ALBUM REVIEWS
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ALBUM REVIEWS |
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Illuminatus
THE WRATH OF THE LAMBS ANTHILL / PINNACLE 12.5.08 @www.vanguard-online.co.uk It’s taken more than a few listens to start to appreciate where Illuminatus are coming from with ‘The Wrath of the Lambs’ and I don’t think I’m quite there yet. It’s been a regular on my Mp3 player for over two weeks now and I’m still of the opinion something is missing but I’m damned if I can put my finger on it. The promo accompanying the CD states, ‘for Illuminatus there is no scene, no bandwagon, no fashion war, they play with pure passion and honesty’ and maybe that’s the crux of my confusion. I’m just not ready for no frills Metal. The album shows promise with tracks like ‘Captive state’ and ‘Wait’ that project a social conscious through Julio Taylor’s gravelly vocals backed by some classic doom riffing. The title track of the album has a promising start right up until you realise its ended and only then do you realise that it was an instrumental and it’s this feeling that each track never quite reaches its potential before merging subconsciously into the next one. Their ability to write hard hitting, gritty lyrics is clearly evident within the opening lines of ‘Fear.control’ that would stir a conscience in all but the coldest of souls proclaiming that ‘Behind these cardboard trenches where you buy your conscience clean’, pure metal poetry. This similar train of thought continues on ‘Black’ and ‘Wargasm’ which are my favourites off the album as they tend to stand out from the crowd. Their efforts have secured support slots with the likes of Nightwish, Saxon and Paradise Lost which means they should be destined for greater success in 2008 and maybe it’s in the live area that I should look for the missing piece to this puzzle that is Illuminatus. So, as a debut album it promises much but just misses the mark, hopefully that missing piece will come in time with subsequent releases and, if the music industry has any sense, their signature on that elusive record deal. www.illuminatus.uk.com |