New stuff Friday ...

[LarryD]

Going back to this one after some serious discussion with Larry over the last two days ... while Larry says this album sounds like ass, I think it sounds just fine. We had same discussion in regards to the last Arena album, so perhaps we really want different things out of productions and that's the deal here? I understand the aversion to programmed drums (heck, one of the best written albums this year suffers horribly from programmed drums - Manticora, that is), but on the Pallas album I really don't get bothered by it. There's one song where I kind of feel it would have been better with real live drums, but other than that, the songwriting is stellar and overall production is crystal clear on my system. Sorry, Larry, but this is a wonderful disc.

****Here's the thing ..... let's forget about what we each hear in productions ....... meaning, what I hear vs what you hear ........ we both have different systems, and we both hear different things ....... but I think we have different expectations when it comes to music.

If you are a band just starting out, and you have no money, no label, etc etc ..... you put out your first disc, and you have to use programmed drums ..... sure it may sound like ass, and some people will complain about it and some may not for different reasons ......from where I'm sitting, you are Pallas. You have a legendary career and you have been around for half a century. You haven't released a disc in ten years ? You get Alan Reed back in the band and you write a great disc ..... and you use a computer for your drum sound ? That may be ok for some people .... but it isn't for me. Not at this stage of the game. No reason for it ......

Put on a previous Pallas disc .... it sounds pretty good. Put on this new disc, it sounds like ass. Plain and simple. I'll headphone it cause I love what they have written, but in the end it won't be a disc I go back to time and again because I don't want to have to do that ..... it may be a wonderful disc - but it is not the total package....

Gonna put this one in the Arena camp and let it be for what it is ......moving on to Caligua's Horse .......

[Mardoch]

I'm really excited to get my copy of the new Ihsahn. I love everything he's done from After on and the singles for this were solid.

[introclaus]

Put on a previous Pallas disc .... it sounds pretty good. Put on this new disc, it sounds like ass. Plain and simple.

It's not that plain and simple Larry - I don't hear it. You keep telling me it sounds like ass, but I just don't hear that - to my ears it sounds good.

[introclaus]

If you are a band just starting out, and you have no money, no label, etc etc ..... you put out your first disc, and you have to use programmed drums ..... sure it may sound like ass, and some people will complain about it and some may not for different reasons ......from where I'm sitting, you are Pallas. You have a legendary career and you have been around for half a century. You haven't released a disc in ten years ? You get Alan Reed back in the band and you write a great disc ..... and you use a computer for your drum sound ? That may be ok for some people .... but it isn't for me. Not at this stage of the game. No reason for it ......

Completely different discussion here, but I don't think you're right at all - a band like Pallas never were rich, and they never were big. Having been around forever doesn't mean more money, in fact, it might mean the opposite. They probably all have houses, families, etc to take care of, whereas a band of young, hungry musicians are more likely to be willing to put money into something that hopefully could become a profitable future. At 60 years old, that dream is dead long ago, and they only do this because they love the music. But they don't have the money to put behind it like they did when they were young. Heck, they self financed this album - the days of having Inside Out and Verglas putting down some upfront money to help pay for recordings are long gone for this band. So yeah, I think you're 100% wrong on this Larry. The band has every reason to not be able to spend the same amount of money as a young band ...

The discussion about drum computers ... well, I don't like it either, but if it's done right, I can forgive it, and on this album there's really only one song where I wish they had used a real drummer.

[LarryD]

If you are a band just starting out, and you have no money, no label, etc etc ..... you put out your first disc, and you have to use programmed drums ..... sure it may sound like ass, and some people will complain about it and some may not for different reasons ......from where I'm sitting, you are Pallas. You have a legendary career and you have been around for half a century. You haven't released a disc in ten years ? You get Alan Reed back in the band and you write a great disc ..... and you use a computer for your drum sound ? That may be ok for some people .... but it isn't for me. Not at this stage of the game. No reason for it ......

