INTO THE AFTER

Incredible hard driving rock blended with symphonic sections and very strong compositions throughout. Beyond the Gates is excellent as a highlight worth listening to here. The entire album can be heard here on the PA stream but its worth getting hold of for sheer musical vistuosity. The vocals are clean and easy to understand based on Christian principles and as a result very uplifting. Listen to Broken Soul, a great track, the vocal performance is simply brilliant.

The band shine on all the vocal tracks, but instrumentals are very well executed as well.

Empty Words features more lyrics about living right and speaking encouraging words rather than discouraging. The performance is great by the band, and I would count this as a highlight. The lyrics are excellent: "That is not a part of your shattered broken soul? this is not the door to heal your broken, shattered soul, clinging to the choices that have failed you in the past? "

My Guardian Angel has an excellent progtastic riff, heavy, foreboding and complex. I love these riffs, they just hit you immediately. No vocals but on this occasion the music is vibrant enough to sustain the track. The quiet moments are balanced perfectly with the heavy blasts. My favourite instrumental on the album, just listen to it now on this site. I love the end section that speeds up and really cranks along at a cracking pace. Once these riffs lock in they are bliss to the ears.

Beyond the Gates is a melodic song, and once again great vocal performance from Lankford. He has an excellent vocal range and really powers out this track. Another highlight on this album for certain.

The rhythm guitar is masterfully played, very metal and original time changes throughout each track. Some tracks are very melodic while others feature the raw intensity of a metal sound.

12 Stone Gardens launches into worship style choruses "To God be the Glory and to the one above", and The Multitudes is an instrumental with quiet gentle guitar and subtle piano. There is great diversity on this album. This instrumental is very ambient and flows alon nicely similar to the first 2 albums of Visual Cliff that were purely instrumental and much quieter.

Sounds at times like Riverside, King Crimson, Dream Theater or Rush with a Christian edge. I recommend it to any one who likes a heavier but not too intense metal sound. In the After and Freedom Within are the two albums to get hold of for a heavier sound but the other 2 albums are also excellent quality. Definitely worth a listen and thanks for loading all the songs to PA!

Sometimes one comes across an album that just simply works, from start to finish. Visual Cliff's 2007 output Into the After is for me among those albums. Their captivating, fusion-influenced heavy prog sound really shines here. Despite the numerous cool riffs, there is an occasional nice guitar solo or a necessary more laid back, a jazzy or chillout like bit. The vocals of Shane Lankford fit well in the mainly instrumental soundscapes, making at times the band sound like a heavier version of Orphan Project, his primary band. Visual Cliff's first five albums are all downloadable for free via their trinityrecords.net site, highly recommended.