Posting my long and ramble-y thoughts on this album from my own review on Rateyourmusic:
I'm going to be writing reviews for each song as I listen, thanks to NPR for releasing the album early (I'm not going to be home when the album is delievered to my house, so I'm giving it a listen now. I did my part and pre-prdered, now I don't have to wait!)
Undoing a Luciferian Towers - This one starts off pretty spooky, and does an amazing job at building atmosphere. It's sort of a weird half-drone, half full fledged Godspeed song as it starts out super droney but actually brings in drums in the end. This song is much more interesting to listen to front to back than the drones from the previous two albums. 7/10
Bosses Hang - I'm going to be counting this and Anthem for No State as one whole song, just cause that's how I'm used to hearing them from Buildings and Railroads versions. This song remains pretty much unaltered from the origianl "Buildings" version. This sounds like the best from 'Peasantry' off of Asunder, but instead of doom metal riffs, its super dreamy and happy; two words which describe very few Godspeed songs. After the great build-up in the previous track, the first few notes when the drums kick in make an excellent "real" start to an album. The main riff as it kicks off the song after the slow intro, and the same riff returning later in the song... good God, thats the stuff... 8/10
Fam/Famine - Right off the bat, this one is the first half of a 20 minute song that was premiered and only played once a few months ago; the opening track of this album being the second half. A bit strange if I'm being honest, it seems like sonically, their roles should be flipped. Much like the intro track, this one is super dream-like and nebulous. Also like the intro, this one is more of a half-drone, half-not-drone than the shorter songs from the last two albums. I'm liking that little motif that is making a reprise from the first track. I wasn't really feeling the whole 20 minute song from the first time I heard it; I thought it was a bit too out there and lacked any sense of direction or cohesion. I do think this one benefits from being split up into two more digestible 7 minute tracks. Once more, a lot like the first song, I prefer this to the drones from Allelujah and Asunder because I find them much more interesting to listen to with a lot more going on. 7/10 for me I think.
Anthem for No State - First off: coolest fucking song name Godspeed has ever had. Okay, right off the bat, it starts pretty sudden. It seems to have dropped the ambient intro that has been heard in the live versions, which is a shame because that intro was friggen super haunting. The guitar riff that follows is still present in this though. It somehow manages to feel like new and and old at the same time. It reminds me of the somber, post-apocolypse-ness of f#a#inf, while still feeling fresh. Going by the parts (I,II, and III) the original 20 minute Railroads had another section between I and II that seems to be cut from the bootleg mentioned previously, and thus here on the album too. I didn't reallty think that it needed to be cut in all honesty. It did't take away anything from the song. So far, this song has had two cool sections taken away from it that it didn't need to. But the absolute best section is still here: the finale. From when I first started listening to the Railroads and Buildings boots, this section of the song has stood out to me the most as being one of the best things they've ever written in their career. For me, it's up there with Broken Windows from Sleep as one of their best musical moments. In fact, the one violin line in Anthem (specifally the one at 7:30 into Pt. III) reminds me a bit of that one in Broken Windows. These two moments, man... its what I live for. One of the best climaxes to any Godspeed song ever right here, for me anyway. The original Railroads was probably a 10/10 for me, which very few Godspeed songs reach for me. If it wasn't for that sweet climax at the end, this album version would have a much lower ranking due to its cuts. However, the ending makes me cum so I'll still give it a 9/10.
My thoughts overall: A fantastic album but one that has me scratching my head at a few moments. I'm not sure if its just on the NPR site and it will be different with the official releases, but the transitions between songs seems super rushed. Its like one ends, and the other immediately begins. Anthem for No State (almost called it Railroads, Im so used to that name) also feels overall a bit rushed. That afformentioned cut section between pts. I and II was a loss I can live with, but to cut the ambient intro to this song made me super sad. This album is near perfection at its highest, and a bit of a disapointment at its lowest. It kinda feels like they rushed it out, which is something a Godspeed song or album should ever do. Nevertheless, I find myself certainly enjoying it more than Asuner, and maybe about on par with Allelujah. I expected to go into it saying it was better than both albums, as I think that Bosses Hang and Anthem for No State are a better pair of songs than Mladic and We Drift Like Worried Fire. But the album version of Anthem is not as good as the original version. I would've easily cut Fam/Famine off the album if it meant getting a whole 22 minute Anthem for No State. This album would've benefited greatly from being a 50 minute release, but sadly, someone (the band, the record label, I'm not sure) instead decided on unnessecarily cutting it down.
Sonically its very similar to Asunder, but I think they finally perfected the style they were going for with the last two albums. Much like how Skinny Fists perfected their original sound (I personally don't think its perfect, they definitely found their sound on this album) and Yanqui was a bridge between the subtle first 3 albums and the "in-your-face" style Allelujah, Asunder, and Luciferian Towers, I think Godspeed needs to change up their style again with their next album. Otherwise, people will likely stop caring as much (if they stick with this sound, I mean). Here's to hoping for something brand new in the future (not to take away from this album, Im just saying they perfected it so now something new should come. As to what they could do different, I have no clue personally)
8-9/10 on first listen, need to give it more listens to say for certain.