The band's guitarist, founder and main songwriter, Michael Romeo, said he was against releasing separated tracks of the album,[4] since it was written to be "a whole".

[5] Commenting on whether the album would revisit elements from previous records while also exploring new sounds, guitarist and main songwriter Michael Romeo said:[6] There was definitely an effort to do some of the things we've always done.

Every element added was in service of the song, so the album flows and becomes a total listening experience from start to finish.

Every song is to the point and fine-tuned, with us paying a lot of attention to the hooks, voices, riffs, and keeping the interest and the energy high for the entire record.

The opening track, "Nevermore", has three syllables, a three-note melodic phrase, and its verses contain three references to three songs from the band's third album, The Divine Wings of Tragedy.