First the problem: Dynamic compression. But you know, it's less compressed than a lot stuff I see. Mostly the transients. It gets quieter and louder overall than most bands.

Alright, if that didn't deter you then go ahead and buy, because this album is a force of catchy melodies, excellent singing from a unique-sounding singer, and slamming guitar work, not to mention the choirs used to epic effect. Almost every track is a winner, so you're getting a complete album, not filler.

Recommended!

What we have here is some heavy metal, with power metal catchiness, symphonic metal instruments, and punk rock attitude.
The singer might initially seem typical, but give her a few tracks to get started and she will reveal a slew of vocalization styles and a great delivery despite the obvious language barrier and accent. She really comes through and is the highlight of the album.

Lyrics are grammatically faulty yet poignant, and every musician pulls his weight. Recommended!

I've never heard a band that seems so sincerely Christian sound so disturbingly mocking of Christianity.
As a Christian I appreciate the lyrical content, and the music and singing are excellent and creative—but it comes across as a little zealous, perhaps, to the point that it sounds like it's a caricature of Christianity and Pentecostal preaching.

Anyway, it's great stuff!

I love any power metal cover, but if I were being more specific about why I like this particular track, I'd say that I like how the track isn't over-produced. Sure, it has some standard studio tricks, but that's just window dressing, just to get it ready to go. A little reverb, a touch of (way too much) dynamic compression.

The instruments are almost minimal in how clear and distinct they are. The vocalist's smooth, almost romantic voice must be mentioned.
Recommended! Downside? Too short!

We're talking Wintersun with minimal vocals. Need I say more?
O.K., I'll add that there's a bit more of a shimmer to this music than Wintersun, the melodies are on the more pretty side, lending all that much more weight to the melancholic undertones as the bright piano glistens atop it in a contrarian glissade.
If you're O.K. with harsh vocals, and you're also O.K. with minimal vocals, as well as more ponderous music, albeit melodic, you should like this.
I do.

I like at least some songs from every one of this band's albums (usually a minimum of four tracks; if that sounds like a small number, know that I'm picky) but this band has two albums that really leaned into the fantasy power metal style more than others: The debut and now this one, and not coincidentally, these are the two albums I like almost every track from.

If you want less consistent but more unique, try the previous three albums; for solid power metal, this'll do you.

Like the previous album, the music's atmosphere is thick, hanging in the air like oppressive humidity, electric guitars busily buzzing away, led by tasteful yet pounding drumwork.
And, just like the last album, despite having music that could easily be droning nonsense, the band decided to be a cut above almost every other band by actually having beautiful, captivating melodies from end to end.
Almost every song is a winner. If you like Air, you'll like this one. Highly recommended.

I don't think the band would be surprised to see that I've selected "Karma to Burn" as my favorite track. It's one of the few on this album that manage to appeal to that particular necessity in power metaller's taste: Catchy, well-written melodies.

If you like the band's sound but the tracks seem a little meandering, then focus on these:
Karma to Burn, Transcend, The Sign and Buried Alive, in that order. If this were a four-track EP of only those, I'd still have happily paid full price.

I love when an album can do something a bit different without sacrificing obvious qualities of music that Western listeners universally like, such as—wait for it—melody!
No matter how loud, massive, energetic, heavy and intense the music is, these songs maintain strong, engaging melodies that give all of the chaos an ultimate purpose.

Beautiful, and not just in a strange, ethereal way, but as a piece of genuine musical artwork.

I'm sad that the band altered its style, and I wrote a long disquisition on how the new style doesn't have staying power, but in truth it's not just the lack of diversity in the tracks, but more so the lack of solid melodies.

Dungeons and Flagons, Rune Giants, Chaotic Evil Outsider, Frozen Tears of the Huntress, Breastplate of Inspiring Command. . . hit after hit after hit.
So why are the melodies just not landing? I like precisely two songs from this album. Excellent songs, but two alone.

It's fast. It has great dynamic mastering. (You can actually feel the punch of the drums, and all the instruments are clear and separate in their own sonic space, nevertheless cohesive.)

It has a vocalist who sings into the stratosphere. It has catchy melodies. It has creativity and energy.

If you listen to the first 30 seconds of almost any track and you don't think, "Yeah, this is for me," then it ain't for you.

If you think you might like it, you will.