Completely different discussion here, but I don't think you're right at all - a band like Pallas never were rich, and they never were big. Having been around forever doesn't mean more money, in fact, it might mean the opposite. They probably all have houses, families, etc to take care of, whereas a band of young, hungry musicians are more likely to be willing to put money into something that hopefully could become a profitable future. At 60 years old, that dream is dead long ago, and they only do this because they love the music. But they don't have the money to put behind it like they did when they were young. Heck, they self financed this album - the days of having Inside Out and Verglas putting down some upfront money to help pay for recordings are long gone for this band. So yeah, I think you're 100% wrong on this Larry. The band has every reason to not be able to spend the same amount of money as a young band ...

The discussion about drum computers ... well, I don't like it either, but if it's done right, I can forgive it, and on this album there's really only one song where I wish they had used a real drummer.

*****I had zero doubt that you would agree with me on this one ...... but, where I think you are wrong is that Pallas was bigger than you give them credit for ...... regardless, I'm quite sure they had the money to add a drummer to this disc, but chose not to for whatever reason aside from money ....... but, it all comes down to what it sounds like and I agree with all of the reviewers who mentioned it .......

[introclaus]

If you are a band just starting out, and you have no money, no label, etc etc ..... you put out your first disc, and you have to use programmed drums ..... sure it may sound like ass, and some people will complain about it and some may not for different reasons ......from where I'm sitting, you are Pallas. You have a legendary career and you have been around for half a century. You haven't released a disc in ten years ? You get Alan Reed back in the band and you write a great disc ..... and you use a computer for your drum sound ? That may be ok for some people .... but it isn't for me. Not at this stage of the game. No reason for it ......

Completely different discussion here, but I don't think you're right at all - a band like Pallas never were rich, and they never were big. Having been around forever doesn't mean more money, in fact, it might mean the opposite. They probably all have houses, families, etc to take care of, whereas a band of young, hungry musicians are more likely to be willing to put money into something that hopefully could become a profitable future. At 60 years old, that dream is dead long ago, and they only do this because they love the music. But they don't have the money to put behind it like they did when they were young. Heck, they self financed this album - the days of having Inside Out and Verglas putting down some upfront money to help pay for recordings are long gone for this band. So yeah, I think you're 100% wrong on this Larry. The band has every reason to not be able to spend the same amount of money as a young band ...

The discussion about drum computers ... well, I don't like it either, but if it's done right, I can forgive it, and on this album there's really only one song where I wish they had used a real drummer.

*****I had zero doubt that you would agree with me on this one ...... but, where I think you are wrong is that Pallas was bigger than you give them credit for ...... regardless, I'm quite sure they had the money to add a drummer to this disc, but chose not to for whatever reason aside from money ....... but, it all comes down to what it sounds like and I agree with all of the reviewers who mentioned it .......

Separate conversations / discussion topics here:

Pallas was never a big band - they got dropped from Inside Out / Verglas, which probably (based on my knowledge of the label from dealing with them in the past) that band sold less than 10-15k copies worldwide. That's not a lot, and it's not sustainable if you want to use it as an income. It's merely a hobby, unless you play live 150-200 dates of the year to make money somehow (as you're not making it on record sales that low).

Can they afford a drummer? Sure, I mean, why not bring in a full time drummer in the band? It's obviously a choice they've made, which probably isn't based on $$$, but more on creative freedom or just their vision of what the album should sound like.

Does the drums sound programmed? Yes. Does it bother me? No. There's one song I'd like to hear with real drums, but it doesn't bother me. The fact that some reviews don't like it, is not gonna change my mind - similarly I found plenty of reviews that raved about how awesome the album is - again, not gonna change my opinion one way or the other. I like what I hear

[introclaus]

AMARANTHE - The Catalyst
I really (!!!) enjoyed the first single, "Damnation Flame" when it was released last fall, and I've listened to it countless times since then. To me, as an avid Amaranthe-hater, this was a big surprise, and I decided to give "The Catalyst" a fair shot. So far only through half of the album, and the aforementioned tune is by far the best song on display here (the rest sounds like typical crappy Amaranthe), but I'll give it some a full spin or two, just to make sure I'm not missing out on more small nuggets of gold.

