Disillusion - Back To Times Of Splendor Review

Disillusion Back To Times Of Splendor

Full Review

Tracklist:
1. ... And The Mirror Cracked
2. Fall
3. Alone I Stand In Fires
4. Back To Times Of Splendor
5. A Day By The Lake
6. The Sleep Of Restless Hours

Ranking: #5 for 2004

On 24 Lists

Also Recommended by Reviewer:

Opeth - Blackwater Park
In Flames - The Jester Race
Dark Tranquillity - Projector
Opeth - Still Life

5 classic	by lanchege (2 Reviews) 2007-04-21 \| 224 comments \| 4783 views
Other Reviews: Kiran Soderqvist * (4.5),

Summary: One of the best little-known bands out there.

4 of 4 thought this review was well written

Sometimes, actually, whenever I am on my computer, I am always on a search for new music. I do this for two reasons - To brag to my friends that I have more songs than them (I know it's pretty infantile, but I could care less), and to find bands that have talented and who should be shown to the metal community. I came across Disillusion, a German progressive/melodic death band, while on Encyclopaedia Metallum. The reviews were all above 90, so I searched for it and got the album. And I must say, it's one of the most beautiful pieces of music ever to grace my ears.

Disillusion, for this record, is made up of:
Vurtox - Vocals, Guitars, Bass, Keyboards
Rajk Barthel - Guitars
Jens Maluschka - Drums

...And the Mirror Cracked: This song starts right off with a heavy setting to it. I really like the riff. This continues, and at one minute into the song Vurtox's vocals are shown. His growls are good, they fit very well with the music. His clean vocals soon take the place of his harsh grunts, he's very talented. It slightly reminds me of some power metal vocalists, but not when they are singing in a high falsetto. At roughly 3 and a half minutes into the song, everything calms down. Acoustics join in, and it sounds nice. It's my favorite part of the song. Vurtox's clean vocals come back in, and there is a solo of sorts, and the song seems like it's going to get heavy but it doesn't. Once everything becomes totally quiet, all of a sudden the beginning of the song is repeated. It's a nice ending to a great song. 5/5

Fall: The beginning riff reminds of sludge metal for some reason. The drumming is very excellent on this record, the ride cymbal is highly utilized in this song. It is also completely clean vocals from Vurtox. The way his voice is layered in many of the songs on this album is tasteful. The best part of this song is the chorus, it's a beautiful thing. 4.5/5

Alone I Stand in Fires: This is my personal favorite off the album. It kicks off with the sound of a man breathing, then with some nice cymbal work. Guitars fade in, then start full force with a riff you just have to nod your head to. During the verses of this song, a effect is placed on Vurtox's voice. It's odd, yet it fits. The chorus, just as in Fall, is the best part of this song. In the prechorus, Vurtox uses his clean vocals, but then switchs to his growls which work so well. "But today, today will be my day!" is very moving. The song ends with some piano notes. This song is amazing. 5/5

Back to Times of Splendor: This song starts off with some violin, which I find to be a great add-on to the music. Guitars and drums come crashing in with the violin, which is one of the many high points of the album. Vurtox has some great lyrics in this one, and Rajk and his riffs are impeccable. Throughout the song, the violins fade in and fade out, and it just is an excellent addition. At 7 minutes into the song, everything drops out except the sound of rain and some birds chirping. Then drums and bass come in, and I must say I admire the drummer on this record. He's pretty versatile and mixes it up a lot. Anyway, the song continues to be soft and with Vurtox singing cleanly. The acoustic guitars add an atmosphere to the music. A beautiful guitar solo is played, and then the album gets heavy again, and this is probably the heaviest point on the album. The vocals remind me of Nergal from Behemoth, and that's brutal if you know Behemoth. This is a great song. 5/5

A Day by the Lake: I don't like this song as much as the rest of the songs on this record, but that isn't because it's the lightest. It's mostly acoustic guitars and all sung vocals. I feel a lot of Opeth influence on this one especially, but I feel it all over the album due to the progressive/death combination. This song ends too abruptly also, but it's still alright. 4/5

The Sleep of the Restless Hour: This is the longest song of the album, spanning over 17 minutes. It starts off with some acoustic guitars, with Jens playing around with his cymbals. The heaviness kicks in, a nice riff with some cool drum work. Everyone delivers a wonderful performance in this song, especially Vurtox with his vocal work. And about 12 minutes in, there is silence, and for the remainder of the song we are treated to an instrumental. This a great way to end an album. 5/5

Disillusion is most definately an excellent band. I'd say the band the resemble the most is Opeth, but there are still many differences between them. All in all, I give this album a 5/5, it's great and all metal fans should enjoy it. Vurtox is a mastermind.

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