This album is very addictive. There is much you could say to criticize it; it is quite cliched and corny but hard to stop playing it once you've started. The tracks race off at great speed with mesmerising drumming (how does he keep that up?), but at the same time the songs are melodic, even 'catchy'. The overall sound is gorgeous and the guitar solos, corny again, but clever and unbelievably fast. There are a lot of emotions on this record and it does have a serious side; there are songs about dealing with childhood issues in adult life, and this is done very sensitively and nothing like other metal bands who deal with 'issues'. As for Sonata Arctica themselves, I think that this is their best. Winterhearts Guild has some great moments but overall this one is a must have album; I can't stop playing it.Read full review
This is a beautifully composed, epic metal album of immense proporions! Lovely choral work, fat guitar riffs, pounding drums (but not death metal coronary stuff) and nice piano and synth effects which lend the tracks a celestial quality. If you like Turisas, Lacuna Coil, Therion, Nightwish, Labyrinth, Stratovarius or any other gothic/symphonic/epic stuff you'll appreciate this... Well, it's a nuclear blast label album, what else would you expect?
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