[introclaus]

BORKNAGAR - Fall
I'm a fair weather opportunist when it comes to Borknagar ... well, actually, probably more the opposite - I like them when they are the underdog and people are not counting on them at all ... truth be told, of all their albums, my favorites so far has been their debut (which was their only true black metal release), "Origin" (the acoustic release which seem to be universally hated among their fanbase) and now "The Fall". It'll be interesting to see if this means that all their fans will dislike this album, now that I love it LOL. Musically it's actually a great crossover between everything they've done up till now - there are a few hints of their black metal past, there are nice acoustic passages, there are the epic viking atmosphere from some of their early era albums, and there's plenty of progressive metal of their later era - but it's blended really nicely, and while I cared very little for most of their albums until now, this one works very well for me and I'm thoroughly enjoying it.

[introclaus]

BLAZE BAYLEY - Circle of Stone
What's going on with all these NWOBHM bands / musicians deciding to release stuff here in early 2024? Between the new Saxon, Bruce Dickinson, Praying Mantis, Blaze Bayley and Judas Priest, a lot of these old schoolers are making sure they stay relevant (well ... somewhat) here in 2024. Okay, I must admit some of it is better than others, but hey, at least it's cool to hear all of these trying their best at what they once were part of making world famous, right? The Blaze solo album number 832 (or something like that) is actually pretty good. It's the right amount of old school and modern - the right amount of heavy and melodic - and in all honesty, Blaze himself sounds better in 2024 than he did back in the Wolfsbane days and better than when was in Maiden. Sure, he is not the best vocalist in the genre, but he is good enough. The songs are quite well written, and I'm enjoying this much more than expected.

[giedrius]

North Sea Echoes - Really Good Terrible Things. It is always nice to hear the emotional melancholy crafted by of Alder and Matheos. I will certainly give it a few more spins, however how often I will come back to this after five years, I am not sure.

Job for a Cowboy - Moon Healer. I was skipping this band before, but this album is a very fine piece of technical death metal.

I listened to the new Borknagar once, but don't really have an opinion yet.

[introclaus]

North Sea Echoes - Really Good Terrible Things. It is always nice to hear the emotional melancholy crafted by of Alder and Matheos. I will certainly give it a few more spins, however how often I will come back to this after five years, I am not sure.

I thought this was, if not horrible, at least horribly uninteresting. I have no intention of ever listening to this again. I love FW, but this is just not my kind of music at all.

Job for a Cowboy - Moon Healer. I was skipping this band before, but this album is a very fine piece of technical death metal.

It's on my list of things to check out. I too have always been skipping out on them, but the reviews for "Moon Healer" hints at something I might enjoy.

I listened to the new Borknagar once, but don't really have an opinion yet.

Really good in my opinion.

[introclaus]

FIREWIND - Stand United
Never liked Herbie Langhans, and I really don't feel his gruff / scratchy voice fits the music of Firewind. Apollo was the perfect match for this band, and the albums with him had so much melody. Oh well ... It's another "miss" rather than a "hit". Such a shame considering how talented they used to be.

[jhallum]

FIREWIND - Stand United
Never liked Herbie Langhans, and I really don't feel his gruff / scratchy voice fits the music of Firewind. Apollo was the perfect match for this band, and the albums with him had so much melody. Oh well ... It's another "miss" rather than a "hit". Such a shame considering how talented they used to be.

Spinning this for the first time right now. Perhaps not that bad. Power metal as a genre could use more scratchy vox. Getting a little sick of nothing but pretty voices in my melodic power.

