The album beats the shit out of Universal, especially in the production department. This is the most epic Borknagar album since Empiricism and the one with the 'oldest' vibe since Quintessence.
The addition of Vortex and the greater contributions of Lazare in vocals made a huge impact; hell, even Vintersorg sounds now as good or better than he did on Empiricism! Andreas sounds as powerful as Lars and Simen, I think it's cause now Andreas doesn't need to struggle to reach so high notes - which Simen and Lars can reach better. Andreas in baritone/lower tenor register sounds just perfect, Lars sounds far better going higher so they compliment each other nicely.
I like the more streamlined structure of the songs, they flow pretty well. I have the impression that Urd benefits from the 'less is more' thing: Dave's drumming is technical but more flowing than Universal and he's way more integrated to the whole band, although some of his fills tends to draw some speed and force in some sections. The riffs? are excellent! I was reminded of TAC and TOD sometimes, the soloing is also very good! fits very well and since it's more used, adds more room to the vocals to rest a little bit and the instrumentarion to shine.
My fav songs/sections:
Epochalypse: it resumes very well what Urd offers.
The Beauty of Dead Cities: Lars sounds like a norse god here. I like the 'prog' feeling of the song and it's mellower feel.
The Earthling: I like how is builds tension until the most epic chorus/finale I've heard from Andreas since Inherit the Earth I AM THE EARTHLING!
Frostrite: It sounds sometimes like the ICS Vortex solo material, but it's a fairly diverse song.
The Winter Eclipse: epic and furious stuff!
In a Deeper World: Epicness at forgotten proportions. This song closes the album in a similar way Winter Millenium did for The Archaic Course. It's one of the best performances I've heard from Vortex, probably the best since Colossus.
Congrats, guys! it's a 9,8/10 album for me, which is really something given today's standards.
