GLORIA

Thankfully, when I first listened to Gloria, I came in without the baggage of ever having listened to Back to Times of Splendor. Allow me a quick digression: Back to Times of Splendor was just such a perfect album that anyone having heard it first was probably a bit off-put by Gloria when it was released. I mean, the eclectic mix of sounds at work on this album is, at first glance, horrendous in comparison. And yet, listening to it with a clean slate, Gloria was a fantastic listen for me. Disillusion really know how to make an album interesting. Each track plays differently from the last and keeps your attention to hear what is coming up. Granted, there are a few failures in the mix--"Save the Past" is just a bit embarrassing, and "Avalanche" sounds like it should be better than it is. But those few missteps are more than made up for with the number of fine listens and the diverse range of genres they draw from on this album. "The Black Sea" brilliantly fuses their former death metal sound with the industrial influences prevalent on Gloria. "Too Many Broken Cease Fires," my favourite track here, has elements reminiscent of post-metal. The title track even has trace influences from dance music. This album is excellent, and a welcome addition to any collection.