[jhallum]

BORKNAGAR - Fall
I'm a fair weather opportunist when it comes to Borknagar ... well, actually, probably more the opposite - I like them when they are the underdog and people are not counting on them at all ... truth be told, of all their albums, my favorites so far has been their debut (which was their only true black metal release), "Origin" (the acoustic release which seem to be universally hated among their fanbase) and now "The Fall". It'll be interesting to see if this means that all their fans will dislike this album, now that I love it LOL. Musically it's actually a great crossover between everything they've done up till now - there are a few hints of their black metal past, there are nice acoustic passages, there are the epic viking atmosphere from some of their early era albums, and there's plenty of progressive metal of their later era - but it's blended really nicely, and while I cared very little for most of their albums until now, this one works very well for me and I'm thoroughly enjoying it.

Three great black(ish) metal albums in a month or so with the Ihsahn, the Borkagnar, and the Suldusk.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9tm-b2 ... Npcw%3D%3D

Last year seemed like it was the spring of the female fronted metal, this spring its three great black metal(ish) disks.

[introclaus]

Three great black(ish) metal albums in a month or so with the Ihsahn, the Borkagnar, and the Suldusk.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9tm-b2 ... Npcw%3D%3D

Last year seemed like it was the spring of the female fronted metal, this spring its three great black metal(ish) disks.

I’ve not gotten around to check out Suldusk yet except the first single which I really enjoyed. Looking forward to listening to entire album.

Another wonderful black metal(ish) album this year is Vemod, which I actually like even more than Borknagar. Such a unique sounding album.

[AllMediaReviews]

DIRT POOR ROBINS ..new epic album just came out last Thursday.
https://open.spotify.com/album/2W4OTm8a7op7GYbAXYKl3g

[introclaus]

Tons of new stuff today ... only been through a few of them so far;

Sonata Arctica - sounds better than I expected (not fantastic, but then again, I was never a huge fan). I'm impressed by how well Tony's voice have held up - in fact, I think he sounds better now than ever.
[youtube]/jJxzik6Zm6U[/youtube]

Judas Priest - through it three times and quite disappointing. I really liked the previous one, but this one is bland at best.


Vicinity - this one has Larry D written all over it. Old school prog metal in the Pagan's Mind / Circus Maximus / Seventh Wonder / Ventura vein. Very well done, but probably not for me.


Turbulence - okay, I've had this all week and listened to it MANY times already. Love it. Didn't care for their previous album(s), but this one is great. It sounds like what I'd love Haken to sound like (basically a "modern" take on Dream Theater prog with a great singer). Wonderful album.


Early Moods - still sounds like Trouble (with a ton of Black Sabbath atmosphere and some Candlemass epicness), and i like this a lot. Not sure if i'll enjoy it as much as the debut that was more "raw" and "unpolished", but it's very good.


There are a few more I need to check out (Midnight, Exhorder...).

[introclaus]

MYRATH - Karma
I guess we all forgot to talk about the new Myrath; Not surprisingly considering the big promotion/record label mistake of accidentally leaking album 6 months before official release. Those people who had an opinion on the album, probably already stated it somewhere, somehow, to someone ... Back in early September I got hold of the album, and I've since then listened to it probably 20-25 times, so I have a pretty solid opinion on it, which I've shared in pretty harsh words with friends of the past half year. "Karma" is everything I did NOT want from Myrath - a half-hearted attempt at becoming a commercial success, by a band willing to drop their unique elements in order to make $$$ - and as such it fails miserably. The band have traded in their quirky, semi-progressive power metal anthems full of oriental flavors, for a symphonic overly clinical sounding pop-metal style. The worst part is that the symphonic elements sounds extremely fake, the production is plastic instead of organic, and even the frigging album cover is horrible AI generated crap. The oriental flavors are reduced to background sounds instead of an integral part of the music, and while Zaher still sings like a young god (dude, that guy can wail with the best of them), the music supporting him is passionless and lifeless. To me, "Karma" musically sounds close to the style of the last couple of Within Temptation albums, but the difference is that where Robert and Sharon from WT knows how to write great pop songs, Ben Arbia from Myrath really doesn't ... Now, with all that said, after having pointed out all the things horribly wrong with "Karma", why have I listened to it so much, and why would I spend my money on it now that it's officially released? Well, as I mentioned, Zaher's voice is worth the price of admission alone, the solos from Ben are superb as always, I'm a fan-boy since the debut album, and truth be told, there aren't many bands that have that oriental/middle-eastern sound in power/prog metal, so when someone comes around and does it, I am there. And yes, the songs on "Karma" comes nowhere near the quality I was hoping for from Myrath, with some of them being downright annoying, but there are still some nice stuff to be found here and there, especially once you get past the first wave of disappointment. It'll never be my favorite Myrath album, but it is part of the discography of a band that has so much unfulfilled potential, and hopefully in years we'll look back at this as an album that was needed for the band to get something out of their system in order to move forward (ehmmm "Cold Lake", "Risk", "Load/Reload", "Falling into Infinity" ...).

