I am a massive fan of the first four albums Edenbridge put out waaaay back at the turn of the century, and from Sunrise in Eden through the culminating triumph of Shine, it was like they couldn't write a bad song. But I have found myself liking their stuff less and less as the years go by, as most of their music just sounds like rehashed versions of their old songs, only not as good. The compositions aren't as cohesive, and the melodies just are not as strong or as hooky as they used to be. They have consistently compensated for a lack of songwriting heft with more pumped-up synths and bombast, but it doesn't come out even. Even when they crank up a multi-part epic with the four tracks of "Spark of the Everflame," it's just kind of tiresome. Proggy delay and expansion have become the rule, and these songs never go for the good stuff, they just keep teasing you with melodies that never really land. This is all surface and no substance.