The first album since the death of Criss Oliva, the music is often dark in reflection of brother Jon Oliva's loss. "Chance" is about Chiune Sugihara, a Japanese diplomat in Lithuania during World War II who defied government orders by signing exit visas for thousands of Jewish refugees. "Castles Burning" is about Giovanni Falcone, an Italian magistrate killed by the mafia in 1992. "Alone You Breathe" is a tribute to Criss which reuses the chord progression (albeit in a different key) and lyrics from the "" song "Believe" in its long coda, and also part of the ending chorus in the "Gutter Ballet" song "When The Crowds Are Gone", although the lyrics do not mirror his death and the songs are not literally about him.