Just popping in to say Luke, you were right. Vaxis II is right up my street.
I haven't changed my mind about their earlier albums and I tried Vaxis I as well and it was pretty good but still lacking in punch and engaging melodies. Vaxis II is so much more enjoyable.
Was it an intentional shift in direction by Claudio? But why for act II and not the first album in this new series? Or did he just suddenly learn how to write good hooks?