PROGRESSIVE METAL

Overall, this album is the best DDM has introduced yet, and deserves a place of honor as the first album of his ever printed on vinyl.

Even though there has been that change in personnel, in many ways this is a direct continuation from their last release, 2020's 'The Ghost Xperiment ? Illumination'. It is highly theatrical, heavily influenced by Savatage in particular, with complex arrangements and music shifting from heavy and dynamic to peaceful and tranquil, often in the same line. Kuntz is a stunning singer, but it takes him some time to make his impact on this album which commences with some simple piano, thunder in the distance, as it creates an emotional entrance. We get a back and call with the guitar, and gradually the band starts to build with dramatic drumming and orchestrations, and then we are into melodic prog metal with plenty of crunch and drive, but it is still not time for Andy to make his entrance as the band continue to develop themes. It is one of the most powerful introductions to an album I have ever come across, as just three minutes in and already the listener is fully invested as the shredding and bombast is there. Just when one thinks it is going to continue in the same vein it drops back, the piano takes over, and then Andy is there ? it just took four minutes for him to make the right entrance.

The album is dynamic and powering throughout, a wonderful example of polished progressive metal, with the only complaint being that the polish has been lathered on just a little too thickly. There is not enough clarity and distinction within the arrangements, and it is only that which prevents me from awarding the album full marks. Alessandro joined the band too late to have any impact on the songwriting, so it will be interesting to see where they go next, but as it is this is yet another fine album from one of top bands in the genre.

'Static Mind' minimalist intro, Leprousian synth, oriental air, a little electronic to set the stage with a refined vocal before 'Theta' tumbles in, yes that's the word with a djent riff; Omar's haunting vocals and nervous shredding paired with the complex melody; this mixture of softness and brutality is stunning, the ambient break before the return of synths and guitars which squirt, which swell; the slap launching 'Time Bridge' and its provided instrumental, between djent riff and violins; the suite fusing metal with oriental sounds is pure joy; 'Manifestations' follows with Alain and Mood setting fire to the guitar and keyboard in staggered fashion; complex, varied, energetic piece between Dream Theater and Haken for a modern prog metal full of musical amphetamines including a dreamlike jazz-metal sequence; airy, robotic, aggressive final break before starting again with captivating choirs and letting 'Ternary' close this Dantesque introduction in 5 phases; Omar returns smoothly on soothing crystalline guitar; warm choirs, pleasant guitar solo and the final crescendo on Morgan's pads which take it to a stunning musical level.

'Binary Dream' eponymous title in memory of a musical theater; heavy sound, heavy bass in mid-tempo, Hakenian air, we hear Woody; fresh, young, captivating piece, smelling of oriental, powerful djent; the stacked breaks give a swirling synth solo before another oriental full of sensitivity, on the Balkans; a jazzy moment then the sound returns to the intimate vocal-keyboard climate, it regains strength with a velvety Floydian sound before the finale, slap. 'Hybrid' modern electro intro, bass, energetic drums and shredding for a nervous, heavy track; ambient break and his guitar solo from 1001 nights. 'Corrosion' for the ballad of the album, orientalized acoustic guitar with moving spleen; reminiscence of a slow Scorpions, an Eagles intro; Omar takes it up a notch by offering a Purplenian hard rock mantra. 'De Erosion' for the happy ending instrumental, crystal clear sound of an Oceansize to settle down.(4.5)

So does "Wrath of the Gods" deliver on the promise that the "Straight as the Crowbar Flies" single showed? Yes and more so is the answer to that...with the exception of former Death Angel drummer Andy Galeon who joined in 2020, the remaining members of the band have been together since 2017 and it´s audible that they are now a tight playing unit and they don´t only deliver sharp and heavy thrashy riffs and rhythms, they deliver them with great passion and conviction. The songs are generally well written, intriguing, and effectful, featuring sharp riffs, blistering melodic lead- and harmony guitar work, and the raw yet still melodic inclined vocals of Marc Biedermann. Sure he doesn´t have the most powerful or the most distinct sounding voice, but he is a good example of getting the most out of what you´ve got.

Stylistically Blind Illusion strike a good balance between thrash metal and heavy metal which artists like Megadeth, Death Angel, and Flotsam and Jetsam (and sometimes Testament) also excel in. So the hard-edged parts are always followed up by something a little less harsh and typically more melodic. "Wrath of the Gods" features a well sounding production job, and all instruments and vocals are audible and well balanced in the mix. So upon conclusion this is the "real" comeback release for Blind Illusion, and one can only hope they continue to travel down this road and deliver more high quality releases along the way. A 3.5 - 4 star (75%) rating is deserved.

(Originally posted on Metal Music Archives).

