Barren Earth is somewhere between an Opeth that isn't completely sedated and Swallow The Sun-Mikko Kotam�ki was the band's vocalist for six years, in fact. "On Lonely Towers" features J�n Aldar� taking over vocal duties in the place of Kotam�ki, who left after a few records. The vocals are an embodiment of the creative landscape upon which these strongholds are planted, featuring little in the way of conventionalism. Aldar� applies a hearty combination of low, guttural growls and howling clean vocals that remind me somewhat of the stuff you'd find in Akercocke, minus the Satan. He does well, at times helping to conceptualize the sheer magnitude of the total musical spire, with a vocal performance matching the incredible custom, reaching far beyond what eyes can see.

"On Lonely Towers" is likewise something extraordinary on the musical spectrum. Barren Earth runs less on a style than it does a gamut, moving dexterously across the terrain of a doom/death metal enterprise and a rich progressive landscape. At times the band throws out progressive jams like the stuff you'd find in a Dream Theater album ("A Shapeless Derelict") while taking hold of blast beats and death metal riffs under different cuts ("Howl") while all maintaining a central mentality. The nuance placed in the guitar solos and the keyboards plays a vital role in the enriching of the atmospheres of desolation and despair, which are semblances "On Lonely Towers" captures incredibly well. The album is quite long, featuring two eleven-minute behemoths, but the group is so interesting in their surrounding that the long, detailed tracks turning the cogs make the record satisfying from the pretty guitar lines of the opener to the crushing, melancholic melodies of "The Vault."