Ok, so I've given the album some time to grow on me and...
I still like Afterglow. I don't love it, but I like it. Why no love? Because I have issue with how the songs are put together on this album.
I LOVE Fingers in the Wounds. That song is exactly what I was hoping for this album to be. Kinda miss a proper solo but I learned to live with that.
And that's basically it from the positives.
I hear some great, great bits on Shadow of the gods, Mistress, Rain or Ressurection men but the issues arise for me on these tracks... the great bits are overshadowed by bland, annoying, or even cringy parts I can't even stand. It's like he put it together in 10 minutes and said "we're done here, let's grab a lunch". I really have an urge to cut these songs, somehow re-record passages I hate and stitch it back together. vThere'S so much potential.
The rest is complete no no for me. Sonata... What the hell is that? Eternity is (to me - everything here is just my opinion) an inferior version of what he recorded with Maiden, and so on. I'm angry, disappointed, but after all somehow glad I have at least one or two new songs from Bruce I can listen to.