me down at all! This is shaping up to be a great record for the band!!