Album Rating: 5.0 | Sound Off

In the recent podcasts Casey confirmed he had a significant sinus (if i remember correctly) infection when recording the vocals for Act II which may lead to the odd vocals.



Act III really embraced the whole "opera" side of things better than Act II did personally, despite the change in setting and tone. And I'm still a huge fan of GGYG (which I know many people aren't)

Album Rating: 4.0

More power to you chaywa. I will say though, the banjo in GGYG makes it tolerable for me depending on my mood. It just seems out of place where it is in the album

Album Rating: 5.0

Don't like GGYG. Most of the second half of Act 3 I've never really listened to because I usually get bored and turn it off by then.

Album Rating: 4.0

Casey's vocals *make* Act II. Y'all are crazy.

Album Rating: 4.0

III would've flowed much better if GGYG was out (or a bonus track) and He Said He Had a Story was switched with This Beautiful Life. Son/Father seemed hit or miss with people though, kinda like Blue from TCS

Album Rating: 5.0

When he screams on Act II the vocals are awesome, but the standard singing I don't like.

Album Rating: 4.5

Act III has some great stuff but it concentrates all its weakest material at the end so after He Said He Had A Story, everything kinda fizzles out



Shame, cause I feel like it's a great part of the story narrative-wise

to be honest I haven't really being paying much attention to the narrative at all, getting swept up in the music itself instead. Need to re-listen

Album Rating: 4.5

I don't know its accuracy of the latest 2 Acts, but a guy on the Lake and the River forum (I think that's its name) made a song-by-song narrative guide, search that shit

Album Rating: 3.9

"Act III has some great stuff but it concentrates all its weakest material at the end so after He Said He Had A Story, everything kinda fizzles out"



Dude, the Son/Father/Life and Death combination is a highlight of their discog (especially the first two, which I think is the most devastating moment in the Acts to date (although I haven't checked this yet)).

@ash I'm on it, cheers

Album Rating: 5.0

I've listened to these acts so many times and haven't followed the story once beyond the names of the characters, haha.

Album Rating: 4.5

Just realized Mr. Usher has a Pimp and the Priest reprise in it and now I like it a lot more.

In general, the reprises haven't jumped out at me for this Act as quickly as they have on the others

Album Rating: 5.0

The Old Haunt reprise in The March is fantastic

Album Rating: 4.5

this has always dragged on me at some point until this listen

whole thing "clicked" as one listen, I guess

still not the biggest fan of The Revival, Melpomene, or Light though

Album Rating: 4.5

Gloria is a SOTY candidate

I also love Most Cursed of Hands, The Fire Remains and The Haves Have Naught



I used to hate TDH, but I dug Act IV and this is even better.

Album Rating: 5.0

It took until The March but it was inevitable I realised this is the best album I've ever heard

Album Rating: 4.5

The second half of this took a lot longer for me to dig, but it was amazing when it clicked. The final three songs really feel like a grand finale with the Pimp and the Priest pulling his final desperate trump card (The March), Hunter finally realizing what's left for him to do (Blood) and his acceptance of fate (A Beginning).

Agreed with johnnydeking29 btw, the Son/Father/Life and Death combo in Act III is stellar and Casey's singing on it is amazing. People should try to listen to it more closely.

Album Rating: 4.5

If I pretend Melpomene and Light and The Haves Have Naught don't exist this album's a very easy 5 to give

gonna jot down my thoughts for my sake on this album. track by track reviews are not in vogue since the early 2000s, but i like the format when it concerns analyzing details and being FAR too thorough with your analysis

Regress (5/5): casey stands out to me as an absolute champion of thoughtful chord progressions. this song is effective because of its melody pairing with the chord progression -- it gives a song a lot of emotional heft. without it, it would be too much pomp, strings, and harp. together, it works really well. also worth noting. it's easy, also, to note this album's role as a companion piece to Act IV (the artwork makes it especially clear), and this song mirrors "rebirth", i'm sure, intentionally (song name is also clear). the two have oppositional tones, with rebirth sounds like gearing up for an adventure, and regress sounding like a melancholic foreshadowing of the story's closure. "now you're alooooooone" is a classic and beautiful casey vocal moment.

The Moon/Awake (4.5/5): i like the "black" industrial groove of the instrumentals in this track. the verses I think are very unique melodically, and the "yooo - OOOO - oooo" melody is really effective in providing a hook in the verses. female vocals give the chorus, with its acoustic guitar and different rhythm, a more anthemic feel than it would have had otherwise. the second verse has a really neat way of starting strong and then, almost without you knowing its happening, quieting down and gearing down sneakily. really neat. "a spirit split intooooooo" is another great casey vocal moment, and made impressive doubly because "to" is a terribly uncomfortable vowel sound/word to use as a climax. the "dear apparition" moment seems incongruent in this song, but becomes very suited to the song/album by its inclusion in the album's closer.

it is worth remarking that the sinister outro recalls the end of in cauda venemum ("oh, when i think about yooouuuur eyes")

Cascade (5/5): I think this might be their best "pop" song, full stop. I know it's not pop, but it is chalk full of perfect and memorable vocal melodies (chorus in particular). the vocal climb in the bridge to the last "hate the sinner not the sin" line (reaches a high C for casey) is just wonderful. the instrumental that connects all the pieces of this song is really pretty, and sounds very "lord huron". those who consider this album their least immediate confuse me a bit, as i feel like the first third of this album has some of casey's most accessible melodies. (album mirror to "waves", the great pop song of act IV)