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My first thought when I saw the artwork, excluding the band logo, was that this must be power metal. But no, this is melodic death metal, a genre I rarely indulge in these days, but the samples sounded good enough that I decided to give a try. This is very firmly rooted in Gothenburg-style melodic metal from the mid-90s to the mid-2000s or so, so think the likes of In Flames (before they sucked), Dark Tranquillity, and some turn-of-the-century Children of Bodom for good measure. The vocals are screamed, barked, whatever melodeath-style growls and they're pretty much impossible to ignore. That's a plus for some songs, but in some others, I'd have preferred them to be lower in the mix, or maybe just the vocalist easing off a little bit. But overall, this is kind of a fun album. It's heavy, often more than the average melodic death metal album, and there's no lack of speed. There is no shortage of melodic passages, but they're not abused and don't break the flow of the otherwise fast and heavy music on offer. The production could use some work. It's a loud album and sometimes it feels like it's just for the sake of being loud, and things often sound uneven, a bit like a rollercoaster ride. You kind of get used to it with enough listens, so it's not dramatic. Not necessarily something I'll listen to again after I've finished writing this, but I'd certainly be tempted to catch Upon Stone playing live as many songs in here are bound to kill in a live setting.