WOW
(Yeah, so I downloaded it. Harass me all you want. I'll be buying the fuck out of this thing anyway)
I've just been owned badly by this shit... I was totally afraid it wouldn't be on par with their other catalog (they're my favorite band). Well, guess what, I was TOTALLY FUCKING WRONG. Every fucking second of this monster kills, mutilates, and does all sorts of other pleasantly cruel things. I listened to it three times in a row yesterday. I couldn't believe my ears how consistently AWESOME it is. The production is BETTER THAN DHIADW. The music is RIDICULOUSLY HEAVY and technical... Deep inside I was afraid they would go the way of Soilwork/In Flames/... but fortunately I was proven wrong. This is NOTHING like mtv music. I can now safely say that noone has ever sounded like this, it's a new genre entirely. The melodies are not really catchy, but they convey a sort of dark, sick even, atmosphere wonderfully. Did I mention the riffs? Not of this world, I tell you... Steve and Jeff must have been abducted by aliens or something, because this stuff is so CRUSHING it's beyond words. It borders on death metal sometimes... Solos are in abundance, and what they lack in catchiness they had on DHIADW, they make up for in TOTAL INSANITY and in a way how they are totally integral to the song... While were at it, song writing ranges from the solid and effective verse/chorus to some totally wacko shit, and I mean that in the best way possible. Vocals may not match the DNB, but they're the next best thing and totally original and awesome, and from what I hear, the lyrics are going to be killer as well.
This album is, IMO, without doubt their most headbanging material to date. The third time I listened to it was in bed, and I was twitching all the time, drumming around, playing guitar and what not, constantly replaying some songs simply because they rule so much. Live, this is surely going to obliterate everything in sonic radius.
DNB 100/100
TGE 97/100
PoE 94/100
DHIADW 90/100
EoR 90/100
Yes it's that good.
I'm sorry if I broke any rules regarding downloaded material. My only intention was to share the excitement - I haven't felt like this about an album since DNB, and this is coming from someone who was really sceptical whether they could release another godly album. For those who don't have it and wish to wait for release - more power to you. I was too weak, but at least I can now WHOLEHEARTEDLY say this album surpassed all of my expectations and is just that TINY bit worse than DNB, and that probably only because DNB has such an emotionalvvalue to me. There.
BTW: Andy, the guitar sound is the best I've ever heard from a 7 string. What the HELL did you do with it? If it's not secret of course...
