Opening Invocation — The Rain Beckons

The moment a listener hits play, the first hymn called Alexandria pulls them in. Rain sounds patter softly at the start. Clean melodic lines unfurl across the instruments. A touch of building energy creeps in midway. This sets a moody scene for the full album.

Descent into the Rite — Ten Hymns, Ten Mirrors

Listeners dive deeper into the next nine hymns. This forms a full ten-hymn voyage. It covers ideas like how we see ourselves, roots in culture, and fights inside our minds. Gothic sounds add dark edges. Cinematic feels build wide spaces. Hints of Middle Eastern styles thread through. All this weaves into a progressive metal base. Progressive metal blends rock power with shifting rhythms and extended builds. It keeps things fresh, not stuck in one spot.

The whole sound turns inward yet hits hard. Each track works like a step in a big rite. It builds a sense of ceremony from start to end.

Shifting Shadows — The Craft of Contrast

As the music flows on, every hymn shifts its feel. Tones vary from soft to sharp. Speeds pick up or slow down. Air in the room changes with each one. Setups differ in how layers are arranged. Songs craft unique builds. Tools like guitars and drums play fresh roles. Voices twist in new ways. The band shapes and stacks these parts with skill. This craft stems from deep artistic drive, almost like a bold creation from shadows. It births fifty minutes that feel fresh, full of feeling, sad at times, yet strong and fun to hear.

Each instrumental and vocal arrangement is allowed to breathe and showcase themselves. All this is held together by this solid fruit of art—devilmanship incarnate.

Sonic Alchemy — The Mix, The Layers, The Flow

Reflections is captured in a sound and production floored to perfection — a sound that is both polished and balanced, this clarity with emotional grit.

For me, Reflections feels like it stands on three main supports. First comes the final mix touch-up. Volume stays in check. Quiet spots and loud bursts keep life in the sound. Long cuts like The Orientalist thrive on this push-pull. It lets tension build and release. Second is the feel of the layers. Middle Eastern touches slip in soft. Think string plucks like an oud, or light drum hits from that world. They linger in the back, always nodding at culture. No part crowds another. Guitars spread out wide in the ears. Voices sit front and centre, washed in echo and space effects. This setup lets every piece stand clear.

Third are the shifts between parts. Smooth blends and quiet links tie hymns together. They hint at one long flow in the rite. Take the slide from Phantom Pain to Reflections. It feels natural, like one breath into the next.

Twin Blades — The Guitars of El Sharabasy & El Nahas

Reflections packs a broad setup of tools and builds. Twin guitars lead from Kareem El Sharabasy and KhaledEl Nahas. They slash like ritual knives through quiet. Layers stack for depth. Rhythm guitars drop low in tune for heft. They chug and mute to hold firm in tracks such as Pathological Liar and Polarized. Lead lines soar with dreamy phrasing and delicate touches. In The Orientalist, they stir ache and old tales. Modes shift to unlock fresh scales.

Harmonies pile up. Clean bits with echo and wash glow in Phantom Pain. Harsh notes linger like ghosts in Echo Chambers.

The pair crafts fine webs of sound—clean arpeggios, dissonant harmonics, and crushing riffs. Hymns like “The Orientalist” and “Echo Chambers” showcase their dynamic interplay, moving from ambient passages to explosive climaxes.