Disillusion - Back To Times Of Splendor
- Released: 2004
- Label: Metal Blade Records
- Rating:
Back To Times Of Splendor is the debut album of the band Disillusion, but I still find it astonishing that THIS is a debut album as it stands as one of my all time faves. The album offers everything a music fan (not just a metal fan) looks for: album-energy, atmosphere, intelligent and mature arrangements, meaningful lyrics, a hell of a performance, and most importantly, originality. It’s an album like no other. I deem a fave album on what it can do for me and I believe it’s like that for everyone. A special album just does something that no other album can do. BTTOS does this – for me, anyway. This album simply affects me. Every time I listen to this album I am instantly transported from wherever I am to a field filled with dandelions, pussy willows, strong winds and the sound of a waterfall in the distance. Of course, every track takes me someplace different.
The album is highly experimental and chock-full of artistic vision and integrity – an album without label boundaries and without a conscience of “what’s in” – just pure emotion recorded onto a CD. It’s brilliant. The album features a mixture of styles delving into nearly every single sub-genre of the metal platform (death, thrash, progressive, etc.), but also delves into musical realms outside of the metal spectrum as well. An abundance of classical arrangements and jazzy interludes can be found scattered throughout the lengthy tracks, but it all blends so seamlessly together that it’s nearly impossible to tell as you’re too submerged in the music itself. Deciphering the music proves to be somewhat challenging as the technical prowess is magnificent without being a tiring experience.
The album, I believe, is a concept album. I believe lost love is a strong point to this album, but also the journey traveled by each and every individual on earth. It’s a truly powerful album, but not just due to the lyrics; it’s also due to the presentation itself. You can almost feel the passion. The album is also very, very progressive meaning (in this case) it never stays in the same place for too long. Every track is fairly lengthy but is never stale as there’s always so much going in the album. It is also very unpredictable with arrangements that surprised even me.
The lyrics are definitely one of the strong points of the album. They are clear in what the band is trying to say, yet vague to their actual meaning, which results in deciphering. The beauty of this is that the lyrics can mean something different to everyone and are therefore more personal and emotional. Good stuff!!! I assure you however that the music that is being played during this track absolutely serves the lyrics well. It takes me to a darkened lake, very atmospheric and relaxing…yet depressing at the same time. It’s not only lyrical but poetic as well.
The vocals are handled very well. Main man Vurtox has a powerful clean voice and a great rough voice. When clean it is often fairly high-pitched, but not to an annoying extent. His rough vocals are just as good. They are not quite a death metal delivery nor are they a thrashy delivery. They mee somewhere in between. Don’t let the rough vocals turn you off however – this is merely used for effect at certain points of the song, not for “brutality’s sake” and the lyrics still remain understandable. Also, for those who don’t like rough vocals, they are evenly balanced with the clean vocals, coming into play at different times. I feel the clean vocals are used more than the rough vocals anyways. One problem with his voice, however, is that his clean voice is sometimes too weak for the grandiose image he’s trying to portray. He also loses his tone sometimes and can’t keep a note. This is very rare, however, and does not detract one bit from the experience. I also find the rough vocals just aren’t deep enough and sometimes ruin the effect he’s striving for. This is also very rare.
I should also state that it took this band over a year and a half to simply WRITE this album and 8 months to record. Not a second was wasted, obviously. The album is sometimes very catchy but not up-front. It took awhile for it to sink in and one day I was walking down the street humming a tune, but I had no idea what tune it was. I would later realize that it was a track off this album.
Let’s do the track by track breakdown!
1. And the Mirror Cracked: Sets the pace for the album perfectly. There is NO corny intro or the overused “keyboards gradually getting louder” effect. As soon as you press play you’re “introduced” to a nice rip-roaring, melodic deathy thrash riff that knocked me on my ass. The opening is very thrashy in nature with small sound effects used deep in the background for future discovery. Vurtox then proceeds to passionately and tastefully yell into the mic with a metalcorish voice and the ride begins. What I love is the progression with this track. The clean and rough vocals are balanced perfectly with rough vocals during the verses and clean vocals during the powerful chorus. Suddenly, an unexpected soft part comes on and the song takes a totally unexpected turn from angrily describing anguish to yearningly singing to see a loved one again. I absolutely love the riff found in the soft part blended with the acoustic. Very melodic, very moving. We then explode back to the heaviness and boom! You’ve already gotten your money’s worth.
