Got the album last night after work, it sounded smoking hot in my car!! I had listened to the stream of the album quite a bit, so I was pretty familiar with the songs, but the sound was obviously greatly improved moving from the stream to the actual CD.
As far as the production is concerned, I think its pretty good! The mix is better overall than ABIII. On ABIII I really struggled to hear the bass and drums at times and I felt like that hurt the way some of the songs translated on the recording. Having that nice big sounding rhythm section is so important. Fortress seems to have fixed that issue, as the drums and bass are much more audible and seem to sit in a nice spot in the mix with all the guitar layers.
I will certainly agree that it is a hot Road Runner-style master, which does at times seem to hurt the overall sound quality and makes things a little messy at points, but overall I would say that I like the production. Definitely a step in the right direction from the AB guys sonically as well as musically, IMO.
Now having the CD and being able to crank it in my car, a few songs really stand out to me.
Bleed it Dry- Absolutely killer track, super heavy and then the breakdown to Myles playing those jazzy chords and Marks solo, great stuff there.
Lover - Listening to this song on the stream, I liked it. The first time listening to it in my car, full volume, I was blown away. Goosebumps the entire song, and it almost brought me to tears, gorgeous track.
Cry of Achilles - Can't say enough good things about this track, the different arrangements, the big, soaring chorus, Myles' guitar solo, all great stuff from the guys.
All Ends Well - I think this song is great, and it really stands out compared to the tone of the rest of the album. Really great chorus here from Myles and some interesting lyrics, I liked it a lot.
I only listened to the album through All Ends Well, so I still haven't heard the title track Fortress properly yet (heard it on the stream, but playing this album full volume, full quality is proving to unlock many of these songs for me). Also, I haven't gotten to the bonus track "Outright" yet either.
Still more to go and I can safely say that this is an absolutely brilliant effort from AB! Loving it!