Just as good, if not better, than “The Adversary.” Not as much use of falsetto vocals though, which I liked on the first album, but the songwriting is more varied, deep, and memorable here. Track three features Mikael Akerfeldt of Opeth – it’s one of my new favorite songs, but I’m a bit biased (being a big-time Opeth fan). A lot of beautifully ambient passages scattered throughout the tracks. I’d venture to say this is better than Emperor, even though black metal geeks would have me hanged for that sentiment; this isn’t really black metal, it’s dark metal with some black metal influence. If you like dark music of any sort, don’t hesitate to get this.