"Straight as the Crowbar Flies" is a one-track digital single and the version which appears here is exactly the same version, which appears on "Wrath of the Gods", as the opening track on the album. It´s a powerful, intriguing, and both hard- edged and melodic thrash/heavy metal song, and it sounds very much like the material on Blind Illusion´s 1988 debut album "The Sane Asylum". So the fans who weren´t satisfied with the bluesy hard rock/heavy metal style of Blind Illusion´s 2010 comeback album "Demon Master", will most certainly find much more to appreciate here. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

(Originally posted on Metal Music Archives).

"Demon Master" wasn´t a thrash metal comeback album though and instead features a bluesy hard rock/heavy metal style, but in 2013 lead vocalist/guitarist Marc Biedermann met other like minded musicians from the 80s thrash metal scene who convinced him to return to his thrash/heavy metal roots, and "2018" is therefore a much more thrash/heavy metal oriented release than "Demon Master" is.

It´s still not full-on aggressive thrash metal...actually far from it although Blind Illusion have re-recorded both "Metamorphosis of a Monster" and "Vengeance Is Mine", which both appeared on "The Sane Asylum". So stylistically this is an eclectic blend of hard rock, blues rock, heavy metal, and thrash metal. It´s a pretty adventurous EP and the overall sound is relatively unconventional. To my ears it works rather well though and as the sound production is decent too, this is a good quality EP release from Blind Illusion, fully showing how diverse they are in terms of their songwriting and performances. A 3 - 3.5 star (65%) rating is warranted.

(Originally posted on Metal Music Archives).

The drumming bugs me, I just feel like it has that power-metal style where your getting hammered into submission. The singer does remind me of James LaBrie at times, not the strongest voice and an accent. Now after saying those negative things about the singer and drummer they are both from TIME MACHINE a band from Italy I really like. It's also a band that has had many lineup changes and my favourite album by them "Eternity Ends" has a different singer and drummer than the two on here. Also, everyone mentions DREAM THEATER when describing this record so there's that.

I did find this entertaining but I'm not huge on the vocals and there's those predictable tracks where every box is ticked. This seems to have been a one-off and they're from Italy! Anyway a good album with some talented folks but not a 4 star record.

It wasn´t completely over for lead vocalist/guitarist Marc Biedermann though, and after a long break he opted to reform Blind Illusion in 2009. On "Demon Master" he is joined by drummer Robert Nystrom and bassist Danny Harcourt, making Blind Illusion a trio on the album.

Stylistically "Demon Master" don´t exactly pick up where "The Sane Asylum" took off. There are zero thrash metal riffs and rhythms on "Demon Master" and instead it´s a bluesy hard rock/heavy metal album with Biedermann singing instead of shouting/snarling like he did on "The Sane Asylum". So this probably came as a big surprise to the original fans of the band, who had been waiting for a follow-up album for 22 years. But changes aren´t always bad new, and Blind Illusion actually pull off playing this new hard rock/heavy metal style pretty well. Biedermann is still an excellent guitarist and his new rhythm section keep things organic, energetic, and powerful. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that Biedermann can actually sing too, so all in all "Demon Master" is a pretty good quality hard rock/heavy metal release and a 3 - 3.5 star (65%) rating isn´t all wrong.

(Originally posted on Metal Music Archives).

Blind Illusion went through several lineup changes in their career, but the lineup who recorded "The Sane Asylum" are Marc Biederman (guitars/vocals), Les Claypool (bass), Larry Lalonde (guitars), and Mike Miner (drums). It´s a well known "secret" that Kirk Hammett of Metallica produced "The Sane Asylum", although he isn´t credited on the album (who knows...maybe he was afraid of how James and Lars would react to him working outside Metallica). Hammett is of course not the only interesting name mentioned above as Lalonde came from a stint with Possessed where he played on the legendary 1985 album "Seven Churches" and on the other Possessed releases until that band split-up on 1987. Both he and bassist Les Claypool would find considerable commercial and artistic success in the 90s with alternative rock/metal act Primus.

Stylistically the material on "The Sane Asylum" is thrash metal but with strong ties to traditional heavy metal. So this has more in common with the heavy/speed metal tinged and often melodic inclined material of Megadeth than it has to the brutality and aggression of the contemoporary material by artists like Dark Angel and Slayer. It´s obvious that Blind Illusion are a gifted bunch of guys. The vocals aren´t that exciting (being pretty standard shouting/snarling thrash metal vocals), but these guys can play and there are some pretty tight and adventurous sections on the album (for the latter take a listen to "Kamakazi") and some well played lead guitar work. Sometimes it even borders technical thrash metal because of the many rhythm changes and the complexity of some of the riffs (just take a listen to "Death Noise" for proof of that), but then again Blind Illusion aren´t exactly Watchtower.

Less will do though and as "The Sane Asylum" also features a (for the time) well sounding production, which suits the material well, it´s a good quality debut album from Blind Illusion. I wouldn´t call it something way out of the ordinary for the genre, but it´s certainly entertaining while it plays. 3 - 3.5 star (65%) rating is warranted.

(Originally posted on Metal Music Archives).