CHILDREN

Iluvatar is one of the bands I discovered thanks to PA with the stream song Late of Conscience and I love the band ever since. So the least you can do is buy their albums and review them. I already did so with their debut album and now it's time for the second, Children.

The album opens with Haze, an energetic song showing the heavy side of Iluvatar. To me Iluvatar is an atmospheric band with great dreamy compositions, a bit like Clepsydra but still with a different sound. But here they show they are also capable of playing the harder stuff. Great song, 3,75*.

In our Lives is a song where the children they obviously made the album about are actually present as a choir, albeit for a short while. Nice idea and it works ok I believe. Nice song as well. 3,5*.

Given Away is one of the many tracks of this album where the electric guitar plays a prominent role. Dennis Mullin knows his job for sure. 3,75*.

Late of Conscience is the stream track I was talking about and up till today I think it's a terrific composition. One of the best songs they ever made I know by now. 4,25*.

Cracker lives up to its title because it's a cracking song, again pretty energetic. 3,5*.

Eye next to Glass is the ballad of the album, nice song but not the best to be honest. 3,25*.

Your darkest Hour can be judged the same way, though slightly better. 3,5*.

The Final Stroke is the other highlight to me and also the longest track of the album. By far the best composition with great variation. 4,5*.

I can come to the conclusion here that Children is a slight improvement compared to their excellent debut. I keep saying it as often as I can: Iluvatar is an underrated band. But of course that's also a matter of taste and preference. 4 stars well deserved.