Vast, vast improvement on the debut demo/EP thingy - however not quite perfect yet. First of all, this is no longer mind-numbingly repetitive and is in fact quite varied; secondly this is far better and more consistently produced. There are two main acts to this, and I like the latter quite a bit more. It is more solemn, more brooding, more ambient - 9 and 12 being examples, although some of the vocals feel a bit wonky - borderline funny in places. 13 is excellent and shuffles things up well - I just wish there were more surprises like this in the album, but it bodes well for future records.The main downside of the second act really is that it comes after the first, and so when you get to it the album ends up feeling quite long. Even though I prefer this second half, to me the biggest highlight here is the concluding track to the first half (7) and how elegantly it shifts the atmosphere between the two acts. The first act really reminds me more of the debut EP, but better done and more varied. It is nice, but some of the synths really feel digital in a bad way - idk if they were or if it is by choice but whatever - and we still get quite a few crossfade transitions. That being said, the atmosphere is still strong and nicely medieval, and even without the second half this first act would easily achieve a 3.5 on its own. 3.6
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