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I reviewed Darker Half's last album, If You Only Knew, and found it OK melodic metal, safe and a bit bland. 2025's Book of Fate, their fifth, is a big step up for this Australian band. First off, the songwriting is tighter with better melodies and more hooks and there's a bit of prog to it, especially the solos, that makes the whole album more engaging. The vocals remain a strength for Darker Half and Steven "VO" Simpson, who has a good voice for this kind of music with a lot of presence, has some excellent vocal lines to work with this time around. I still hesitate to call what Darker Half does distinctive; when they speed up there's some resemblance to countrymen Black Majesty, when they slow down and get introspective, I'm reminded of bands like Lunar, but it is all rather good regardless. It's always great to hear a band take a step forward from a previous release and that's what Darker Half has done with Book of Fate.