I suppose eventually it was going to happen. Not to say that Tristania has lost their metal edge for the remainder career, but this album is definitely more mellow than anything they’ve released. Part of this is obviously due to the lack of the harsh vocals that were so crucial in past Tristania albums. Another noticeable aspect is Vibeke Stene’s vocals being more prominent now, rather than sharing the helm with two other members like in the previous album, Ashes. Now that Kjetil Ingebrethsen has left the band, two remain. Østen Bergøy’s vocals are certainly on the album, but do not feel nearly as present as they’ve been previously. That’s not to say there’s no shining moments of his cello-like voice.

“The Ravens” and “Sacrilege” are not only some of the strongest songs on the album, they’re also songs that sustain the vocal duet composition Tristania has always seemed to aim for. These may stick out among the rest for several reasons, but I think one of the biggest factors is that they tend to be a bit more atmospheric and hold a consistent direction than some of the others.

Over all, however, the feel of this album seems empty in too many places. One might be able to say this album has room to breathe, but compared to the incredibly well done Ashes album, I would disagree. Many of the songs leave a feeling of “that’s all?”, lacking any type of crescendo or resolve, but rather withering on and fading to silence. “Fate” is one of these songs, but it still holds an obvious direction from beginning to end, and in a way almost feels like a sequel to the track “Shadowman” from the previous album.

As far as I’m concerned, Tristania still remains on the top of the gothic-metal-with-female-vocals heap, but this release is by no means their best work. It is however, something I would recommend to a new listener, as it is fairly accessible and easy to digest. I suppose this might be my main problem, Tristania has always been a bit of a guilty pleasure of mine, but for good reason. Aside from a handful of songs, as a whole this album doesn’t seem like it’s making any advances.

There’s some gems on this album that will bring me to listen to it for some time. However, I can’t help but to already be patiently anticipating the next release, hoping for another step forward, instead of what feels like a step backwards.