So it's true then - I am the worlds' number 1 Mithras fan

Well, I think it was the right direction to go in after WBTV...an extremely hard album to surpass but they seemed to do it pretty easily with BTSLM.

I would say it's biggest strength is just how catchy it is without being cheesy or gimmicky...the songs are just perfect in structure and arrangement and riffs and leads just get stuck in your head so easily.

I think the major difference is that the songs are all really standalone compared to WBTV.

And, fucking hell, how good are the vocals and bass? The lyrics are just incredible. Everything has gotten better, tough thing to do.

I think this album has definitely moved the band away from total obscurity, but at the same time that's what I loved about WBTV... The knowledge that only a few would really understand the makeup, sound and concept of the album. A lot of people will be liking this new one and I think the fanbase is going to increase by a lot. Shit Weasel, you might even have to compete with someone for your title.

Behind the Shadows... it's excellent, I wish I could enjoy it as an observer in some small sense, but it's that much bigger now that I have to learn the songs! Let me tell you guitarists out there that some of it is a fucking bitch! The only way I've been able to crack the old tracks is through persistence. The new stuff might sound catchy-ish and have more straightforward song structures, but those new songs are harder than any of the Worlds and Legions material I've learnt!

It finally fucking came today.
I got in from work, picked it up off the floor, did a merry little dance, turned my PC on, put it in, ripped it without listening to it, put it on my mp3 player, got out the book, typed everything up in MS Word (took about 20 minutes, I'm a fucking fast typer NERD).

Oh- I had mistakenly ordered the bloody thing twice! Hahaha!


And now I am listening.
I could say that THIS ALBUM FUCKING SUCKS. THANKS FOR MAKING ME WAIT 4 YEARS FOR THIS YOU WANKSTABBING FUCKS!
But it would be a pathetic lie.

Utterly incredible.
I can barely attempt to describe this CD, but I will try. (through a mixture of slightly good writing, hyperbole, and foul language. This "review" will be shit, but bless you if you read it.)

First of all- The entire album is not, as I'm sure people will say, WBTV.5.
This is a completely different force to Mithras' second proclamation.


Musically- You guys sound much more precise. The time it has taken to make this album has definitely made you two as precise and effective as a fucking nuclear weapon.
The sound is a lot clearer than that onWorlds. That isn't a stab at the production, like so many have done before me. Rather, I'm referring to the general "overwhelming" feel of Worlds, where there was about infinity million things going on at once, an effect which I personally adored about the band when I first heard them.
While overwhelming force of "What the fucking shit is going on?!" as encountered on Worlds (and even FAL in some areas) Mithras make up for it with a much more refined and devastating sound.

To put it all in simple terms- That which survived when WBTV crushed your face, will be blown off by BTSLM as it flies by in a graceful yet extremely powerful movement.

Utterly gargantuan in scale.

Oh, the ambient tracks are utterly beautiful.
The intro "The Journey And The Forsaken" is almost terrifying in it's opening, but soon goes into utter empowerment. Pretty fitting for the "So close but yet so far" ascension of the protagonist, I reckon!
When The Light Fades Away manages to have a great juxtaposition, as the conflicting emotions of beauty and horror combine in the music. (Try to tell me that you didn't hear the slightest hints of foreboding in the underlying notes of that track!)
Again, pretty fitting for the concept of the Horrible Night Creatures of DOOM.


Lyrically/Conceptually

The journey into the worlds beyond the veil, a land of enlightenment, dreams, spiritually fufillment, and 24/7 access to pizza, is tragically cut short as it turns out that the journey has gone tits up and the hero of the piece has been thrust into a world so fucked up it required Dan Seagrave to animate it.
A nightmarish world inhabited by terrifying monolithic constructions, shadow demons, an elusive sun, a horrifying whirly thing in the sky, and an incredibly pissed off statue big enough to make Rayner "The Giant" Coss split a log and do a runner, leading the thing across the hellish landscape, evading it in one of the afforementioned "terrifying monolithic constructions" and then setting out to the sea to do battle with the thing.
With unfortunate results.
Or are they really as unfortunate as they appear?

Forever Advancing...Legions- Man seeks to escape the war, the corruption, and insanity of mankind.
Worlds Beyond The Veil- Man enlightens himself, and journeys to a greater existence
Behind The Shadows Lie Madness- Man starts to wish he stayed at home.



If you read all of that without suffering a jaw-breaking yawn, my hat goes off to you.

Leon, Rayner- You've done what you did in 2003. Thank you for giving me such an eye (or ear) opening, thought provoking, unique, and truly awe inspiring album.


I now only feel conflict in which of the following notions I lean most towards

One- Hurry up with the next album!

Two- If this is the end result of 4 years, take all the time you need, guys!

To the above poster:

Would you be willing to ship your second copy to the US for $15 via Paypal?