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Our future is bleak. Thoughts, mind patterns, personal behavioural cycles, all will converge into threads of meaningless triumphs and failures. Living will not be worth enduring, and not even death will bring liberation. Well, at least that's how I feel listening to the second and last attempt by this bunch of French cynics. Personally, I have nothing against pessimism; in fact, more than anyone I seem to bathe in the dank pools of prolonged failure. But everything from the cold, futuristic artwork to the sceptical canvas of lyrical despondency this albums paints, I can hear nothing but sorrow slithering through the movements. With the exception of opener "To Our Dreams", most of "Reaching the Golden Gates" is a pretty miserable affair. Hold on, I take that back. The first three tracks, the aforementioned "To Our Dreams", "Bells of Nemesis" and "The Search", are all perfectly executed metal songs, complete with decent vocals, catchy melodies and superb drum work. It's just so unfortunate that the remaining tracks fall flatter than Cameron Diaz's bra during a gale.

Guitarist Dominique Leurquin, now providing live guitars for Rhapsody of Fire, does an adequate job, refraining from using the hundred-notes-per-second technique his many competitors resort to. Gerard Fois' sweet vocals are rather like Andre Matos in texture, soaring above the roil of gushing kick drums effortlessly. Throw in some early Angra with the oblique time signatures of Pain of Salvation, and prepare to be consumed by a story with no beginning and no end. For enthusiasts of the genre, the first three tracks are pure gold - particularly the poignant melodrama of "The Search" - but for others who seek substance over repetition, I suggest you explore more subterranean territory.