3x****
The Trail certainly hasn't lost their sense of drama, as the monumental "Giants Causeway" leads into surging/ receding "Far Pavilions"****. At only 4:54, it still seems a bit long from the orchestral bridge; There is almost a Beethoven influence in the sweeping themes. Though the momentum is interrupted by another long, thudding bridge, the album's true classic "Isis Unveiled"**** is a pummeling maelstrom owing rhythm to Maiden and Anthrax, melodic sense distilled from Sonic Youth. The middle section of the album is dominated by mid-tempo and more grand sweeping themes, with piano-driven "Bell Of Creation" and "Inland Sea", and U2 anthemic "Fields Of Coal". "Luna Park" is a disastrous power ballad full of fire and sea imagery. "Pictures Of An Only Child" is made of good parts, but the chorus doesn't resolve in any satisfying way. "Ascending"**** has all the melodic trademarks of emo, but trading in the dramatic orchestration and doing what the band does well isn't a bad thing. The second installment of "Insatiable" (like the first) could have come from Fiddler On The Roof; the "I'm a monster and I exist on this summit I am lost" theme is cool, but too bad it's separate from the rock and roll.
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