I read the comments under the official album upload on Youtube (because yes, today bands themselves put all their albums directly on streaming for free on the tube) and I read a particularly peculiar one: "Shakespeare Metal."

And indeed, the review could end here: Shakespearean Metal.

An epic, very long, much-discussed album, add any “issimo” with a positive meaning, but above all, beautiful: a dreamy and melodic Deathcore/Progressive, almost an oxymoron when talking about this subgenre if one thinks of the various recent horrors of Suicide Silence, and others.

An album that starts "slowly," with a particularly perfect Anglo-Saxon pronunciation, and indeed, Shakespearean at times, almost a poetic theatrical work musically arranged with refinement and taste.

The guitars, together with the rhythm section, navigate through soaring flights of dreamy arpeggios, bone-crushing riffs, and blistering, melodic, and powerful solos, with a bass finally audible and "gnarly" to the right extent without being too overpowering, in short, all the ingredients are there; what surprises most of all, however, is the voice: immensely powerful, choral, and magnificently inspired, with a timbre similar to a Corey Taylor in a state of grace.

There is a storyline that unfolds within the album, being a very intricate concept (another "issimo,” here we go again!), which I will not delve into, but let's say it represents the icing on the cake of a proposition as unique as rare in its genre.

There are many grand examples within the album: the opener, for instance, a track that I listened to on repeat for a period because it is so powerful in its progression, and "Castles in the Sky II - Pieces of Ruins," the "ballad" of the album, a magnificent, stunningly successful piece.

The only "flaw," the difficulty of digesting in one go such a colossal work, representing a true white fly within the Metal landscape today more than ever stale.

Tracklist

01   The Exile Part I - The Razor's Edge (04:14)

02   Ash And Rust Part I - From Shell To Shell (02:22)

03   Ash And Rust Part II - The Dark Carnival (06:10)

04   Ash And Rust Part III - The Torn Thread (05:03)

05   Ash And Rust Part IV - Nameless, Faceless (02:50)

06   Destiny's Fool (05:34)

07   The Holy Mountain (08:35)

08   The Exile Part II - The City Of Destruction (05:24)

09   Stone And Silver Part I - The Mountains Of Man (08:16)

10   Stone And Silver Part II - The Horned God (02:32)

11   Stone And Silver Part III - The Man Of Papyrus Limbs (05:44)

12   Westward Bound Part I - The Lantern (06:15)

13   Westward Bound Part II - The Pilgrim's Progress (04:04)

14   Castle In The Sky Part II - Pieces Of Ruins (04:50)

15   Unending Waltz (05:16)

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