Cynosure

Easily the best power metal release I've heard in years. Despite a very lengthy playtime, which may off-put some listeners, the compositions on this album are so damn well done, progressively remaining interesting throughout their runtime, that it stays enjoyable the whole time.

Viathyn has perfected their style since their first album. The cosmicism lyrical themes we see throughout the album about our insignificance in the universe suit their instrumental and vocal stylings so well. It's beautiful.

Every aspect of the album is impressive, from the absolutely godlike guitarwork from Jacob Wright, sweeping and riffing everywhere to be found with memorable riffs and absolutely kickass solos, to the folky vocal style of Tomislav. We've even got a bit of synth work in there to bring in additional atmosphere, but not invasively so. If you are okay with Tomislav's vocal style, which isn't going to be the common high register soaring vocals you hear in the power metal genre, this album hits incredibly hard on every point a fan of prog or power metal would be looking for.

The theming of each song is just so consistently interesting. I have rarely seen albums with as much lyrical variation yet cohesive focus on a central theme that works this well. Each song relates to the central theme of appreciating the awe of the universe, while having its own story to tell. For example, we've got the story of Edward Mordrake in song form, a song about an immortal wanderer's wisdom, and a drinking song. These themes seem very different lyrically but they somehow all manage to allude back to the central theme while developing their own.

We've even got a ballad in Time Will Take us All that develops and culminates in a powerful full-on double bass climax, illustrating how humans push on and persevere despite their limited existence. On the opposite side, we have Albedo, a song that starts in an incredibly powerful manner with riffing, drops into a pensive interlude, then ends with one of the most beautiful major riffs and subsequent solos I've heard from a guitar. The compositional variation within each track makes every single one remain interesting.

The album culminates with the absolute monster of a track, Cynosure. This is where we attack the album's central theme head on, and it's where we get some absolutely amazing lines like "These ancient stones, gardens of bone, are silent tombs of planetary building blocks." It works very well as the closing track as it summarises the album. The descriptive and well written lyrics give the album an incredible lasting appeal when combined with the instrumental work. There are even a couple of bass solo riffs and some great drum fills/solos in a couple of tracks. Everyone in the band is firing on all cylinders, and it's really just a joy to listen to. I hope these guys continue in this vein.