I gave it a 7, consider it a 7,5. Overall I like it, it's not a masterpiece but it's very good.
What I like:
- All the (sung) songs, basically. When it comes to the vocal lines and the choruses, there's not a single song on here that I dislike, they're all good.
- Jeff Scott Soto. Good singer, he fits the songs, and from the few interview he did, he seems like a nice and humble guy.
- I'm not too much of a musical expert to realize all the intricacies of the music, but I find nothing to complain about the musicians' performances.
The devil however is in the details, so here we go with...
What I dislike:
- God of the Sun's solo section. Too long and takes me away from the song mood.
- Coming Home's lyrics. Not a fan at all of those kind of tough guy lyrics. And what's even the sense in warning someone that they're coming home? it's a parent talking to a kid that is having a secret party?
- Signs of the Time's solo section. Too long and takes me away from the song mood.
- Labyrinth's solo section. Guess what....? yeah. Too long. Kills the mood. Starting to see a pattern here.
- All the less melodic parts of Opus Maximum.
Basically a quite strong and solid album, whose little time it had to be created influenced negatively on the cohesiveness of the longer songs. It deserved way more time spent in the studio.