The video for the song "Seer' was the first song I heard from this album. It seemed like a more streamlined version of what I recalled them doing, so I went back to listen to their first album to see if I was totally off base in this regard. I have always enjoyed the songs I caught from this Finnish band in passing, but never dove into their albums, so never got the full picture of what they do. I assumed they were a darker version of what Katatonia used to do, as they were often labelled as goth-metal, giving them big hopes. Those assumptions were not far off from those. I am not hearing the goth thing, granted they are darker than say Opeth, but how high of a bar is that really?
The guitar melody to "All Our Shadows" is closer to mainstream metal, with the vocals sometimes sounding like Woods of Ypres. This song wanders off into the atmosphere as they jam around the guitar solo, which is pretty tasty if you are into guitar solos. "To the Sinking" sounds like it could be a Staind ballad. It has a more powerful climax than a band like Staind would do, so that is better for them. Though some of the brighter notes in this vocal melody lend themselves to that comparison. "Ruins of Insanity" finds the more grunge undertones of the vocals continuing, but it has a more flowing riff. This might be the album's best song.
"Abandoned" carries a more aggressive pound and the snarling vocals. A minute in, things shift into a more reflective melodic verse. The album closes with "Reflections' which is like 00's alternative ballad, but with more strings. It does slowly build over the nine and a half minutes. I was expecting this album to be a little darker than it is, I think they're playing and songwriting work, but it's produced too much like a mainstream rock record. If you wanted Katatonia, to sound more Killswitch Engage, then this album is for you. I will give it an 8.5, as it needed to be darker and less overproduced for my personal tastes, but these guys are great at what they are doing.
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