Thanks for this Zad! Crazy that an album this good is probably only my 4th favorite from MDB (I think Dreadful Hours, Turn Loose, and Songs of Darkness all barely beat it out...Barghest if you count that too), but that speaks to the consistency of such a remarkable band with multiple peaks. I realize some people never get past the band's awful name, but if they did, and avoided the weaker albums to start (Like Gods and 34.78% Complete come to mind) they would find a discography overflowing with riches.
This album basically flawless from start to finish, my only complaint is that I think the outro of Cry of Mankind could have been a couple minutes shorter. Cry of Mankind itself is iconic: what better way to announce their temporary abandonment of death metal with a track even more crushing than any death metal they had done before? Black Voyage sounds like its title in the middle of the song, again showing their ability experiment while staying within the genre. And the acoustic sound of Two Winters Only shows a band that I really do think could have broken into the mainstream somewhat, at least if their songs were half as long. Despite this album being one of their softer recordings, the guitar sound has this crunchy excellence which greatly mitigates that potential flaw, so I think production deserves some credit too. Stainthorpe's clean vocals are certainly an acquired taste, and this being the first album to rely on them no doubt caused some controversy when released, but I think this album has aged very well, and in the 13 years since I've been a fan of this band I'd say his vocals have aged well too.
A few tracks for anyone who might be curious:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQzisL_aDxMhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1nKndFQnfsCompare those two heavier ones above with Two Winters Only from this album:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmQ34GL-fzk