Mithras - Behind The Shadows Lie Madness

(06 Mar 2011)

Before I begin the review per se, I need to say that Worlds Beyond the Veil is an awesome album. So awesome in fact, that it just so happens to be my all-time favorite album as of writing this review. This means that the bar was set impossibly high for this album. I don't even know what made me fall in love with Mithras's sophomore to such an extent. I'll be the first to admit that the songs aren't really all that much better than your usual DM, and the riffing, while fun, is not much to write home about. Meanwhile, the production sounds like it was dropped as a baby, the same being applicable to the vocals and cover. So, actually, when analyzed, this third album actually possesses quite an advantage.

This album is far more mature, the songs are far better constructed, and the production, while not the best out there, is definitely a step in the right direction. Almost every riff that appears here is excellent, and the Mithras sound has also evolved just enough so that it still connects well with WBTV, while not sounding like a b-sides album, but like an extension of it instead. All my favorite Mithras songs are here, and every single one is worthy candidate. Also, with every listen, it grows onto me more and more. I can't even use the excuse that the album is boring, because it's far from being definable by that unspeakable and rating-saving word.

Nevertheless, I like the previous album far better, for some reason. It seems to me like its greatness is not actually due to the music, or even the fusion of all the elements that the album consists of, but due to something bigger. Somehow, Worlds Beyond The Veil seems to reach beyond what is contained in it. The music very enjoyable and spacey, but seems more like a vessel for something that fits into your conscience like a key into the right keyhole. No one is reading this. The final third of Behind The Shadows Lie Madness recaptures the magnificence of that other album, this time uniting it with the new maturity presented on BTSLM, and the result is as amazing as expected.

Overall, I can say that this album (predictably) does not reach the greatness of its predecessor, yet is also hundreds times better. I predict that, at this rate, the next one will be so impossibly good that it will create a portal into another dimension, and will have to be bashed and ridiculed and hated upon tirelessly so as to seal the portal, but we will all still know....

Standout tracks:

Under The Three Spheres
Behind The Shadows
The Twisted Tower
To Where The Sun Never Leaves
The Beacon Beckons / Thrown Upon The Waves