Metal Archives

Hailing from Bologna, Disease Illusion is another band in the long and successful history of the Italian metal scene. “After The Storm…” is their second full length album in 12 years of existence. This might not be the most productive outcome one could imagine but quality over quantity they say and I am glad to report that this is a band exactly knowing where to want to go. I guess that something like 95% of my CD collection could be linked to some kind of Old School or traditional forms of Metal so when it comes to a modern take on the music it needs something special to get my attention. Disease Illusion have a few elements implemented in their sound which based on the description alone would make me turn around looking for something else. There are a lot of staccato riffs, some electronic sounding leads (not sure if those are created by using certain distortion pedals for the lead guitar or keyboard samples) and quite modern vocals ranging from more traditional growling over slightly nu-metal-sounding screams to some clean passages. The thing is that this guys are really great songwriters. Each song has addicting main chords that are accompanied by outstanding lead work. The lead guitars are always present in the background changing the mood of the single song and the respective parts creating an uplifting but often also slightly melancholic atmosphere. Generally speaking atmosphere is something that is very important for this band. Often they pitch softer parts consisting only of acoustic guitars and clean vocals against dark and gloomy sections. It speaks for the band’s songwriting abilities that the listener is going through the emotions while listening to this album. All pieces are put together to create something bombastic and touching. It has to be mentioned that singer Joy Lazari is a really big talent. Like mentioned above he switches between various styles with ease. The base tone is compiled of aggressive growls and heavy screams but in a few sections he gets the opportunity to show that he can actually sing. I have been arguing in the past that I am not a fan of clean vocals in extreme Metal (and vice-versa I cannot stand growling in my Power/Prog Metal records) but Disease Illusion have perfectly woven those parts into the songs and with a talented voice like this one such details are acceptable for me. The sound is punchy and crystal clear. Everything is quite bombastic and all the instruments can be perfectly heard. The mix is well balanced with a good balance between sounding crunchy but also giving all details enough room to breathe. “After The Storm…” is a record that should mainly appeal to fans of bands like Soilwork or Amorphis but Disease Illusion really managed to create their own sound here. Nice one.