I did my usual tradition of writing the review in real-time while doing my first listen XD
THE LAW: Our intro starts in Hora's trademark mood with just a bit more hi-tech trimming.
INSANITY: Reminds me of something off of INNER UNIVERSE. Not bad but a bit spare. We seem to be back in that original vein of "extended meditations".
domiNATE: And from there we swing all the way over to "New Hora" with a sort of Mortal Kombat/Sega-esque lead-in (a good thing in my book, for those following along at home). The main melody line in this part is a bit blunt and unengaging, though I give him credit for trying out some more creative instrumentation and FX. The little "breakout" part at the 1:30 mark was promising but unfortunately the whole song didn't go down this route. Again: not a bad song but I can't quite call it an unmitigated success.
MAGNIFICENT: "INNER UNIVERSE" vibe coming on strong again (with the same sort of chords going on as "HAZE"), but Hora pulls out a melody lead to hold this one together. This is perhaps the first song on the disc to have any "spirit" of its own. I can't say I'm a huge fan of the drum track in this one, but that's a minor quibble.
128: Long electronic atmospheric intro, but one that works. Nice "buzzy" backwork in there. After a somewhat ineffectual drum bridge, we transition into a more plucky sort of segment that doesn't do it for me, followed by a rather nice elaboration of the original bit. With a heavy editing hand cutting bits out, this song could have been quite good as a short "instrumental". I just don't like those drums, they don't go.
INFUSE: Bold synth trumpets and organs? Now what is this? And then Hora breaks out the glass - this is good. Yes sir. Again, a little judicious use of the editor's shears could have tightened this one up a little. Still, I like what I heard.
THE OTHER A.I.: Yeah, as a previous commenter said, the start reminds heavily of "L.E.M". This one isn't quite as pungent at least. In fact, there is a bit of genuine sophistication to it this time around. I'm not a fan of the whole "dance" format so I'll leave it at that. If nothing else it's a better piece of craft than his previous efforts along this line - quite passable.
INWARD: My first reaction: "Bold, but this has about 5 seconds to shape up". The direction it took was... interesting. Sort of reminds me of "Street Fighter II meets Malice Mizer's Ju te veux" XD Odd, odd, odd.
SIRIUS: Hora goes experimental with a "twinkly" piece? Commendable, but the song doesn't really do it for me.
DEVOTION: Continuing (and concluding) this disc's line of experiments, we have a piece much moodier than we usually see from Hora. Just a short outro here, but in that role it works fine. You can tell he's so devoted (to his kitties XD)
The Bottom Line: Last time, with Hora's handful of innovative tracks on "REIGN", I had hoped he'd continue down that line. Instead he pulled a 180 and wrote songs that often remind me of his first disc, as well as more experiments than he'd ever put on one disc before. I'd say we heard the "Voice of Hora" best on "MAGNIFICENT" and "INFUSE". The rest of your mileage will vary depending on how much you like Hora's usual deal. Another mixed bag of the type I've come to expect from Hora, but there's some quality stuff to be found here. Nothing quite on the same level as the best of REIGN, but we have some material here that rings true.