2. Fall: This is a strange song with a very weird structure to it. Obviously it was meant to experimented with. I’m reminded of the band Pain of Salvation in that it sounds very much like something they would do. It features a great stop and go acoustic riff along with strange melody. It’s a great track, but I didn’t much care for the somewhat annoying chorus. Everything else besides that is pure gold. It’s something you can just sort of flail your limbs wildly to – think Elaine from Seinfeld. There are only clean vox used in this track and while it’s one of the weaker tracks, it’s still great – it just doesn’t keep the powerful undertones that the rest of the album possesses….still cool though.
3. Alone I Stand In Fires: This is another great track – it’s got a modern feel to it which I totally dig – very poppy metalcorish. It starts off with a strange riff and moves into another strange and original vocal delivery. It was meant to be delivered with a certain angst-filled matter to it and it works. It’s very original until it gets to the chorus, which is a very powerful ‘core moment with lyrics that just totally suit it. Vurtox uses a very nasal approach and goes off key on purpose during delivery to add to the mood – which absolutely works. This track never stays in one place for too long and progresses from prog rock, to core, to thrash and poppy instances – well done.
4. “Back To Times Of Splendor”- The title track and hands down the best track of the album (which is saying something). The track kicks off with a very slow and sad sounding celestial violin. It’s brooding and moody which is great because it throws people off for what’s to come. Suddenly, you can hear piano keys come on and the flow of the song changes. A great riff, piano melody in the background and a faster playing violin all come together for a great sound song. We are then introduced to our friend Vurtox delivering his rough performance and mind-boggling lyrics. I love the chorus of this track, with the violin coming back for a truly powerful piece, gollowed by a jiggy maiden-esque riff. Of course, at 15 minutes it better be more than just that over and over again. Ya! The rest of the track has everything from jazzy bass beats, to quiet soft moments with atmospheric effects, to great build-ups to a killer guitar solo. This track has everything you’re looking for PERIOD!
5. “A Day By The Lake”: Next is the softer quiet track. Very atmospheric and has the best mood on the entire album. This track also flows with originality and is very moving. Along with it being the shortest track on the album, it’s also the least progressive. I find this track to be particularly relaxing and soothing, if not a little foreboding with its soft undecipherable whispers, profound lyrics and haunting melody. The only beef I have with this track is that it takes too long to get to where it wants to go. It starts very, very slow and continues at this pace for a little over a minute. I guess it’s made up for when all the guitars come on playing different melodies at once. It’s a powerful sound.
6. Sleep Of Restless Hours: We then end with another epic. This track is a very, VERY fine closure to an album. I always hate it when an album finishes on a low note after being so brilliant, especially when it’s followed by 20 minutes of inexplicable silence. Not this album though. This track features a very powerful chorus and great verses. Raw vocals and soaring melodies are balanced with great respect. I find Vurtox gives his best vocal performance on this track, especially when he screams “I DESPERATELY NEED TO REST” followed by a supremely hooky riff. Back to the chorus – it starts very slow the first time, but each time it’s repeated it gets stronger and stronger until finally everything comes together with multi-layered vocals and all instruments playing. I absolutely LOVE the ending too; it’s a great way to close the album. The middle gets a little repetitive but it only adds to the experience when it progresses.
This album can appeal to anyone who’s just looking for good music in general. With over 50 minutes of material, you’re getting your money’s worth. Everyone gives this album as much praise as I do because good albums entertain, but great albums affect. I await their next album with very high hopes. Oh, and by the way, Vurtox sounds like the name of a dish detergent or something. He should change that.
Brent C. | 06/26/2006