I got this cd, alongwith "Chronometree", off my wife for Xmas. This one is somewhat different, but still obviously Glass Hammer. See my review of "Chronometree" for my opinions on that. This one is far stronger in the vocal department, but the songs are not really any better, in my opinion. Mind you, they are in no ways worse either! The story, whilst being of little interest to an atheist, like myself, will appeal to readers of the Bible, telling, as it does the story of the Roman soldier whose spear pierced the side of Christ on the cross. I will not go into the individual songs here, as they are all of a similar standard, and run into each other nicely. Nevertheless, track two, "Tales Of The Great Wars" stands out to my ears, as does the fourth, "Further Up And Further In". Some excellent keyboards and guitar on these tracks. I also like the "Introduction" "Intermission" and "Goodnight" pieces, which make the band sound like after dinner speakers! "Music For Four Hands" is a lovely piano piece, which shows off Schendel's (or is it Babb's?) ability on the keyboard. The only drawback to me on this cd is the guitar work in general. Some of it is distictive, but some of it doesn't stand out as much as it should, certainly not like it does on "Chronometree" or "Shadowlands". No real weaknesses here though, and I can recommend this to anyone who likes the above mentioned albums. On other days I would give this four stars but today it has to settle for three. The more I hear this band the more I like them.