“You'll Bleed Forever” comes as the first ballad on the album. I am fairly certain that the vocals are done by Floor Jansen once again, considering her vocals are a bit more distinguishable than some of the other female vocalists on the album. There really isn't much going on here in the beginning, Floor's vocals sound pretty decent, but the song takes a bit to kick in. Once the song gets going there is a lot emotion to it actually - emotional solos is something Tolkki has been known for and this one falls in line with many of his other ones. Although it’s a six minute song that took about three minutes to kick in I actually do like the track and pretty much proves that Floor was the right choice in being the lead vocalist on the album if it had to be any metal female vocalist.
After Circle II Circle releasing what I felt was their most disappointing album to date I was a bit apprehensive to see Zak Stevens on this album. It seems as though he has lost a lot of power to his voice and on “Neon Sirens” it’s really no different. This song really could have done with a stronger vocalist singing on it, not to mention the riffs are pretty boring as well. Most of the guitar in the song is very distorted and down tuned and the solo is very unmemorable. This is certainly not a power metal song and probably the weakest song on the album. I would recommend skipping this one every time in the future.
“High Above Me” is the other ballad on the album, only two tracks past the previous one. Being a voice I don't believe I've ever heard before I would imagine that this is Caterina Nix, who to this point hasn’t sang on any other album. There really isn't much that stands out about her voice and the song is essentially a piano ballad that doesn’t have any guitar up until the solo around the four minute mark, which is actually kind of sloppy and forgettable. It then fades back into dainty female vocals and piano and ends from there; once again not a very impressive track in my opinion.
It is easy to tell that the track “Angels of the Apocalypse” tries really hard to convey an epic feel to it. At 9 and a half minutes long it’s by far the longest song on the album, starts off with a lot of evil sounding choir vocals and orchestration, and marks the return of Elize Ryd, who was the lead vocalist on the debut album. The main guitar riffs give off the vibe of marching to war, which I'd imagine is the supposed to lead to the climax of the entire album. There are a few shorter, but fast guitar solos in the track, but the build up to this song is kind of anti-climactic. The verses are not remotely memorable and there isn't really a chorus at all. Then it gets to about a three minute break of only soft female vocals and piano. It attempts to kick back in to something a little more apocalyptic sounding, but pretty much fails and then fades out.
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Adam Philips, HMS
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