Back to Times of Splendor

By far one of my favorite metal albums on earth, Back to Times of Splendor holds both furious buildups and epic mellow interludes.

Firstly, this album is a definate recommendation to any fans of Opeth, Between the Buried and Me or possibly even Arsis and Into Eternity. Not one track on this album can dissapiont the lovers of melodic and/ or progressive styles of metal, with incredible intsrumentation which has formed a sound which gives each song its own atmosphere, breathing with the lyrical content and meanings within.

Back to Times of Splendor has a great mix between heavy, powerful choruses and very melodic and "beautiful" soft interludes and verses. The vocals are incredible, with nice transitions between clean, harmonized and growling vocals to set the moods throughout each song. The guitar work is nothing short of brilliant, plenty of variety in styles and effects gives great depth in the music. The drums are also worth great mention, lots of off-beats and seemingly perfect placement of cymbal crashes brings the atmosphere of the music out. But what makes the album what it is, the orchestral accompaniment, especially the violins, is entwined perfectly througout the album to complete the sound wihch can only be known as Back to Times of Splendor.

After hearing Gloria, which i was excited about hearing by the way, all i can conclude with is; BRING BACK THE TIMES OF SPLENDOR!!!