“Light of the Sun” focuses on the keys, delivering movie-score characteristics around the blistering fast guitars and emphasized strikes. Then comes the Kamelot-esque builds that heighten the soaring falsettos, crushing riffage, and the chorus’ final iteration. The setup is the start-stop chugs and the massive mid-song punch from the guitars and drums.
“Pray for Water” focuses on a simple, catchy chorus. How one arranges the “more” determines the success or failure of a record.Ĭase in point: “Pray for Water” and “Light of the Sun.” These two songs have so many elements that you’d think they were eight minutes long. While “more is less” might be the preferable direction for any band, it’s not the case for Illusions. Settling down over the last few years to tinker and perfect how these atmospheres push and pull the other instrumentation only fortified the songwriting. Employing multi-instrumentalist Vikram Shankar ( Gravity, Meridian, and Threads of Fate) to write the key and orchestral atmospheres was a master stroke. But things have changed since The Offering. From my experience with The Offering, I expected lots of ballads and orchestral interludes plugging filler holes in the songs. But will it be a sequel to that album’s struggling delivery?įrom the opening moments of the self-titled instrumental opener, I could tell Illusions would be another heavy orchestral record. This year’s Illusions is a sequel to The Offering’s story. As I said in my review of The Offering, it’s still a strong enough album to revisit and enjoy. And, where it was weakest, the orchestration was heaviest-as if trying to hide the lack of emotion found in previous releases. The passion so instrumental to the band’s success felt sapped from the songwriting. So, when 2018’s The Offering surfaced, I knew the very thing I feared had come true. With the stunning, back-to-back releases of Fall From Grace and Purgatory, it isn’t easy to imagine the band could ever top them. Combining Evergrey’s dark, melodic qualities 1 with Symphony X’s progressive, story-driven character, this Canadian outfit refuses to release a bad album. Borealis is always an absolute treat to review.
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