AMOR VINCIT OMNIA

I am not going to compare this album to The Dark Third; to do so would be completely inappropriate. The conceps are different, the genre is different, the construction and the rationale. All different. The band has moved over from being quite extrovert, taking great pains to show a musical ability, to well, relying on synths, samples and backing tracks. Make sure of one thing, they will never perform this album as live as they could TDT. Having stated the differences, it has to be said that Amor Vincit Omnia or AVO as it is now called, is so obviously the same band, the same lyricist, even the same hooks and overall tenor as TDT. Yes, you can recognise a lot of the harmonies and layering. Possibly one of the downfalls of one person doing it all, as there is little to suggest more than one influence on the whole thing - apart from the second (female) voice which is nothing more than a background acknowledgement to harmony. So much so did the one seemingly want this to be a single work, that he even tries to falsetto notes that he has no chance of ever reaching, the result being way out-of-tune harmonies with the girl who should be singing the high notes anyway. Some of the tunes are OK. Some appear to have been put in as (as is the annoying norm these days) mere fillers to make up the 42 minutes. Bloodless, Keep me Sane and the simply awful Disconnect are the three main offenders. Les Malheurs is ok-ish, but has an odd, almost vomit-inducing step in the beat that I just don't get. VC and Deus ex Machina, well if you haven't heard these already, they're good-ish, but they're not the selling tracks that this album so desperately needs. Apogee - repetitive, droning, dull, I can't say any better. All in all, a big stepdown from TDT. I don't want TDT2, I want progression. This isn't it