"Candle's Cry" is a great example of how they sound half-hearted in their approach, and it's easy to hear that this pop-metal is just not right for these guys


"Child of Prophecy" is all about Zaher's incredible vocals!!!


"Heroes" - really poppy tune, but big melodies and this one has really grown on me over the last half year

[Sir Exar Kun]

Vicinity - this one has Larry D written all over it. Old school prog metal in the Pagan's Mind / Circus Maximus / Seventh Wonder / Ventura vein. Very well done, but probably not for me.

OK, REALLY enjoyed this! Any tips on a domestic spot to order, or strictly through the band?

I have Myrath and Turbulence both in my stack to listen to at home. I fully expect Myrath to take the path of Kamelot, and keep putting out the same album over and over at this point.

[introclaus]

Vicinity - this one has Larry D written all over it. Old school prog metal in the Pagan's Mind / Circus Maximus / Seventh Wonder / Ventura vein. Very well done, but probably not for me.

OK, REALLY enjoyed this! Any tips on a domestic spot to order, or strictly through the band?

It's on iTunes ... no idea about physical copies though.

I have Myrath and Turbulence both in my stack to listen to at home. I fully expect Myrath to take the path of Kamelot, and keep putting out the same album over and over at this point.

Well, I think that where "Legacy" and "Shehili" were very close to each other, and definitely warranted the perception of a band who'll keep putting out the same album over and over, "Karma" is a complete shift. They do no longer sound like a "middle-eastern folk based version of Kamelot meets Symphony X", but instead like a "Within Temptation meets Delain pop-metal based style with hints of middle-eastern flavor". I honestly would have been happy with yet another album in their previous style, but instead they went completely pop metal here.

[introclaus]

Not really anything amazing coming out this week for my tastes;

DRAGONFORCE - Warp Speed Warriors
Half the album sucks and half of it is among their strongest material ever ("The Killer Queen" is REALLY good in my opinion, and tunes like "Power of the Triforce" and "Astro Warrior Anthem" are great as well). I keep trying their releases each time, but most of them are just not my cup of tea ... at least this one is a step up from most of the stuff they've done the last 15-18 years.


I still need to check out the new Necrophobic, Whom the Gods Destroy and the Lords of Black, although I don't really have super high hopes for any of them, but we'll see.

[introclaus]

Job for a Cowboy - Moon Healer. I was skipping this band before, but this album is a very fine piece of technical death metal.

It's on my list of things to check out. I too have always been skipping out on them, but the reviews for "Moon Healer" hints at something I might enjoy.

When did these guys become good? This is killer prog/tech death!!!!
I always thought they were deathcore? Am I missing out on any of their other albums? This one is crazy good.

[Mardoch]

Job for a Cowboy - Moon Healer. I was skipping this band before, but this album is a very fine piece of technical death metal.

It's on my list of things to check out. I too have always been skipping out on them, but the reviews for "Moon Healer" hints at something I might enjoy.

