FINAL HOUR

A solid debut from Norwegian melodic progressive metal band, Illusion Suite--definitely worth a listen for any die-hard prog metal fan. In particular, the opening track ("The W.I.R.E.") is a shining example of what this band is capable of.

I originally picked this album up on a whim because the sticker on the front likened them to Pagan's Mind (one of my favorites) and Circus Maximus. Actually, it said: "Illusion Suite belong to the leaders of the Norwegian Prog Metal scene beside Pagan's Mind and Circus Maximus. "Final Hour" is a musical masterpiece without any weaknesses whatsoever." Well... I didn't find it to be that exactly, but I was not disappointed

The songs are definitely guitar-driven with a lot of riffing, multi-part vocals, substantial keyboard presence, and occasional power metal elements (e.g., double-bass pedal passages). However, extended song structure and exploration of a variety of musical elements definitely earn them the prog metal label. They also have one track (A Moment to Remember) that includes a guest female vocalist who performs a duet with Makatowicz. Unfortunately, the female vocal lines sound far too much like nü metal and don't really add much to the song.

One complaint about this album is that the songs are thematically disjoint. At first glance, it seems like there should be an overarching theme or concept connecting the tracks. However, when you dig deeper you find that such a connection doesn't exist. This is probably due to the fact that they have re-used a lot of earlier material from their earlier EPs/demos. "Final Hour" includes 2 tracks from 2004's "Demo One" and all 5 tracks (minus the intro) from 2005's "The Adventures of Arcan" EP. Which leaves only 3 new tracks on this album ("The W.I.R.E.", "A Moment to Remember", and "A Ghost from the Past"). However, this is a common problem on debut albums... so we can't hold too much against them.

Bottom line: this album is a solid 3 stars. Songs like "The W.I.R.E.", "A Ghost from the Past", and the 15 minute long "The Adventures of Arcan" show a lot of promise of good things to come. This is definitely a band worth keeping an eye on.