The first half showcases some aggressive modern groove thrash, accompanied by vicious snarled vocals, whilst the occasional Middle Eastern melody hints at the experimentalism to come in the second half, the five part "Once Upon a Lifetime". I imagine that this is intended to be the highlight of the album, as they retain their core sound, but toss in some acoustic guitar, female vocals and general prog tendencies. The different songs don't always segue comfortably into each other, and while I am an avid fan of experimentalism, this doesn't extend to the kitchen sink approach and tries too hard to be an avantgarde exposition of the preceding numbers.