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Another good effort from The Gathering. The music is a mix of the last few albums: ambient, but not as "How To Measure A Planet", electronic, but not as "if_then_else", dark, but not as "Souvenirs". In fact, only the doomy/gothic elements of the first albums are not present on this album. The vocals from Anneke Van Giersbergen are perfect as always.

"Shortest Day" - a catchy poppy song. "In Between" - probably the closest from the "if_then_else" era, overall lighter sound with heavier guitars in the background. "Alone" - a slightly darker mid paced song. "Waking Hour" - the first ballad on this album, Anneke Van Giersbergen showing the full range of her voice. "Fatigue" - a small instrumental filler, as can be found in The Third And The Mortal albums. "A Noise Severe" - a shivering beautiful ballad, in the vein of "You Learn About It". "Forgotten" - another beautiful ballad, a piano/vocal song. "Solace" - a heavily catchy song with drum hammering (I just don't like the spoken parts, they break the flow of the song). "Your Troubles Are Over" - another poppy song, one of the less remarkable of the album. "Box" - slow and intimate, with a bit of electronica here and there. "The Quiet One" - the second little instrumental filler on this album. "Home" - another slow paced song, with distorted guitar in the background. "Forgotten Reprise" - the outro of the album, starting with a reprise of "Forgotten" with a long fading instrumental.

Rating: 87/100 (4 1/2 stars).