THE NIGHTMARE BECOMES REALITY

This music sounds like it was made by robot Frankenstein. And I don't mean that in a particularly good way. It's obvious that there's some really talented songwriting and musicianship in this sophomore effort by Anima Morte. However, my problem is with the delivery, it's way too impersonal sounding! It's always been a pet peeve of mine when a friend would hear me listening to some synth-heavy prog and say, "Hey, that sounds like video game music!" However, that's really what you're getting here, an album that sounds like a particularly inspired Castlevania soundtrack. The production is really smooth, the omnipresent synths are louder than anything else, and all the instrumentation just sounds hyper-rehearsed and sort of stale. It's a shame, because it actually was a promising album at first; I love "Corridor of Blood" and "Revenant" precisely because they are more organic sounding than the rest of the album. But after that, Anima Morte settles into aforementioned Castlevania mode, and the rest of the album just sort of blends together without any really memorable sections. 3 stars, because there's nothing particularly wrong with this album; I just don't enjoy it that much. I prefer my creepy horror prog to sound like it's made by humans. So back to Devil Doll it is!