A Tempting Offer is one of my favorites off the album. The chord progression is so amazing.
Agreed. I hate to keep repeating myself, but the 4 song run from Ravenskill through The X Aspect (excluding the NOMAC interlude as a "song") is my favorite part of the album. Those 4 are among the strongest on the album, and to have them back to back is just incredible.
OK, so I LOVE The Astonishing. But I also feel that the criticisms of too many slow parts is totally fair. And this passage is an example. I feel like Chosen, which by itself is a fine song, breaks up that whole passage and makes it feel a little choppy.
I disagree. Chosen is one of my favorite ballads they have ever written. And story-wise, I feel like it is a great interlude between Ravenskill, where we get a sense of foreboding because Faythe's and Gabriel's plan is coming together but we know Daryus' machinations are going to cause problems, and A Tempting Offer, where we see that come to fruition. It is fitting that we get that interlude right at that spot, and Gabriel's role as the chosen one is fitting to be expanded upon at that time because his role actually
is expanded by virtue of him accepting Faythe's invitation to persuade her father.
In contrast, Act of Faythe interrupts the flow of When Your Time Has Come and Three Days. But the problem is, it is necessary to introduce Faythe and develop her character, and it doesn't really fit anywhere else, so it kinda gets shoehorned in. Chosen isn't that. It actually fits perfectly where it is.