| Track by Track Review
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Another World
There is a dark vibe here. This is moody and atmospheric in a lot of ways. It’s like psychedelia merged with modern prog and space rock. Although it’s very much a guitar dominated piece, the organ adds quite a bit. |
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Under Their Laws
Rocking much harder, there is a lot of shoegaze built into this beast. It lands near heavy metal in some ways, too. It’s every bit as dark, though. Space rock and psychedelia are also present here. The fade down on this is a bit abrupt. |
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The Chemist
Percussion starts this. The guitar brings it almost into metal territory. It drops down to a weird prog meets psychedelic groove for the vocals, though. The cut alternates between those two contrasting sections as it continues. In some ways there is an almost punk edge at times. Yet, it’s really built on a lot of space rock. |
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Saviours of the World
Save for the lush keyboards over the top, this isn’t a huge change from the rest. Still, it is one of the more effective pieces. It does have another abrupt fade. |
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Under Their Blood Red Skies
Bass sounds start this. Then we get a false stop and the drums bring in the song proper. Space rock and modern prog seem to merge with something a bit like The Cure. This is another intriguing cut, even if it’s not a massive departure. It’s one of my favorites here. The rhythm section takes it at the end. |
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Soulfire
This starts kind of abruptly. It has a mellower motif with acoustic guitar sound in the mix. I can make out some modern Rush in some ways. This is more melodic, but it’s also powerful. It’s actually another highlight of the set. |
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The Citadel
This merges shoegaze and space rock, too. We get some Americana in the mix here, too. I suppose Rush is a bit of a reference in some ways, but so is The Cure. |
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The Weather Systems
Although this is more stripped down and a bit mellower on the verses, there are other parts that are close to metal. Still, the formula is beginning to wear a bit thin by this point. |
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If One Man Could
Melodic modern prog couple with the kind of atmospheric sounds like The Cure and some shoegaze, this manages to stand a little taller, despite the lack of major differences. The vocal performance is one of the best here and contributes to the success of the song. I like the echoey guitar on this, too. |
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The Rulers
More melodic, this is also closer related to older prog. Still, it has some of that Cure type alternative rock sound, too. It’s one of the better pieces here, really. It’s also enough of a change to bring a fresh element. |
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The Battlefields
Although this isn’t bad, it really is all starting to sound the same. There isn’t enough variety to make this seem like much more than another piece of one really long song. The multiple layers of sound work pretty well, though. |
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Inside the Citadel
Starting with a mellower motif, this lends some variety through that. This is mellow, stripped back and echoey. It’s also some well needed variety. |
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The Security Systems
Although this brings us back into the sea of sameness, the energy and vibe of this are strong enough to stand reasonably tall. |
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The End of Forever
This is very much cut from the same framework. It really showcases how much stronger this would have been if they’d left a few of the songs off are put in a few things that were different. This is a good song, but it just gets lost in the samey stuff. |
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Immortality Lost
Now, here we get the change we sorely needed. There is an electronic drum machine kind of thing here. Also, they bring something close to techno. Beyond that, it’s more of the same, but it’s enough variety to save this piece. It’s understated and far from the best thing here, but the fact that it’s different makes it stand out from the pack.
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