When did these guys become good? This is killer prog/tech death!!!!
I always thought they were deathcore? Am I missing out on any of their other albums? This one is crazy good.

I did the same. Moon Healer is very much in the vein of Rivers of Nihil, which is extremely my shit. I'm going to check a few back catalog entries from them because I don't remember them being quite like this in the past.

[introclaus]

It's on my list of things to check out. I too have always been skipping out on them, but the reviews for "Moon Healer" hints at something I might enjoy.

When did these guys become good? This is killer prog/tech death!!!!
I always thought they were deathcore? Am I missing out on any of their other albums? This one is crazy good.

I did the same. Moon Healer is very much in the vein of Rivers of Nihil, which is extremely my shit. I'm going to check a few back catalog entries from them because I don't remember them being quite like this in the past.

Glad I'm not the only one who've ignored them ... makes me feel less stupid for ignoring them then hahaha

Yeah, I hear some Rivers of Nihil, although less "Devin Townsend"-chaotic. I can only listen to RoN in very small doses, because of that Devin-touch.

[introclaus]

VENUES - Transience
File this under "music that LarryD will hate"! It's a melodic metalcore band (think Annisokay) leaning heavily into that modern pop-metal sound that we know from later-day Within Temptation. I'm thoroughly enjoying this, and I find their sense of melody writing super interesting, but I can also understand why this will not sit well with most old school metal fans.
Also, the below song has potential to be "song of the year" to me ... sooooo damn emotional

[LarryD]

VENUES - Transience
File this under "music that LarryD will hate"! It's a melodic metalcore band (think Annisokay) leaning heavily into that modern pop-metal sound that we know from later-day Within Temptation. I'm thoroughly enjoying this, and I find their sense of melody writing super interesting, but I can also understand why this will not sit well with most old school metal fans.
Also, the below song has potential to be "song of the year" to me ... sooooo damn emotional

***Staying clear - thank you.

[Mardoch]

VENUES - Transience
File this under "music that LarryD will hate"! It's a melodic metalcore band (think Annisokay) leaning heavily into that modern pop-metal sound that we know from later-day Within Temptation. I'm thoroughly enjoying this, and I find their sense of melody writing super interesting, but I can also understand why this will not sit well with most old school metal fans.
Also, the below song has potential to be "song of the year" to me ... sooooo damn emotional

Another band I now need to add to the research queue...

[introclaus]

VENUES - Transience

Another band I now need to add to the research queue...

Yeah, you should like it ..

Also, check out RENESANS (https://www.renesansband.com/) ... it's the band around singer / vocal coach David Benites (who runs Extreme Vocal Institute). Musically it's a mixture between metalcore and occassionally some deathcore elements. His vocal range is impressive. Not sure why it's only an EP, you know I hate those, because this has potential ...

[LarryD]

You're going to really flip when I tell you my thoughts below ....... what I do not like is this format of putting everything into one post ...... that's how it is on the X Board and I don't care for it because there is too much to miss at once .... as evidenced by our last text message, where I didn't remember shit ........

As for me - anything I listen to or have a thought is going into a separate post so it is easy to see, find, and search .........

Vicinity - this one has Larry D written all over it. Old school prog metal in the Pagan's Mind / Circus Maximus / Seventh Wonder / Ventura vein. Very well done, but probably not for me.

*****Very well done, but not for me either. Those bands you mention are at a certain level ...... when bands tend to sound like them these days, it really has to be great or exciting enough like those bands did for me .... I played this twice and it just doesn't excite me .... yes, very well done, but exciting enough to keep going back ? No ...... great sound on the disc though.

Turbulence - okay, I've had this all week and listened to it MANY times already. Love it. Didn't care for their previous album(s), but this one is great. It sounds like what I'd love Haken to sound like (basically a "modern" take on Dream Theater prog with a great singer). Wonderful album.

