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Artist: Illium |
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Hailing
from Newcastle, Australia and formed back in the early 1990's under the
name Oracle, it wasn't until 1998 that the band changed their name to Illium.
Now with an EP and four
albums under their belts, together with several line-up changes over the years,
including two vocalists, the band return in 2011 with their fifth opus and
the second to feature the might of former Riot and Masterplan frontman
Mike DiMeo. Joining Mike on this album are founding member Jason Hodges, Adam Smith and Tim Yatras,
who together bring us a true slice of "Thunder from Down Under" with their latest
album 'Genetic Memory'. The
album takes over where ‘Ageless Decay’ left off, with DiMeo once
again bringing his vocal might to the songs on what is definitely another great
Melodic Metal album, that I personally think is one of the band finest
releases to date and definitely one of DiMeo’s
most powerful performances. The
album opens up with ‘Kinaesthesia’
and right from this opening powerful barrage, you can really tell
just how much this band have developed since those early days, and now with DiMeo at the helm, the band
are well on their way to becoming a force to be reckoned with in the
world of Melodic Metal. The
power rich melodies come thick and fast with the stunning ‘Littoria’,
a song that starts of slowly but soon builds into a cacophony of streaming
guitars and power driven rhythms, both of which will blow away any doubts you
have had about the bands prowess to deliver power and grace, in one all out
attack. Things
continue to impress with the mighty DiMeo delivering the goods on the excellent ‘Grey Stains
The Rainbow’, perhaps not as in your face as the
previous tracks, but that’s not a bad thing. You need diversity these
days if an album is to appeal to a more diverse metal fan, also this
track gives Hodges the opportunity to show off his own six string prowess. It’s
pedal to the metal once more with the rampaging riffs and double kick
drum of ‘The Immortality Gene’, before the epic metal feel of
‘Ephemeral’ bursts into your speakers. Hodges throws out those
juicy big licks while DiMeo really shows his metal credentials as he puts in another
powerhouse vocal. But
if I had to pick out one outstanding slice of pure Melodic Metal from
the album, then it would have to be the title track ‘Genetic Memory’.
This one just rocks big style, with the keyboards have a bigger presence as
well as a monster bass line running through the tracks backbone. The
keyboards once again feature on the thumping riff spewn ‘Hostile
Sky’, a track that is based more on the power melodies than speed
and is a great track to listen to as it unravels it complexities. The same
can be said about ‘Fevered Tongue’, another multi-layered
extravaganza that leads into the all out old school metal guitars of
‘Neanderthal Within’. A real no holds barred attack on the senses, one
for all the heads down metalheads. There
is an air of the symphonic about the excellent ‘Ghosts In Flesh’,
before the album closes with ‘Irrinja’, as the band bring a little
Aboriginal influence to the opening of this one, before mixing in the
grinding guitar for a rampaging finale to what is another stellar
release and one that will the band are equal to any of their European
counterparts in the genre. |
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| Tracklisting:
1. Kinaesthesia |
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