Feel free to correct me if you think i'm wrong on any of this guys.
I think things were pretty even contribution-wise on The Fade. The Knowing was, as Paul/Lar mentioned, basically when Larry joined & he started contributing some writing. He did really take off with his writing after The Knowing.
The way it usually fell out back then was one of us would bring a pretty much completed song to practice, the band would go through it and make little arrangements here & there, and it'd be done. That was how I wrote- at home, with headphones and maybe 4-track. I didn't write well on the spot because I was concerned with trying to push the envelope on chord changes and little time signature things (like on Aura Blue) and fitting melodies in where I could, and those fell out more naturally for me when working at home where I could think more. So when I say someone wrote a song, they pretty much wrote 95% of it, and the band worked together on the last 5% of effort.
For The Knowing, iirc, Larry did Last God and In Faith. I came in w/ most everything else, with the exception of In Memories Past which I believe I brought the riffs in and we pieced together one night on Mary's living room floor.
For The Fade, Larry did a lot more: Not the Strong, Lost in a Day, If Forever, & Spirit Seed were all him. Broken, Torn, Lifeless Silhouette, the piano piece were me. I think I brought in probably 75% of Within My Flesh & Dark Fields but those were a bit more collaborative than most others.
At the time of The Fade, I'd become much more into indie music and wanted to branch out in different directions. The major rise in Larry's amount of writing added different influences (more metal). That's why the record is so disjointed. As Paul mentioned, at that time I was also dating my girlfriend (now wife) long distance between Chicago & St. Louis, and that had become more a priority for me than the band. In hindsight, it was better for the band that I got out so they could focus their direction better.
And what I've heard of the new Knowing tracks sounds solid. Things are more punchy, tight, and distinctive. You guys (& Chris of course) did a good job. I do still like the old mix for its hazy, dreamy quality that I think goes well with the subject matter, but you can actually hear more on the new mix. And with the new mix, I can now say... I like Silent Tomorrow
It was my Torn, haha. Looking forward to hearing the new one, hope it came out even better than you wanted.