The 9th album by this Danish rock band. I'm surprised I've never covered them. They are more commercial than what I normally dig into here when it comes to rock music. There has normally been a line where I cover some pop music, as I like it for what it is when it is done well, but I've never been into pop-inflected rock, though bands are beginning to do it better. These guys are obviously influenced by Metallica, which is really pronounced on "By a Monster's Hand". Sure, at times it is a rather heavy-handed wink and Hetfield and company, but overall it works.
There are elements I normally don't like in music, like the huge production, which somehow end up working here. "Acid Rain" is super major chord arena rock that could have come from the late 70s. "Demonic Depression" is obviously not going to be a power ballad. It is well done, but not something I am really into musically. Part of this is that the chorus is too happy for my tastes. I would be shocked that people do not call them out for almost ripping off Metallica riffs, but people are also pretty stupid, so I would not be surprised by anything at this point in life.
"In the Barn of the Goat" is supposed to be influenced by Johnny Cash, but it feels more like Danzig. It works well enough for what it is. 'Time Will Heal" works off more of an '80s palm-muted chug. It loses a great deal of momentum on the chorus. 'Better to be Fueled than Tamed' fnds the sounds beginning to run together, then one just feels a little more rock n roll. The brisk pace they play often factors into this. There is more of a big arena Metallica stomp to "At the End of Sirens". Sure, if more aggressive than a band like Shinedown, but that is not saying much. I normally want bands to be hooky, but sometimes it just feels like they are trying too hard here.
"Lonely Fields' finds the vocals way up front in the mix. His croon does set him apart from your average rock singer. The piano line that sounds like the theme from the Halloween movies breaks things up for no good reason. The last song has a more thrashing riff powering the verses. I like how the vocals on the verses are produced. The chorus is a little silly, though. I'll round this album down to an 8.5 for this reason. It drops Juner 6th, if you are a fan my review will likely make little sense as I pick apart some of the finer points of song writing which are obvious not your thing, but it scored as high as it did because they are good at what they do, what they do is just not dark enough for my tastes, proving a goat on the album cover does not mean shit.
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