First Impressions
We've been in a bit of a slow streak for a while. So I was really needing an album like this to kick things back into gear. This was the last album of their near flawless streak they started since their debut, so you bet I was excited for it.
What I was not expecting was to get another almost perfect album from these guys. My goodness, this was incredible.
I suppose in some way it makes sense, this is the second part of the Good Apollo series. Coming off the heels of my favorite album from them, I think I should've been more excited for it.
This might be a slightly more difficult review to write, simply because this album is really just a perfect continuation on everything Good Apollo I did. It's long, epic, got perfect hooks, a super sharp and cynical edge to the lyrics and the singing, and it's just a banger overall.
While it is very similar to the previous album, there are some things that make it stand out amongst their entire discography. And honestly it's these standouts that elevate the album to S tier status.
First off. This is a proper epic. Yes, Good Apollo and Keeping Secrets did have longer and more progressive and dramatic songs. But this album is a battlefield. It is without a doubt the most climactic and the most dramatic album. And, reading about the story, it honestly feels like this could have been the end of the entire Amory Wars saga.
After all the grief and rage that Good Apollo had, we're left to deal with pretty much the end of the world in the story's universe. There are full blown wars and battles that are pretty much happening in every single song here. And the music just reflects that perfectly.
There is so much orchestration in this album, chanting, way more serious and grand melodic lines, solos and lyrics. It's kind of welcome to see them play their sound almost completely straight for the most climactic record in their discography.
The other thing this album has over the others is Claudio. Now, I love his voice. It's awesome how naturally high he can always go. And his delivery is a perfect mix of dramatic and super aggressive in an almost playful way. But here... I don't know what he did. He sounds incredible here.
He genuinely soars in almost every song. The title track is only so epic because of his vocals. But really it's the ballads where he shines here. Having such a high voice can make it hard to convey just how much heart you are putting into singing a song. But you can absolutely tell in these that he is singing his lungs out.
I think that's enough of the general praises I want to give this album. Let's move on to the individual songs.
The title track is possibly the best song I have heard from these guys, ever. I genuinely think every single idea in this song is perfect. From the hyperactive guitar riffs, the melody lines in the verses, chorus and bridge. The "raise your hands high" part genuinely hypes me up in a way I have not felt in so long. The lyrics are so good and set the stage for the complete apocalypse that this album represents for the story.
It is like they got Blind Guardian to write them a song about their comics. Genuinely one of the most incredible experiences I've had with this band.
We are thrown right into a classic banger with The Hound. Now, this would typically be the bulk of the record. The super fun and upbeat poppy songs with prog elements. But honestly, this barely resembles that formula anymore. You have strings, a much more refined and serious sound even if the chorus is still playful. Everything just feels like it has more weight here. I love the strings in the verses, really tie this in to make it feel as grand as possible without losing it's poppy nature.
Then we get to the secret weapon of this album. The secret weapon of this band honestly. The ballads.
Feathers is not a very traditional ballad. It's pretty mid-tempo and upbeat. But it's such a beautiful song. It's the only one that really embraces their more traditional playful poppy style. And yet, despite not really having any strings or super dramatic melodies, there is just something about it that feels so much more grand than their usual bop.
It feels sad, longing. It no longer feels like the playful elements are the core of their sound, just a mask to cope with the pain and loss the characters have endured all throughout the story. The fact that they managed to capture that in such a short and technically simple song is just incredible.
The Running Free is another banger. I'd equate it a lot to Ten Speed from the previous album. It's fast, a little upbeat but quite aggressive. And it makes you feel like you listened to a whole 8 minute epic in half that time. The "spend your time well before you go" part is absolute art. Super dark and aggressive in the in a way only they can achieve.
Mother Superior is the more traditional ballad in the album. And once again it is absolutely beautiful. Their ballads usually touch more on the soft and ethereal side rather than raw emotion, but here it feels genuinely devastating. Mix that with the slight western sound of the softer guitars? Oh yeah, this song is amazing.
Claudio is especially singing with everything he's got here. The "you'll just say the worst of me, with a hope they'd understand" part is genuinely heart wrenching. The melodies in here are absolutely perfect. With the lyrics matching the almost lullaby style of the song.
The album just does not stop with the bangers. Gravemakers and Gunslingers, and Justice In Murder are so badass. Once again, it feels like their classic bops but it's just much more developed and grand in this album. Every version of them, even their fun side, has so much more gravitas. I love the very bluesy and jammy nature of the guitars here. It fits the cowboy aesthetic that I think they were going for.
Then we get to the big suite of the album, a tradition that they just seem to love even to this day. And it's usually the make or break of the album. This time, while not as masterful as the suite in Good Apollo, it's one of the better one's they've done.
Radio Bye Bye is the best song of this suite. Much like Faint of Hearts, they start with one of the catchiest and most upbeat songs in the record, and it completely steals the show. I absolutely love the main riff, it's got that super punky and energetic feel that just drives the song perfectly, like the title track. And once again, the chorus is just amazing. I don't know how they churned out the catchiest and most memorable hooks of any prog band I've heard for like 5 albums straight.
The End Complete is the big epic of the album. And this one is interesting. It's still really really good. But with the incredible standard the rest of the album has had, it falls just a little short if you ask me. It brings back the chanting and even introduces super evil and dark elements like the radio filter moment in the middle of the song. I love everything this song does, I just think it couldn't compete much with the literal gold they album had been producing up to this point.
The last two songs are where it loses just a little steam. Not enough to dent the album too much, but there is a very slight dip.
The Road And The Damned and On The Brink should have been condensed into one song if you ask me. Road is super melancholic, and clearly supposed to be the "end credits" moment of the album. It's a nice and quiet song to really bask in all the destruction and aftermath of the insane war we've gone through in the album. But I do think it's a little unmemorable, like it does it's job, but that's about it.
On The Brink feels a little unnecessary. At least the beginning does. It feels a little too meandering. But when it brings it back to the same melodies of the Final Cut from Good Apollo. Now that's how you end an album.
So uh... yeah this was incredible. Probably the hardest time I've had ranking the songs of an album. I'm gonna be honest. The first three fourths of this thing are flawless. Straight ten our of tens. If it had kept that momentum all the way to the end, this would've been my new favorite. But even as it, the ending is still pretty damn good and not enough of a stain in the album to take away almost any points.
This is everything I wanted after Good Apollo, epic, melancholic, and conclusive.
Ranking
No World For Tomorrow
Feathers
The Running Free
Mother Superior
Gravemakers & Gunslingers
II - Radio Bye Bye
The Hound (of Blood and Rank)
Justice In Murder
III - The End Complete
The Reaping
IV - The Road And The Damned
V - On The Brink
I - The Fall Of House Atlantic
Score