Disillusion – Gloria
Metal Blade Records - 23 October 2006
by Tom Strutton
Disillusion’s follow up to 2004’s wonderful Back to Times of Splendour is an ambitious stylistic departure for the band, bound to disappoint some and enthral others purely on this ground. However, taken as a self-contained entity Gloria is an absolutely superb album, in equal measures surprising and exciting. Progressive in a non-obvious way, there is something very alluring about Gloria’s take on dark electro-metal chic that - though apparent on first listen - demands repeated spins, which help get to the heart of the thought processes behind its lovingly considered construction. The fact that this album feels warm and organic indicates that Disillusion have pulled off the difficult combination of electronica and metal with admirable results, striding across both genres with apparent confidence and effortlessness.
Gloria’s greatest achievement is its handling of textures; one moment we are hit by a wall of sound akin to a freight train, the next we are hypnotized by a quirky, snaking guitar line. Such events are presented in a playful and non-too-serious manner that suggests the band had a hell of a lot of fun devising different ways to subvert audience expectations. Who said accomplished and mature music cannot be fun? At the centre of proceedings, vocalist Schmidt’s crooning vocal lines give the satisfying impression of a self-awareness that this is not going to please everyone. This is the sound of a band that have made music for themselves, and - first and foremost - a band acutely aware of the potentially unexplored areas of our twenty-first century musical imagination. And the production value is sweet too, though some might throw accusations of overproduction blinded to the notion that this is stylistically appropriate and accentuates Gloria’s modernist compositions.
Highlights among the eleven mid-length tracks are hard to choose (it is definitely one of those albums that goes from strength to strength), although the title track is worthy of particular note for its sumptuous classical choral elements and uber-cool reiterated lyric ‘it’s warlike in the streetlight’. ’Aerophobic’ is an excellent instrumental track with an addictive dance beat that starts quietly and builds to a huge crescendo with mammoth layered guitars. More conventional industrial-tinged metal forms the basis of second track ’Dread It’ and personal favourite ’The Hole we are In’. In conclusion, though Gloria comes highly recommended, it must be noted that this is a huge departure from previous albums and should be approached as an autonomous creation…one of the best this year.
9/10
UM’s Review Rating Scale
Official Disillusion Website
Official Metal Blade Records Website
Metal Blade Records - 23 October 2006
by Tom Strutton
Disillusion’s follow up to 2004’s wonderful Back to Times of Splendour is an ambitious stylistic departure for the band, bound to disappoint some and enthral others purely on this ground. However, taken as a self-contained entity Gloria is an absolutely superb album, in equal measures surprising and exciting. Progressive in a non-obvious way, there is something very alluring about Gloria’s take on dark electro-metal chic that - though apparent on first listen - demands repeated spins, which help get to the heart of the thought processes behind its lovingly considered construction. The fact that this album feels warm and organic indicates that Disillusion have pulled off the difficult combination of electronica and metal with admirable results, striding across both genres with apparent confidence and effortlessness.
Gloria’s greatest achievement is its handling of textures; one moment we are hit by a wall of sound akin to a freight train, the next we are hypnotized by a quirky, snaking guitar line. Such events are presented in a playful and non-too-serious manner that suggests the band had a hell of a lot of fun devising different ways to subvert audience expectations. Who said accomplished and mature music cannot be fun? At the centre of proceedings, vocalist Schmidt’s crooning vocal lines give the satisfying impression of a self-awareness that this is not going to please everyone. This is the sound of a band that have made music for themselves, and - first and foremost - a band acutely aware of the potentially unexplored areas of our twenty-first century musical imagination. And the production value is sweet too, though some might throw accusations of overproduction blinded to the notion that this is stylistically appropriate and accentuates Gloria’s modernist compositions.
Highlights among the eleven mid-length tracks are hard to choose (it is definitely one of those albums that goes from strength to strength), although the title track is worthy of particular note for its sumptuous classical choral elements and uber-cool reiterated lyric ‘it’s warlike in the streetlight’. ’Aerophobic’ is an excellent instrumental track with an addictive dance beat that starts quietly and builds to a huge crescendo with mammoth layered guitars. More conventional industrial-tinged metal forms the basis of second track ’Dread It’ and personal favourite ’The Hole we are In’. In conclusion, though Gloria comes highly recommended, it must be noted that this is a huge departure from previous albums and should be approached as an autonomous creation…one of the best this year.
9/10
UM’s Review Rating Scale
Official Disillusion Website
Official Metal Blade Records Website
