The production sounds great to me. It's up there with "Hymns for the Broken", but that's where the similarity ends.
Good things so far - there are some insane solos. It's "heavier" than "Hymns" overall. Really cool
atmospheric contributions from Rikard.
The not so good - Way too much of the djent-esque chugging guitars. They desperately need to stray from this in the future.
Lack of really strong hooks, although there's a few.
However, overall, I still believe it's a solid album that any Evergrey fan will enjoy.
Distance - unfortunately, I have gone the other way with this song than others here have. I have become disenchanted with it
after more listens.
Passing Through - I like the intro, and the sounds Rikard pulled up for it. An ok song, but nothing mindblowing.
Someday - I liked this one right off the bat. It's just a simple anthemic song, and I believe it should have been the first video instead of "Distance".
Astray - Not horrible, but not particularly memorable.
The Impossible - This is just Tom, piano and strings. It has a nice feel, but it's just a short 3 minute filler that many will probably just pass over
after the first listen.
My Allied Ocean - HOLY FACE MELTER!! Heavy and aggressive. This should satisfy anyone who has complained they've become too mellow. This had BETTER
be a future video.
In Orbit - Well, I dig the intro, but overall, the song is kind of hokey to me.
The Lonely Monarch - A decent song, with some GREAT melodic soloing.
The Paradox of the Flame - Here's where I ran into utter disappointment. I almost always like their ballads, especially if Corina is involved, but
this isn't reaching me at all. It moves at a painful snail's pace, and really has no dynamic moments.
Disconnect - The second song featuring Floor from Nightwish. This song kicks the crap out of "In Orbit", in my opinion.
The Storm Within - This song was compared stylistically to Devin Townsend in early reviews, but I was skeptical. However, it definitely does
have a Devin feel right from the very beginning that fans of his will surely pick up on. Very majestic and larger than life. It's a nice way to close
the album, but falls way short of 'The Aftermath" from "Hymns for the Broken".