Band:	Disillusion
Album:	Back To Times Of Splendor
Style:	Extreme progressive metal
Release date:	April 2004

01. ...And The Mirror Cracked
02. Fall
03. Alone I Stand In Fires
04. Back To Times Of Splendor
05. A Day By The Lake
06. The Sleep Of Restless Hours

I guess it's one of those few records that either you get or you probably never will. It's not the most original piece of work but to me by far the most beautifully arranged. Yes, no preface, no fancy words and bland introduction about where they are coming from, for how long they existed and so on. I think what's more interesting is that over the years I ran across many comments online where people say thing like, "first I heard Opeth and I didn't get it - then I heard Disillusion and now I do" and "this is what introduced me to death metal". I can totally share the sentiments because I experienced the same myself.

The album starts heavy and it may be misleading to some people. It was to me when I first heard it. My first impression was probably, "Ooh this is cool, I hope this goes on", but even the opener lets you realize there is a greater picture here. There is a concept. I've heard concept albums before (and felt ashamed when, as a kid, out of all my friends I was the only one who didn't get Dream Theater's Metropolis Pt. 2 at all) but I don't remember feeling it through the music until this band came along. The focus is never on endlessly rumbling, ball-kicking metal riffs - they are but a part of the whole idea, to create impact when needed. Back To Times Of Splendor is just so well-written. The band masterfully escalates the emotional impact when needed, or goes into the background when needed. It never gets excessive with any of the instruments or the vocals. Also there are many layers to it - you can discover a lot of nuances and new harmonies over time.

I was perplexed about how the record sounds; by the time of hearing it, I was already used to overly compressed, fully processed, mainstream-sounding, wall of sound imitations that modern metal bands have and here you don't have that. It was mixed by a guy who is virtually unheard of in the mixing world (correct me if I'm wrong but Google even offers search correction when looked up), and that is probably the reason why it sounds... Alive. Colorful. Intimate, in a way. I think that is one of the most important reasons why it hooks and draws the listener in. It creates an aural world, one that would not exist if the production had gone differently.

It's also strange how I had problems with the vocals: upon the first experience I very much wanted the powerful, shrieking and sharp voice I was used to from my favorite singers, but over time I became so fond of it I believe I wouldn't have it any other way. Partly now nostalgia, but also because Andy Schmidt used his voice in a dynamic range and styles you don't hear very often in the genre, from whispering and low-key speech through growling to his own achievable clean heights.

It totally withstands the test of time and it's a testimony of the brilliance that could be achieved in extreme music.

I just love it.