WITHIN THE REALM OF A DYING SUN

3.5 stars. This album continues down the same path as their last one "Spleen & Ideal", but it is different.They've added a lot more strings and brass to their sound, and medieval is definitely a word that comes to mind. Other words that come to mind when I listen to this include dark, melancholic, otherworldly, mysterious, haunting, ethereal and of course atmospheric. I can't honestly say I enjoy it more than "Spleen & Ideal" or "The Serpents Egg" though.

"Anywhere Out Of The World" sounds so amazing 30 seconds in when the sound gets fuller. So full. Thick atmosphere before this bass line comes in followed by Brenden's vocals. Strings and brass aren't in your face but they make the sound so heavy that it rains emotion. "Windfall" is classical sounding instrumental with sounds that slowly come and go.It gets better as it plays out. "In The Wake Of Adversity" opens with strings and brass as male vocals join in around a minute. Almost sounds like Frank Sinatra if he had turned goth. "Xavier" features Lisa's vocal melodies along with horns before Brenden comes in vocally the rest of the way and i'm not liking this. This is dark with lots of atmosphere as distant trumpet blasts can be heard.

"Dawn Of The Innocent" opens with blasting horns and drums before Lisa comes in and takes over vocally. This is powerful stuff. So much atmosphere and it's quite intense. Eerie late. Great track. "Cantara" features some hurdy gurdy with atmosphere. A heavy beat arrives 2 minutes in as the tempo picks up. Nice. Lisa joins in vocally. Nicer. Amazing tune. "Summoning Of The Muse" is so heavy with sounds as Lisa comes in singing. Powerful. "Persephone (The Gathering Of Flowers)" features an incredible vocal performance from Lisa to open. When she stop these strings come in and they bring so much emotion around 1 1/2 minutes. Brass helps out too. Female vocals 2 1/2 minutes in as the sounds in the background hum. More strings around 4 minutes as Lisa joins them. Gulp. Aboe after 5 1/2 minutes.

Atmosphere galore. Funny but I felt the better tracks had Lisa singing on them which is the opposite way I felt with "Spleen & Ideal".