I had great difficulties finding a leg to stand on in reviewing this album, because on one hand it’s a very stable album: well played and well produced, but on the other hand it didn’t quite take my breath away at any time, and the songs or riffs don’t really stick in my mind after the record is over…

This is 7^th release from this Italian band (with American singer), and it’s obvious that this is done by very experienced musicians, on the technical side of musicianship you can’t put a finger on anything here. The vocalist Terence Holler isn’t bad either, but here comes the first problem for me: his voice sometimes sounds strained and not that fitted the generally more melodic approach on this album, in my opinion he clearly has his strength in the harder parts (for example in Black Rain).

I’ve bought their latest albums because the (promised) mixture of power and thrash (and some prog elements) should be just the right recipe for my taste, and the two predecessors (Portrait Of The Abyss Within and Neighbourhell) has delivered a solid mixture of prog/thrash/power metal, just to my liking.

But somehow this album doesn’t quite live up to the previous releases. The share of thrashy and progressive elements has been turned down, leaving a generally more melodic impression, and in my opinion that’s a pity. The songs in general, the composing and the riffs, on this album aren’t that interesting to me, it seems they’ve been “turning the handle”, putting out some average melodic power-tunes, that are not that inspired as before, sometimes even just marking time.

Is this an attempt to be more commercial, getting a shot at a broader audience?

Last, a small remark to the cover art: a sick or dead blackeyed girl lying in bed with more or less creepy hands reaching for her, instead of their "normal" alienlooking monster, in a "funny" way symbolizes this album for me: The wildness is missing, and instead we get a weakened person which the scary hands (of commercialism) reaches for...just my interpretation - probably not the intentional...(?)

Sorry, but you can do much better than this boys.