Overall – A year of fame had clearly had an effect on the band’s sound. While the fire and spirit were very much still present; this album was the sound of a rapidly maturing band. More considered, more weighty, more cohesive, less frantic, less polished, and more willing to experiment. Some of the experiments were misfires of course, but a lot of them worked. Moving away from the pop metal sound and into harder rock territory was a brave move, and largely a successful one; although too often the pace of the song is just too slow, or the riffing too repetitive for the song to be as exciting as it should be. The production is also problematic; especially in terms of the backing vocals, which are given too prominent a place in the choruses of too many songs for them to sound as flat as they do. As a result of the production and prevalence of synthesisers, this is an album which is firmly a product of its time; but in a way this helps to give it character. Overall then, I’d say that it’s an album of hits and misses; however, the strong material is very strong. As a whole, it’s a very ‘real’ album, and it’s mainly this honesty; together with the fact that the songs hold together well, both in terms of repeated themes and a sonic unity of songs; the band’s willingness to experiment; and the overall atmosphere and intensity that are created that add up to make it what it is: a flawed ‘diamond in the rough’ of an album; and the next step in the ladder towards greatness.

8/10

Essential tracks: Price Of Love, Only Lonely, Hardest Part Is The Night