I can’t say that much has passed through the hallowed doors of Iain Wetherell’s Premier Studios and made much of an impression on me; the production normally compliments the bands sounds perfectly. I suppose this is the case with this five track E.P. from Berkshirians THIS ILLUSION. Not a band I’ve ever heard of considering they’re not based too far away from me, but apart from locality issues what really intrigued me before listening to this was the fact that ex-PITCHSHIFTER drummer Jason Bowld battered the skins on this release, but I don’t think he’s the full time drummer before the rumour mill starts.
What’s interesting about this E.P. is that it is a mixing pot of a whole load of different genres which, rather seamlessly, gives them their sound. I can hear metal, punk and dashes of hardcore on every track, but what’s halting this from becoming an imminently brutal aural experience is that there is an overriding commercial rock element throughout which keeps things nice and melodic and more noticeably accessible, again, the production is worthy of credit here.
Whilst blending together a load of influences can strain bands beyond recognition, THIS ILLUSION have seemed to have found a way to keep it all together in a flowing fashion which isn’t an easy task. But while this E.P. succeeds there it doesn’t really push things at the other end of the scale. What I mean here is that this is a very safe release. It doesn’t have the x-factor that will make them stand out from the crowd. Don’t get me wrong though, these songs are well written and very polished, but there’s just a shortage of explosives; it’s limited in va va voom. The metal breakdowns just don’t hit home hard enough, the lead guitar just doesn’t make that killer riff you’re hoping for and the vocal melodies just don’t have that clawed hook which will pull you back again and again.
THIS ILLUSION show a lot of promise on this release; they’re clearly competent enough musically, have the right influences and the right sound to cause some damage, but this E.P. just isn’t quite there yet. However, they must be commended on pulling off a vast array of influences in their song writing, something that will stand by them in future releases I’m sure.
www.thisillusion.com
Casket Music
Mike