ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR
Can't wait to get the CD/DVD now! =)

omg... heafy's voice is so diverse... more advanced, deeper and heavier than ever!.... You can tell he was really practicing and trying very hard on this album. I am amazed! The guitars on this are just astounding! Everyone has taken a step above on this album. This has to be the best listen I've had in a very long while...
BTW, I already have the special addition on pre-order! woo! Can't wait!! ARR.

I'm a pirate myself, I pirate everything. I just wanted a place for the people who did download it to talk about it. It was a tongue in cheek statement. I'm really enjoying this album, I love the chorus' and the clean singing. Instrumentally and song structure wise I think it's a step forward from The Crusade, with a lot of older elements brought back. Which I thoroughly enjoy.

I'm waiting for the official release, btw do you think the special edition will be massed produced as much as the regular version, and will continue to be produced?

yeah probably same amount, and for a very long time

So no chance it will sell so crazy here that I can never get my hands on a special edition?

nah you'll be alright mate
I wasn't going to comment on these tracks till my cd actually arrived, but fuck it, the middle section in the title track is perhaps the BEST fucking thing trivium have ever commited to tape
its like a fucking andrew lloyd webber musical
Matt's voice just ass kicks
and the acoustic is awesome
kudos lads, many many kudos
and also, I had a feeling Kirisute and Shogun would be linked, thanks to the vid's that were released all the way through, and the intro which matches one of the vocal patterns
and for some reason I guessed it would match shogun
lol
Ill wait to comment on the rest of the album

I listened through it on my way to work this morning. It was longer than I expected it to be - over an hour in total length.
First impressions: Well I had already heard Kirsute Gomen, Into The Mouth of Hell We March and Down From The Sky - but they do all sound better in context of the album, particularly Down From The Sky.
Standout tracks to me were Torn Between Scylla And Charybdis, Shogun, Of Prometheus And The Crucifix and Like Callisto To A Star In Heaven. I think the songwriting has taken another turn for the better, bringing back more from Ascendancy type riffs - mixed in with the more upbeat parts of The Crusade. At times the singing is a bit much and Matt Heafy's scream isnt quite as good as it used to be.
The length of the album was a little concern, as at times it struggled to fully hold my attention - which is a bad sign when im sitting on a train doing sweet FA. Still - it was an enjoyable listen and ill be going back to it more often to get a better understanding of some of the more complex tracks.

QUOTE(Sammy J @ Sep 16 2008, 07:59 PM) [snapback]450211[/snapback]At times the singing is a bit much

yeah, especially on throes of perdition I feel, if it was sung in the gruff voice all the way (apart from the screams of course) than it could be one of the best tracks on the album
and perhps the callamity
man when I said Id wait to comment I mustnt have meant it!!! hahaha

I gave it a fair listen, and I have to say that I am thoroughly unimpressed. The vocals improved a bit, but the melodies and verse riffs / chord progressions are lackluster. The only good melodies on the album are on KG and the middle section of "Shogun" (which was very good, perhaps the best moment on the album). There are some great riffs and moments, but half of the album just blended together for me. I did give it a fair, unbiased listen though.
I did enjoy "Kirisute Gomen", "Torn Between Scylla and Charybdis", and "Shogun".