Illuminate the Path

An Abstract Illusion is one of the best bands that I have found recently. They have started out in 2007 and released their first EP "Atonement is Nigh" in 2014. Their debut "Illuminate the Path" was released in 2016 and it is, in my opinion the album of the year.

The band plays a combination of progressive death metal with atmospheric and black metal elements. The music is very complex and cannot be classified into a single genre. The sounds on this album can be described as atmospheric, cold and harsh. Similarities can be found with bands like Opeth, Fleshgod Apocalypse, Wintersun, Negura Bunget and Windir. There is even a cover of the song "Svartesmeden och Lundamyrstrollet" by Windir on the album. The black metal drums are similar to the fast drums of Fleshgod Apocalypse and Negura Bunget and the atmospheric parts are similar to the samples of Wintersun. These bands are all very different from each other and that can give an idea about the vast range of musical genres mixed into building this beautiful album.

The vocals and lyrics are definitely a highlight of this band. Most of the vocals are harsh but there are also some clean vocals on some songs. I find the alternation of harsh and clean vocals in the middle of the song "Drop This Planet of Dust" to be the best vocal section of the album. Overall the harsh vocals are often layered creating an echo-like sound and holding long notes at the end of each line. The lyrics are very well written as well, with a choice of words that blends in perfectly with the rest. Also the lyrics are guaranteed to get you thinking. Some approached themes are death, transcendence, nature and the human condition. Most of the lyrics are written in English but some of them are written in Swedish. These are the lyrics to the song "Vakuum". It is one of the oldest songs of the band, written in their early years. I also believe this song to be the best that the band has ever written.

In terms of composition the songs are complex and various bringing forth many musical ideas and personalities. The overall sound is rather atmospheric than aggressive. Therefore, groovy riffs are not found a lot on the album. This means that the music is a bit difficult to understand and requires a few spins. Some bits of the album though, such as the intro of the song "Vakuum" the guitar solo of "Drop This Planet of Dust" or the ending section of "Skeletons of Light" are quite easy to catch and are some of the best parts of the album.

An Abstract Illusion is a 3 man project. Karl Westerlund is on guitars, Robert Stenvall deals with keyboards and clean vocals, leaving the harsh vocals and drums to Christian Berglönn. With this line up I don't know if the band performs any live shows. However this album has proven their skill as musicians combining many genres while keeping a balance in the music and not overdoing anything. Despite being a small unknown band, the music is top level. I find An Abstract Illusion to be a "great unknown" meaning that they are highly underrated. In today's musical world, for an artist that doesn't play catchy music and cannot perform live shows it is very hard to be noticed, yet it doesn't mean that they are worth any less than a famous artist. "Illuminate the Path" is an absolute gem of Swedish magnificence and it should be listened without any prejudice, and instead, with patience and an open mind. It is complex, original and very emotional. I believe it is totally worth your time.

Enjoy!

An Abstract Illusion is a recent project, having started in 2007. However what they've accomplished with this record proves that they have a lot of potential for the future. "Illuminate the Path" is an incredible journey, combining styles like atmospheric black metal at times with progressive death metal and some post-metal here and there. From instrumental songs (2 of them, preparing the listener to what is coming next) to longer tracks ("Skeletons of Light" being the longest with 16 and a half minutes), there's a bit of everything in here. All this was put together, giving their all to deliver what may be one of the best albums of the year. And that says a lot because this is their first full-length album, having only released an EP two years ago. That being said, it is definitely an album the metal community as a whole should check out.

In terms of vocals, it's an album with plenty of death growls intertwined with clean vocals here and there, which itself isn't anything new but it is nevertheless an excellent delivery. The growls are very well performed but in my opinion it's the cleans that really stand out because of how haunting they can be. The vocals are provided by Christian Berglönn, who took charge of delivering all the vocal work after Martin Strandell left the band in 2014. Berglönn also did the drums as he was already the drummer in their previous release and also did an amazing job at it. It will be interesting to see what happens next though. Will they recruit someone new to take the role as the lead vocalist or will Berglönn continue to perform both vocals and drums in their next albums and live shows?

Although the drums and the singing take very important parts in this record, it's the combination of the guitars and keyboards that really provide all the atmosphere of it. The incredible leads mixed with some strong riffs will take you fly away and the keyboards provide the icing on the cake, giving this album even more atmosphere and ambience. Amazing work.

The lyrics are also amazingly well written, being almost entirely in English though not all with Vakuum being the only song that they wrote in their mother language, Swedish, alongside the cover they did of Windir's "Svartesmeden och Lundamyrstrollet".

I could go on and on but I'm going to finish by saying that you really should check this album out. If your experience is similar to mine then I hope you spread the word of how amazing An Abstract Illusion is. If this was not what you were looking for or if it disappointed you, there's a lot of other albums out there, a lot of them released this year (this was that incredible of a year for metal music despite not being a very good year in general), that I'm sure you'll like. Nevertheless, this is an album that should be explored and this is a band that should be respected and praised.