Illusions Dead - Celestial Decadence
Hailing from Finland is the band Illusions Dead. Having only one self-titled demo, they have returned with their first full-length entitled “Celestial Decadence”. Being labeled as a death/black metal band is pretty much spot on for these guys. Extremely dark and desolate sounding, the band definitely stand strong with these 8 tracks. It is not really easy to tell which genre is more dominant in their playing style if either as they do a damn fine job of combining the 2 and, while this band is not an old school type band, this release is a bit “primitive” sounding which does give it a slight old school feel.
The riffs have a slight crunch to them with just a bit of overlaying fuzz for good measure, yet they are sharp enough to stand up against any of the bands out there who have been playing this style of metal for years upon years. In some instances you can even detect a very slight technical element to the style of playing. It’s very faint but it is there. I really like this style of playing. It has that black metal feel with a death metal style of playing. The drums are equally as powerful, with a production that has just the right level of thickness to compliment all the other aspects of the music. It seems the black metal style is somewhat prevalent here but is evened out with other elements where necessary. Dare I say that there are even parts of these tracks that sound a bit melodic, and just when you get into that frame of mind, the band steamrolls over you with a monstrous riff. One thing that I noticed about this release is the continuity. It is damn near flawless. It could be analogous to the tide coming in and going back out to sea. This whole album is a great piece of work. Imagine, if you will, At the Gates, Gates of Ishtar, Prophanity, and classic Desultory getting together and making a black metal laced album. That is exactly what this sounds like.
This is not bad at all for an independent release. Illusions Dead have all the tools to be a band to be reckoned with. It would be nice to see them get a decent recording contract. I can just imagine what they could do with the proper backing, studio, and recording budget. This is a band that you will want to keep your eyes on in the years to come. It commands respect when a band takes it upon themselves and releases an album of this magnitude on their own.
The riffs have a slight crunch to them with just a bit of overlaying fuzz for good measure, yet they are sharp enough to stand up against any of the bands out there who have been playing this style of metal for years upon years. In some instances you can even detect a very slight technical element to the style of playing. It’s very faint but it is there. I really like this style of playing. It has that black metal feel with a death metal style of playing. The drums are equally as powerful, with a production that has just the right level of thickness to compliment all the other aspects of the music. It seems the black metal style is somewhat prevalent here but is evened out with other elements where necessary. Dare I say that there are even parts of these tracks that sound a bit melodic, and just when you get into that frame of mind, the band steamrolls over you with a monstrous riff. One thing that I noticed about this release is the continuity. It is damn near flawless. It could be analogous to the tide coming in and going back out to sea. This whole album is a great piece of work. Imagine, if you will, At the Gates, Gates of Ishtar, Prophanity, and classic Desultory getting together and making a black metal laced album. That is exactly what this sounds like.
This is not bad at all for an independent release. Illusions Dead have all the tools to be a band to be reckoned with. It would be nice to see them get a decent recording contract. I can just imagine what they could do with the proper backing, studio, and recording budget. This is a band that you will want to keep your eyes on in the years to come. It commands respect when a band takes it upon themselves and releases an album of this magnitude on their own.
- Incursion
- Devoured By Hatred
- Shadow And Flame
- Hour Of The Raven
- Revolution (Celestial Spheres)
- Tormentor Of The Weak
- The Way Of The Deceiver
- Illusions Dead
Self released
Reviewer: twansibon
Jun 26, 2016
Jun 26, 2016
Next review:
Anger As Art - Ad Mortem Festinamus
Share this:
