Midheaven

Don't be expecting Nocturne Part 2...

     

First off, if you are expecting Nocturne Part 2, do not get this album, you will be disappointed. However, with that being said, this album takes a completely different approach towards its writing process, mainly because the driving force behind Nocturne, AJ Minette (the lead guitar player) left the band at this time while the rest of the band continued on without him. I'm proud to say AJ is back with the band and the band is better than ever now. It is definitely more experimental than Nocturne. I'd like to go through a play-by-play to let you know how the songs stack up. Legend= (/) is for an okay song, (+) is for a good song, and (-) is for a bad song, again, this is my opinion

1. A Violent Strike (+) - Great opener with some awesome guitar lines, fast drums, and the vocalist does this song very well

2. Procession of the Fates (+) - Very fast paced song with some memorable guitar lines and solos

3. Breathing Life Into Devices (+) - VERY catchy chorus, one of the best songs on this album, instrumentally it is great, the piano/ organ parts are very appropriate, the guitar lines in this song fit perfectly with everything else, the vocalist shines in this song, all in all, a great song

4. This World Is a Tomb (/) - The beginning takes WAY too long to introduce the rest of the song. It seems a little bland, but the musicality towards the end of the song really help make it a decent song

5. Metanoia (+) - My favorite song on the album. The guitar has great riffs, the drums shine in this song, very fast paced, the vocalist does a great job switching from singing to screaming, the bassist's driving force helped to increase the intensity of this song

6. The Path (-) - I just didn't find any reason why I wanted to listen to this entire song. It is boring, unmemorable, and it is very bland

7. Echos Of The Spirit (/) - The music just didn't hook me into it; it seemed like the vocalist wanted to be the complete center of attention in this song; I only kinda like this song because the vocalist does a good job with the chorus

8. Calm In The Chaos (/) - If this song was completely acoustic the entire time, I would love this song, but sadly it is not. I thought they wanted this one to be the ballad, but in the middle it kills the tone the beginning of this song sets

9. Counting Down The Days (/) - This song just isn't memorable for some reason, maybe it is just a little too long to contain everything they were trying to put in it, but the guitar and piano sweeps are awesome parts in this song and help make it a decent song

10. A Dead World At Sunrise (-) This song was a little unexpected, I thought they were going to end the album with a bang, but this is the only song that is soft the entire time, it is basically piano and vocals the whole time. It didn't work for me

Overall 4 (+), 4 (/), and 2 (-). Worth the buy? Definitely. Although it is completely different than any of their albums, it is a different step of musical creativity. This is the only album that AJ Minette didn't participate in, meaning that the band really needed his talent to get back to the realm of the "Nocturne" style of playing. Now that he's back, go get all of The Human Abstract's new material! You will not be disappointed!