The mark of a good/great album lies in how much we desire to put that album on after the initial excitement wears off. With that said, my first attempt at this is to take a look at the album I've spent the last month listening to: Reflection by Spoken.

When I first started listening to this album, I was blown away. This felt different from other albums released by the band over the last 20 years. Upon doing a bit of digging, I found that this is their first release on XOVR (Crossover) Records, a relatively new label founded by Brian "Head" Welch of Korn and Love and Death fame.

It's a pretty extensive swing at an album with 14 songs spanning 57 minutes. It's always nice to see bands break out from the typical 10-song LP's that labels love to put out. It lets us have more than the typical 30 minutes that fit on one vinyl album as well, but fills two albums perfectly.

Reflection has everything you've come to expect from Spoken. The vocals have intense screams of many different varieties -- highs that most people can't match, and melodies that keep you in amazement. The lyrical content has elements of hope, being a warrior, overcoming obstacles, reaching people who are lost, and challenges of life. There's a lot of themes that I'd call "heavy" laced within the lyrics, but you don't get the impression that we're called as the listener to remain there. The songs feel more like an examination of our problems, failures, shortcomings and strife, but we aren't supposed to glorify it or submit to it.

Most songs feel unique and fresh. Often in the post-hardcore genre, songs can almost meld into each other with little separation. I don't get that with this album. The album starts off with "Echoes," which is a strong reminder that says "here's who we are/have always been." The listener gets reintroduced to what makes Spoken unique. From there, the album goes into the title-track, "Reflection." Immediately, it causes you to stop and pay attention. The opening riff is laden with elements that make it impossible to not nod your head. The wordplay in the lyrics between "justify" and "just defy" took me a few listens, but when I caught it, I fell in love with the song all over again. Far be it from me to say what a song is "about," but I feel like this one could have been something that lead singer Matt Baird wrote to himself? It feels like it's almost a pep talk to the writer.

"In the Dark" is another single off the album. I keep coming back to the line "Do you believe surrender changes everything?" When I think of songs that can reach people yearning to be reached without knowing it, this one fits the mould. It opens the door on the album to the suggestion that there's more out there than what the world has shown us.

"Let the War Begin" is as unique as it is epic. This song could find play on any rock station in the country with the right promotion. I find myself coming back to this song repeatedly and often restart it when it ends.

It's impossible to discuss this album without talking about the two guest vocalists: Brian "Head" Welch, and Demon Hunter's Ryan Clark. Brian is featured on the song "Anymore." That song IS the gospel. It's intense with powerful lyrics that literally say "there is no time to waste." With Brian's name attached to the song and the heaviness, this song is going to reach people. (I just wish, at some point, this particular song had mentioned Jesus by name.)

"Sleeper," featuring Ryan Clark, is a Demon Hunter song on a Spoken record. I'm not sure if Spoken wrote it and featured Ryan separately or if Ryan was a part of the writing process, but this song could (should?) be released on either band's album. My favorite part of this song is that it scratches the heavy itch during the second half of the album that isn't quite as hard as the first.

There are several songs on this album that deal with the idea of questioning whether there's more to life than what we have, whether our past mistakes define who we are today, change, overcoming, etc. I've found that listening through the album is an experience that provides more uplifting moments than the inverse.

On the negative side, I do have a couple skips on the album. The first is "Awaken Me." This song is more of a B-side lyrically. It's not a poor sounding song, but the lyrics feel very shallow. Another along those same lines is "Never Look Away." Lyrically, this one seems as if a multitude of different songs were put together. There's no real cohesion between what's being said or the music in this one. It takes the top spot for my least favorite song on the album. The track immediately following is "Future," whose lyrics get overly repetitive and it renders the song uninteresting.

In contrast to what I said at the beginning of this review, these three songs could have easily been trimmed to create a strong 11-song, heavy-hitting masterpiece. With that said, I'm glad they didn't. It's important to know that, while these songs didn't resonate with me, that doesn't mean they won't resonate with a different ear.

Overall, this album quickly vaulted into the spot of being my favorite Spoken album to date. I don't believe saying that takes a single thing away from any of their other albums. They all are good, but this one ups the ante. If you haven't heard this release yet, give it a go. You won't regret doing it.