Metal Invader – Polysyllabic Review
Let me clarify something from the very beginning. ILLUSORY and more specifically George (Papantonis) are friends of mine. I only say this, just to set a point of honesty for all those reading the review. Lately, stating your opinion about a band that you are friends with tends to be prohibited. I have never been objective with friends or people I don’t know. You know what, Heavy Metal in Greece is a bit of a “village” thing and we seem to know each other more or less. Not that it mattes much, since we are paying for the live gigs tickets, the merch and the albums; since we are paying for them, we supposedly care more. In these hard times, I paid for the physical copy of the album, listened to it a number of times and decided to write a thing or two about it. ILLUSORY are moving forward, comparing this album with their (very good) debut. They keep their Maiden monomanias, their Queensryche/Savatage attitude, their multi-vocal motifs, their fine and melodic, European style (no, I’m not going to say europower) guitars and they compose with a distinctive way. Dee’s voice is one of those I really like, not just “for Greek singers”. He’s warm, solid, powerful and passionate, very much into the Dio mentality. They sound like less angry Symphony X but more lyrical; their songs are beautiful, with many ideas. Odd-Y-Sea is the hit of the album, with Bleak, Dreamshade, Last Fallen Angel (these acoustic passages reminded me of Rush from the Χanadu period; just for a second there and I mean it with good intentions), Solitary Nomad (you guys liked Brave New World, right? Me, too and I don’t hide, well done, you guys), The Eyes Of Hades (one of the best I think) or ten minute long Swan Song. I think this is one album the boys worked their butts off (with all things relevant to a recording procedure) and you can get that in terms of precision, structure etc., however the album needed a stronger production for the material to “breathe” better. I didn’t like the art cover, I believe that sound and cover (although the layout is beautiful) are critical factors the boys should take under consideration in the future. In general I consider the album as an exceptional musical attempt by a bunch of people that are musicians and fans (important) and those of you into this music, you better check them right now. We are only stating our opinion and we do that for every band we come across our way.
4,5/6
