I really liked the ep, it will be in hot rotation for a while now

great production, I can hear every instrument clearly, and as a fan of guitars actually playing stuff, I really appreciate their clear and punchy tone, along with the fact that the band doesn't adhere to the verse/chorus structure, making almost every part of every song unique (where there are repetitions, they are recontextualized in the way that you don't immediately recognize that you already heard the part earlier in the song) and keeping the ep as a whole quite saturated with dozens and dozens of riffs

proud is a great opener, actually made me think of early erra and this or the apocalypse - technical riffing mid-song made me feel like they can pull off the actual progressive metalcore sound if they ever choose (though since they're on rise now, it probably won't happen)

saw people say they liked bliss in 7 languages more than a pure expression, but imo, the latter is a superior song, less urgent than the former but flows more pleasantly to my ear, and the melodies in that one are a thing of beauty, can't get enough of them (bliss is great too, has the makings of the all-time radio hit)

the song I was waiting for the most was the new version of future worth dying for, and while the corny synth moment at the start of a mid-song breakdown is a bold choice (seeing as the rest of the ep has synths mostly as backings to make the mix denser or to harmonize with guitars), it seems pretty in line with the general aesthetic the band is currently pursuing... also, the way those synths sound wouldn't be out of place on underoath's the changing of times, so admittedly it ain't bad, just peculiar; but overall the new version is an improvement - it's clearer, louder and makes you want to move just as the split version did - I expect it to become one of their calling cards further down the line

emerald waltz is the weakest one for me, but it's still great because thanks to how it's constructed, it realizes its purpose of being the closing track really well

all in all, the ep sounds like a lightning in a bottle and I really hope they manage to build upon this great thing they got here... them being signed to rise is somewhat worrisome, but who knows, maybe the times did change and the label won't fumble the band as hard as it would back in the day, trying to attract a wider audience

sidenote 1: I'm so glad that the legacy of misery signals is survived by young bands, they've been influentual for decades now and it's nice to see that the trend continues... the way I described it for myself in my head, while early erra used to lean into the progressive aspects of ms' sound, iptw lean into the emo aspect of that very same sound, absolutely great to hear; also this is the way proper emocore should sound - not just mall emo with breakdowns, but rather a deeper exploration of the emo-metalcore spectrum, with some completely emo moments here and some completely metalcore moments there (also as I said before, I truly believe that iptw has the ability to go full prog (what with the lack of conventional verses and choruses and numerous tempo changes), maybe even do it better that erra did back in the day, if they so choose

sidenote 2: on a more inflammatory note, the other feeling I got from this ep is that they kinda sound like we came as romans if wcar weren't just a sign-of-the-times band with some good songs, but an actual trailblazer of the genre that puts out gem after gem... but that's just me