In terms of production, arrangement and structure this is a most impressive album. The most impressive part for me is Kahn's absolutely amazing singing voice. He is not a traditional metal singer, he sounds almost like a Broadway musical singer, an excellent one too, and his words are very clear.
The style of the music is very flamboyant and emotional. The musicianship is absolutely top-notch and combined with the vocals has some real goosebump moments.
The album kicks off with a 'Prologue' which is an instrumental with strange vocal noises and a ticking Grandfather clock. It is a warm up which flows seamlessly into 'Centre of the Universe' in the best progressive tradition. Centre of the Universe is symphonic and upbeat and one of the heavier songs on the album. It has some nice extras, such as nice flute and piano parts.
My favourite part of the album is the Gregorian style chanting of 'Interlude one' and the way it flows seemlessly from the chanting into strong riffs of 'The Edge of Paradise'.
The album uses four interlude songs with good affect to give a Progressive feel to the arrangement of the album. The interludes alway form interesting little intros for the next song and they always flow seemlessly into the following song.
'Wander' is a slower paced track which really shows Kahn's magnificent vocal range. The piano and violin accompaniment fits the vocals perfectly.
Another high point (there are too many for a short review) is 'Helena's Theme'. It starts with tweeting birds and then some beautiful female vocals take over which is accompanied by swirling violins and crashing cymbals. The track wouldn't sound out of place in a Tim Burton film. The track is very short and I like the the use of Interlude IV to move back into the heavier riffs of 'The Mouring After'.
So who would I recommend this to.... well a friend and not an enemy for a start. But anyone that appreciates fantastic musicians, operatic vocals and lots of 'hidden extras', such as pianos, flutes and orchestral production.
If you like Progressive Metal, Power Metal, Symphonic Metal, Goth or even classical Broadway stuff (i.e. Phantom of the Opera) this is well worth a flutter.