Up next is " Hollow Severer" , an indisputably cacthy song especially because of the vocal patterns, handled by guitarist Philip Cope. Also, the "soft" break at the middle of the song worths a mention because of the trippy guitars and the excellent drumwork. "Where the Horizon Unfolds" is coming next, and I think that this is the perfect title selection for this particular song. It starts off with an almost clean guitar melody and then it erupts! The first riff along with the full of anguish and anger screams and growls are simply DE-VA-STA-TING. However, the song gets more melodic by the time the vocal duties change once again, and guess whose turn is..mr. Pope's. Although I love this band, his vocals -most of the times- piss me really off. Anyways, it is a great song.
And now, we've reached at the best song of the album, and my personal favorite, "Between Silence and Sound". A song that slowly progresses inside you as you're listening to it again and again. Again a repetitive clean guitar melody,which perfectly illustrates what the band's name means(a Buddhist term denoting delusory mental states), this time powered by leads that really give you a weird, negative feeling..Like being locked in a dark room, hearing nothing but your own thoughts and feeling nothing but pain and despair. As soon as the heavy part comes in, Laura grabs you from the face with her amazing vocal perfomance and makes you forget all of the above and just relieve any burden possible by screaming. Apart from the plethora of emotions it manages to capture, this song also provides us with -possibly- the best lyrics the band has ever written. "Blood of ignorance continues to reign / It's automatic. The process the gain / On silent hands with silent demands / We see the end. We see the end." Yeah, not the most positive ones but this is reality.
Following the peak of the album is an instrumental interlude with just the two drummers beating on their sets, nothing special. After the interlude come " Identity Defined " , a very interesting song and -once again- catchy! What makes this song special is the constantly shifting riffing and vocal duties. Simply impressive teamwork and an awesome refrain. I must mention that I really like Pope's vocal approach on this one. " Ignoring Anger" opens with a weird riff, I don't know how else to describe. It seems that it is the song I like the least so, I 'm going to move on with the last actual track, " The Warning". And what a great closer that is! Nice lyrics and vocals (!) by mr. Pope, then comes the bassist's time to grab the microphone and show us his growling talents, while the riffing is getting really doomy. You've reached around the 3 minute point and you haven't sensed Laura's presence. Here comes her part, the climax of the song ,in my humble opinion, which comes as a salvation for the listener, who might have gotten a bit tired. Unfortunately, it doesn't last to long. The song ends in an annoying way, with Pope going really repetitve on the vocals. The album closes with a drum solo by the drumming duet. They did a really great overall job, combining many rythms and adding a little more heaviness to the already heavy compositions.
I love this band and this record so much mainly because of the diversity, that keeps you far from getting bored, and the teamwork. This is a band in which every instrument - except for the bass - is handled by two or more members.Two drummers, two guitarists and three vocalists. And what's more impressive is the fact that they manage to keep them all well constructed and equally shared. A phenomenal album, a classic and personal favorite.
Download of the 2012 remastered version
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