After listening to the opener "Deeprooted" you realize straight away that this is going to be an extremely experimental album. "Come to Pass" will throw listeners off as it intones rap and depicts beats alien to the last. About three fourths of the way through, "Come to Pass" grows deeper and darker, a step up from the opener. While "I Watch You Fall" takes a small breather with its avant-garde sound and "A Cancer in Our Midst (Plague One) exposes its dark ambience, with a tight down tempo. The torpid "Last Lights," radiates its drum and bass, electronica blips and typewriter-esque rhythms. The abrasive "Nobody Wants the Truth" is heavy, and Manes experiments with the darkest of beats, automaton vocals and light, airy vocals alike. "My Journal of the Plague Years" is a little silly with its computer vocals and pure industrial beats. I'm not sure if listeners will really feel this song as much as Manes wants them to. But one can't forget that the album itself is a massive experiment. Anything will be examined at least once in this deeply layered album. "The Cure-All" is moody yet vibrant, lightly delving into jungle acid beats. "Transmigrant" is an orchestral trip-hop rhapsody. Moody, voice sampler "Son of Night Brother of Sleep" speaks of suicide, carrying on the album's dark aesthetic. On it's own How the World Came to an End is as intelligent and dark as ever, but like many experimental albums, lacks identity. It's as hard to describe this album as it is to accept it.