ILLUMION is a Dutch band, that presents us a
beautiful mix of progressive and symphonic music with a slightly jazzy
undertone. The lyrical influences come from literary inspirations, something
you won�t witness in this genre too often. Add to this the use of instruments,
that are unlikely to be heard on many other rock albums, like the Irish flute,
the Chinese two-stringed spike fiddle (erhu) and the Chinese four-stringed lute
(pipa) and you�ll know that this music is probably not easy to comprehend.
Okay, let�s check it out then. An open-mind for jazzy progressive music would
be nice, if you listen to the eleven songs here. The use of exotic instruments,
like in �Chrysanthemum�, is really an addition to the music. I would like to
compare them to THE GATHERING in a way. They also experimented with lyrics and
sound variations. ILLIUMION might be less heavy, but this is definitely
enjoyable for the open-minded music fan. Another reason why I wanted to mention
THE GATHERING is the voice of Esther Ladiges, who definitely shows some
resemblance to Anneke van Giersbergen�s.
I like the uptempo �Metamorphosis� a
lot, because of the very tasteful guitarwork of Eveline van Kampen on this one.
The same tasteful guitar sound can be heard in the groovy, propelling �The
Prophecy�. It gets really heavy every now and then in �Under The Harrow�. There
is variation all over in the sound of ILLUMION. I really like the sound of
thunder in the song �Whirlwind�, which fits in very nicely. �The Bliss� closes
this disc with a more progressive approach. �Hunting For Significance� has
become some kind of a musical box filled with goodies of many styles. Not
always heavy, but surely very innovative and good enough to explore closely.
ILLUMION consists of Esther Ladiges on vocals, Eveline van Kampen on guitars
and exotic Chinese instruments, Peter H. Boer on bass, Emile Boellaard on drums
and Eveline Simons and Annemieke de Boer on keyboards. ILLUMION is just the
band for people, who want to hear something else
Reviewer: Toine van Poorten
Points : 8 out of 10