Review Summary: A return to form, with a welcomed twist.
Eternity's Edge. A name I keep coming back to. This one man band keeps evolving with every release and it does so once again with the newest installment, "Serpent Amongst Roses".
The last album we saw from EE, "Withered", was an odd change in the sound that we'd grown accustomed to with this project. This album however, takes what made the old EE great, and dare I say made the instrumental better than ever before. What makes this album different from the rest, is a crucial addition. VOCALS. Will decided it's time to show what else he can do. For the first time on an EE album, we have something to sing along to, which is extremely welcomed.
Now you may ask, if I wanted vocals so bad, why is my rating a 4.5 and not a 5? Well, here's where my critique starts. Will did superb on the harsh vocals on this album. Not perfect, could use work, but he did well for his first effort. The problem is his cleans. His singing doesn't sell as well as his screams. You can tell he can sing a little, but when it comes to belting and keeping a tone, he doesn't hold up yet. Vocal production wasn't good enough to warrant a perfect rating either, but it's definitely good enough to be amongst my favorite of the year.
The highlight of this album is Will's superb songwriting. He took elements from the first two albums, and made it the perfect instrumental experience. The flow of the album is wonderful as well. Starting with a haunting intro ("Warning: The End Is Near"), the album features heavy, kick you in the teeth tracks like "Alienate//Discommunicate" and "Infamous", weird tracks like "Diluted Mentality" and "Ghosts II: Nosferatu", a soft ballad in "Butterflies" (Which was an AWESOME change of pace btw), and two 10+ minute tracks to finish off the album in "Solace Within Pain" and "Serpent Amongst Roses". This is Will's most diverse and dare I say best album yet. Not perfect, but I cannot wait to see what he comes up with moving forward, assuming he's sticking to the same style along with the vocals.
Overall rating: 4.5/5. Almost perfect. 1 hour and 12 minutes of pure progressive metal goodness.
Favorite tracks: Alienate//Discommunicate, Butterflies, and Infamous
Avoid: None
