Craig Locicero, the creative mastermind of FORBIDDEN, told us last year during their European summer tour that he would like to place this album somewhere between “Twisted Into Form” and “Omega Wave”. And to cut to the chase: Yes, that’s exactly what it turned out to be – and it’s even more! But let’s start from the beginning: ‘Single Point Failure’ opens the record with a cool classic riff. Plenty of bite, plenty of punch and tempo. Add to that then Norman Skinner’s vocals, which effortlessly shift back and forth between melodic singing and the intensity of a powerful, yet raging shouter. ‘Burning The Lungs Of Earth’ follows a similar pattern then, but the contrast between Skinner as a melodic singer and the almost growling shouter is taken to the extreme here. The guitars and the powerful drumming then do the rest to make this track a standout. The first advance single, ‘Divided By Zero’, fits well with the energy built up so far, before ‘DCLXVI’ evokes a vibe driven by classic Heavy Metal guitars and Chris Kontos’ complex drumming that brings to mind the “Distortion” album on several occasions… ‘Psyclops’ further explores the atmosphere just created, before the emotionally intense ballad ‘Jisei’ – arguably a breathtaking and the most unusual track in the discography of FORBIDDEN to date – takes hold. If he hasn’t yet, Skinner here leaves his very own mark on the band. ‘Sycophantasy’ has an almost psychedelic feel to it, featuring a guest appearance by Brann Dailor of MASTODON. This is the song that, for a moment, even brings to mind the much maligned “Green” album, but in the end, it simply views another facette of FORBIDDEN. ‘The Burden’ is a heavy, rolling track with solemn, almost sluggish vocals and intertwoven guitars, and this one solo which is taking over the whole song completely for a moment. The album – which fits effortlessly into the band’s discography – concludes with the theatrical ‘Sol Grave’ and the philosophical, over nine minutes long ‘Flower Of Life (Chaos By Design)’. Absolutely fantastic! www.facebook.com/forbiddenofficial, www.facebook.com/blkiiblk