Illumion, a new Dutch outfit, started out as a band founded
by conservatory laureate Eveline van Kampen on guitar, playing both original
compositions as well as covers of Pain Of Salvation and Fates Warning. She
worked with two members of the Dutch progressive fusion band S.O.T.E.:
Peter H.Boer, on bass and keyboards and Emile Boellaard on drums and percussion. Boer
also took care of the production of Illumion�s debut album. As keyboardist at
first John de Bruijn got enlisted, but later his duties were taken over by
Eveline Simons. In the current line up however, Annemieke de Boer is the
keyboardist. Inspired by artists like Pain of Salvation but also Gong, Kate
Bush, Loreena McKennitt, Marillion (with Fish), Rush and Nightwish, Eveline
came up with eleven original compositions, bringing together influences of
gothic rock, prog, classical and jazz with superb musicianship.
All tracks have a lot more to offer than the simple verse �
chorus � verse format. Many, many changes in style, atmosphere, rhythm patterns
and arrangements provide the listener with a constant tension, a curious
feeling of what on earth will be coming next and this makes this album
extremely interesting. The vocalist on Hunting For Significance is another
laureate of the same conservatory (Alkmaar, Netherlands) Eveline graduated:
Esther Ladiges, who lent her voice to artists like Ayreon, Entropy and Ixion.
She�s a graduate in jazz vocals and brings her own style in to Eveline�s music.
Esther is not the usual gothic powerhouse kind of singer but she uses her
technique and emotion in her versatile voice surprisingly well, although I must
admit I would have loved to hear this music with a singer like Floor Jansen.
Esther often puts in several �layers� of her vocal, adding to the bombastic
character of this kind of music. Eveline plays a few solo�s but allows both
keyboards as well as bass and drums to excel as well. The rhythm section of
S.O.T.E. does an outstanding job and the variation in sound of both keyboards
and guitars is simply amazing. If one listens carefully, one can hear all
influences mentioned on Illumion�s website. The overall style could perhaps be
best described as a jazzy version of Stream Of Passion, a slightly more heavy
version of Magenta with touches of both the Flower Kings and Pain Of Salvation.
The lyrics are written by Eveline inspired by authors like
Edgar Allen Poe, Oscar Wilde and Charles Dickens. Although I had a hard time
finding the instrument, Eveline plays the �erhu� too, a two string instrument from
China with a sound like a kind of violin. The contrasts between jazzy and
heavy, complex and melodic, slightly aggressive and more mellow are blended
just fine on this album. Illumion is a listening sensation for lovers of more
complex but still accessible music, yet references to bands like Aesma Daeva
and Stream Of Passion are never that far away. The title of this album has a
meaning too: this illuminated group of musicians is indeed hunting to be
significant for as many fans as possible and I think with a bit of luck and
good promotion they could succeed achieving their goals. A welcome addition to
the genre of �female fronted metal� but a truly original one. Well done,Eveline!
Reviewer: Menno von Brucken Fock
Points: 8 out of 10
Illumion is the band of Eveline van Kampen. A graduate of
the conservatory in 2002 and for the quality of the vocal parts this is highly
noticeable, not a note off and technically very skillful. She took a study trip
to China which explains the symbols on the cover and the use of the erhu, a
Chinese two-stringed violin. Eveline is joined here by two members from
S.O.T.E., Peter H. Boer (basses, sticks, keyboard) and Emile Boellaard (drums).
The keyboard players are Eveline Simons, who during the process was replaced by
Annemiek de Boer. Finally the guitar is played by Eveline van Kampen herself.
The music is described as The Gathering vs Magenta with
dashes of Ayreon, I would like to add Ambeon to that list. The two members of
S.O.T.E. are both in the rhythm section, which means that the rhythms are a bit
more complex than usual and as I really like the latest S.O.T.E. album, I do
not mind this at all. The vocals of Eveline are very beautiful and the vocal
lines are very enchanting like, not your normal straightforward singing. This
is the reason I added the Ambeon project to the list above, as the vocals on
that album come closest to that of Eveline van Kampen. For the guitars, however
Eveline should have asked the third member of S.O.T.E. as the music needs lots
of melodic structure and at times this is forgotten and a simple chord is
played. Sometimes the rhythm guitar is distorted while the music yearns for a
sweeter approach. Though the use of the Chinese instruments is terrific,
especially on Into The Labyrinth they come out very well.
Hunting For Significance is a very beautiful album. If you
like beautiful music with enchanting female vocals then this is the album for
you. The album has no remarkable highlights and seems to flow by, a bit
dangerous because listeners might lose attention. If you however are not
distracted, then this is a wonderful journey. At times I would have liked if a
different mood was chosen, not so dark all the time, but on the whole it is a
solid debut. If you like prog with female vocals then this album is
recommended.
Reviewer: Edwin Roosjen
Points: 7 out of 10