✦✦✧✧ It’s… fine. Great vocals and a gorgeous mix, but it’s odd to have an anthemic power metal feel like it’s missing emotionality. This is a modest improvement, but still feels like a band actively trying to find their winning formula.

✦✦✧✧ Absolutely no surprises here: this is textbook power metal, with standout vocals from Tommy Karevik, of course, but not much else to stick in one’s memory. There’s nothing here that I would remotely think of as “bad”… also but nothing here to really stir anyone’s blood.

★★★☆ Sure, power metal may not be the most admired genre in the business, but given that… this album is pretty much flawless. It feels like a more energetic Soilwork, cross-bred with some Symphony X for good measure. Everything you’d look for is here in spades: tasty guitar work, pounding drums, a healthy bottom line, lush keys and strings, and very strong vocals (which is surprisingly rare in this field).