Time for the next two favorite tracks along with 1 of the others, which are also good mind you.
Redemption (15:00):
The closer of the album and a true masterpiece! Redemption begins on the slow, epic,harmonized riffs that are on quite a bit of the album. Kit does plenty of speedy double bass drumming while remaining consistent with a few short but entertaining fill thrown in. Davey uses some more fretless slides which stick out nicely under Jimmy's nice riffing. The song speeds up with Jimmy utilizing harmonies but also using some heavy chord riffs underneath to begin the verse.Davey bass playing is quite amazing here, his fingers dancing around the fretboard but the lines still sounding in place, this is most likely his highlight of the album and the reason why he stands above most other bassists. Jimmy uses a higher growl on this track reminiscent of early Opeth but very powerful. After the verse the song transitions into a nice clean part with Kit showing of more jazzy drumming using complex beats and several short triplets on the bass drum. Davey's basslines are slow and brooding here with Jimmy's acoustic work decently fast here. After a repeating,melancholy guitar line, the band kicks the distortion back in and Jimmy place a long but emotional solo starting slow for the first 45 seconds and then erupting into fast but well suited soloing. After doing that for about a minute the solo becomes slow again, simmering down until he plays the last few slow notes. The verse comes back, this time all unorthodox chords and Jimmy singing cleanly though in a very gothic wailing style. After the verse the band ventures into a more technical side of things with fast technical riffing and then stopping instantly in time for a short interlude before exploding into a flurry of fast riffs and Jimmy spouting lyrics in a low growl with Kit blasting away. The verse ends almost suddenly, going into a clean part with some harmonies on top, fading out into the end of the song. 10/10
Jimmy:This is my favorite track, I think we all just end on a high not, using all of our talents. Kit's performance was on a bunch of different ends of the spectrum which I greatly enjoyed.
Davey: I thought Jimmy's solo was tear jerking, just great work. I also like my interlude, sort of the calm before the storm. Kit's jazz drumming never seems to bore me, it's just great.
Kit:I thought we all did great. That's what I like, ending at the top of or game, that's how I'd like our career to end really, us at our bests.
Arise and Live (6:16):
This track is definitely more mellow. There's a short solo and also a few distorted sections but for the most part it's acoustic. The guitars are haunting and sad with the bass lurching underneath with some more slides that Davey can't seem to get enough of. The song actually doesn't have much drumming but Kit uses a few cymbal splashes here and there along with some bass drum hits. After a very slow and sad verse Jimmy screams once bringing in the distorted harmonies and chords. After a short bass solo the clean verse resumes. When it ends Jimmy gets to solo, with Kit's drumming coming in as well doing a few well placed fills and driving the music, Davey's line are rather tame and descending, adding more of a sad feel to the music. Like several other songs, this one ends with some sad guitar harmonies, but when they fade out Davey is left with a few bass notes, truly making the song slow down. 9/10
Jimmy:I like the calmness of this song, I get to sing a lot more and I'm very proud of my voice on this track.
Davey:I like how the acoustics and bass intermingle on this track, it just fits together so well.
Kit:I like that i get to relax haha. I think I complement the song well though.
Now for the first non-favorite, the band members this time will explain why the track isn't as good as the rest.
Winter's Lament (9:00):
This song is haunting and sad. It also only uses distorted guitars for a solo near the end, everything else is clean.There's a lot of guitar and bass inter mingling here as well. Drums are present and slow, but Kit uses a lot of his jazz technique to bring his performance to light.
The guitars have a nice instrumental break in the middle where they have lots of arpeggios in a very sad key, reminiscent of something from REM. There's is also a clean, Spanish guitar influenced solo that Jimmy plays, afterwords Davey gets another interlude to show off his skills. In the end of the song Jimmy plays a slow, emotional solo,like those of David Gilmour. In the very end you hear the winds blowing while a woman sings in Finnish about winter and it taking away the beauty of Autumn but promising the beauty of Spring. 9/10
Jimmy:I actually find this song amazing. However, it seems to lack cohesion in some parts which is a bit annoying, still a great track but I feel it could be much better.
Davey:I think that it's a little too long for an acoustic track, it can make you sleepy which can be good but it's pretty much bad.
Kit:I think that it's missing something, maybe more guitars, maybe more drums, I don't know but it seems lacking. Still a great track which makes it disappointing.
That's all for now! There are 4 to go which will be done 2 at a time today and tomorrow. thanks for listening!
