Illusion Suite Final Hour
by Justin Gaines
Staff Writer
Final Hour is the 2009 debut offering from Illusion Suite, a Norwegian progressive metal band poised to make a serious impact on the genre. How do we know this? Final Hour had barely hit shelves when the band was tapped to play at the 2010 ProgPower USA festival. Invariably, the relatively unknown bands selected to play the festival end up going on to do quite well. This is where Mercenary, Raintime Circus Maximus and Pathosray got their big breaks, and with luck it will prove fortuitous for Illusion Suite as well.
On to the album. Final Hour is a traditional progressive metal album, very much in the Dream Theater mold, but with a few surprises. For one thing, the album gets downright heavy at times, which is something prog metal bands tend to neglect. There’s a heaviness here not unlike Angra or Brainstorm, and it’s balanced by a good degree of melody. There is also a high degree of technical proficiency on display here, though it rarely gets to the “wankery” point. The guys show off their chops, but not so much that it distracts from the songs. The vocals are the real highlight of Final Hour. Bill Makatowicz has a tremendous range, hitting high notes and deathly growls (kept to a minimum) with equal power and precision. The guy sounds like a cross between Edu Falaschi and Andi Deris, which is a major compliment.
As far as standout tracks on Final Hour, you have to acknowledge the 15-minute monster “The Adventures of Arcan,” but powerhouse album opener “The Wire” and closer “A Ghost From the Past” provide the best overview of Illusion Suite’s sound.
Ultimately, your enjoyment of this album is going to come down to your view on progressive metal in general. If you’re a big fan of the genre and haven’t reached a point where these bands start to blend together, Illusion Suite is probably going to be the most exciting band to come along in quite some time (since Pathosray’s debut at least). If you’re at the point where it takes something truly spectacular to impress you, you may still want to give Final Hour a spin. They’re not anything really new, but they’re awfully good at what they do, and are impressive enough to stand out from the pack.
Label: Limb Music
Track Listing:
1. The Wire
2. Scarlet Skies
3. The Devil in Your Heart
4. Once We Were Here
5. A Moment To Remember
6. The Passage
7. Pandora’s Box
8. The Adventures of Arcan
9. A Ghost From the Past
Lineup:
Bill Makatowicz – Vocals
Oyvind Larsen – Guitar
Dag Erik Johnsen – Bass
Roger Bjorge – Drums
Ketil Ronold – Keyboards
Hardrock Haven Rating: 7.5/10