THIS MORTAL COIL

I often say to myself: "Self, a song without a guitar solo isn't worth listening to". Now, that just may be my reaction to people that don't appreciate solos, but what is abundantly clear in all of Redemption's work, and in particular this one, is that they feel the same.

The guitar solos on this release are superb and BV deserves special credit. Redemption put all the things that make metal good into their sound. Progressive? Well if musicianship, skill, dexterity, melody and songwriting are hallmarks, then yes. But they do fit better into the straight ahead metal with a bit of thrash category, where this album should receive 4 stars.

Again, the lyrics are very personal and mature, a hallmark of their sound and particularly poignant considering NVD's recent battle with cancer, but ultimately this record falls a bit short of their last 2-3 releases. It just sounds a little 'tired' for want of a better word and like other reviewers here, I too question the production, it's a bit too raw for my liking, but I find the mix fine (especially the solos!).