*****I think their previous disc is much better than this one .... you already know my thoughts on it, but really I couldn't wait for it to be over .......very, very muddy sound with way too much bass ...... but really I thought their previous disc was so much better ...... those sci-fi sounds in between songs annoyed the hell out of me as well.......

[introclaus]

You're going to really flip when I tell you my thoughts below .......

Nothing surprises me anymore

Vicinity

*****Very well done, but not for me either. Those bands you mention are at a certain level ...... when bands tend to sound like them these days, it really has to be great or exciting enough like those bands did for me .... I played this twice and it just doesn't excite me .... yes, very well done, but exciting enough to keep going back ? No ...... great sound on the disc though.

Yeah, I knew you'd like it for what they are doing, but the fact that they don't reach the level of the bands they are inspired by is pretty clear, and I agree that it isn't enough to make us go back and listen again. I had thought you'd like it a bit more than you did, but meh ...

Turbulence

*****I think their previous disc is much better than this one .... you already know my thoughts on it, but really I couldn't wait for it to be over .......very, very muddy sound with way too much bass ...... but really I thought their previous disc was so much better ...... those sci-fi sounds in between songs annoyed the hell out of me as well.......

Well, again, I'm not surprised. I didn't like their previous stuff, which you loved. So obviously we'd also disagree on this one. Makes total sense.
As for the production ... it was just perfectly fine for me, no issues there on my end. We don't listen for the same things in music, so no arguments to be made.

[giedrius]

It's on my list of things to check out. I too have always been skipping out on them, but the reviews for "Moon Healer" hints at something I might enjoy.

When did these guys become good? This is killer prog/tech death!!!!
I always thought they were deathcore? Am I missing out on any of their other albums? This one is crazy good.

I did the same. Moon Healer is very much in the vein of Rivers of Nihil, which is extremely my shit. I'm going to check a few back catalog entries from them because I don't remember them being quite like this in the past.

Let me know what you find out, I am in the same boat on Job For a Cowboy as you and Claus. Never really paid attention to their music until this year's album.

[Norén]

Well, I think that where "Legacy" and "Shehili" were very close to each other, and definitely warranted the perception of a band who'll keep putting out the same album over and over, "Karma" is a complete shift. They do no longer sound like a "middle-eastern folk based version of Kamelot meets Symphony X", but instead like a "Within Temptation meets Delain pop-metal based style with hints of middle-eastern flavor". I honestly would have been happy with yet another album in their previous style, but instead they went completely pop metal here.

OK. After reading all negative comments about the new Myrath album I really expected this one to suck badly. But damn ... my taste obviously doesn't match yours on this one I'm happy to say. I have no problem with the "poppier" direction, and some of their finest songs to date (for me) are on this one. "Wheel of time" is just incredible. Thumbs up from the Swedish jury

[introclaus]

Well, I think that where "Legacy" and "Shehili" were very close to each other, and definitely warranted the perception of a band who'll keep putting out the same album over and over, "Karma" is a complete shift. They do no longer sound like a "middle-eastern folk based version of Kamelot meets Symphony X", but instead like a "Within Temptation meets Delain pop-metal based style with hints of middle-eastern flavor". I honestly would have been happy with yet another album in their previous style, but instead they went completely pop metal here.

OK. After reading all negative comments about the new Myrath album I really expected this one to suck badly. But damn ... my taste obviously doesn't match yours on this one I'm happy to say. I have no problem with the "poppier" direction, and some of their finest songs to date (for me) are on this one. "Wheel of time" is just incredible. Thumbs up from the Swedish jury

Well … I am going to write another post on this disc later once I have time to go more in-depth, but in short, after 100+ spins I can safely say that I’ve done a 180 on this album. I listen to it on every run these days and at least once or twice more every single day…

[Mardoch]

Really enjoyed the new Architects single. It's the only thing that's yanked me off of my Erra binge for a minute.

[introclaus]

Really enjoyed the new Architects single. It's the only thing that's yanked me off of my Erra binge for a minute.

Two for two … both singles so far are killer.
Can’t wait for album.