If ever someone asked for an example of an excellent band and music that was ruined by overindulgence at the effects rack and just bad engineering, this is the album I'd use as a case in point. Sweden's CRYONIC TEMPLE seems to have mastered the art of writing moving music, and the talent to pull off some amazing riffs, but sadly it's lost in a confusing mix of too many effects and bad instrument volume levels. "Intro: The Morning After the Longest Day" had a cord progression that normally would have literally brought me to tears (music does that to me) but the recording levels were so high that there was distortion in my studio quality headphones. No matter what I did, it was there just being annoying.

"Rise Eternally Beyond" gave me hope with lowered levels and a beautiful intro with clean guitars and a nice synth accompaniment. When the power cords hit with a furious drummer setting a frantic pace I felt maybe the first track was an anomaly, but I was disappointed when the guitars tried to do a harmonic run over the main riff, and it was turned into white noise by too much reverb. I will tell you all right now, BACK OFF ON THE REVERB! It has its place, learn where. RUSH has it done perfectly, listen to "Circumstances" to see how to apply it. Regardless of the mix, they do write and perform some amazing power metal. The verse to chorus change from a minor to major key was quite moving and the chorus would be amazing with audience participation. Bass solo! Loved it, need more! The twin lead guitar team of Freewheeler and Gülf show off their chops with a synchronized opening to a solo section where they exchange blows in an epic duel, all lost to the bad mix. "Through the Storm" was again a brilliantly composed piece that sounded like it was recorded in an empty gym with the band at one end and a microphone at the other.

"Loneliest Man in Space" would sound bigger if they cut the reverb and let everything in it swell naturally. Use the harmonies of the chorus and solo to give that sense of grandeur. A well layered harmony will work wonders if left clean. Again, in "Starchild" they perform a beautiful harmony on guitars, lost to improper levels in the recording. The power cords and keyboards should not be above the soloists. The album goes on with more of the same, with some parts actually causing physical pain, such as the vocal mix in "Pain and Pleasure". So, I'm going to end this review with my final thoughts and advice. Record your music clean and add effects sparingly, just a little at a time. They're a very talented group of musicians who write moving music, they just need guidance in the final mix.