My Misanthropia

Ilium is one of those bands that has been active since the high point of the power metal explosion at the turn of the millennium, yet didn't quite leap into the same level of prominence as their contemporaries. Some of this could be chalked up to location as Australia didn't quite have the same degree of activity compared to mainland Europe, though there have been respectable showings from the likes of Black Majesty for the same general run of time, and older guard purveyors Dungeon made some waves at around the time Ilium was getting things started. In recent times they've managed to pull in a bit more attention, particularly when they became on of the destinations of former Riot vocalist Mike DiMeo following his very brief stint with Masterplan, and his exodus has since found this outfit signed with Nightmare Records and fronted by said label's founder Lance King, who has been a bit quiet as a vocalist in the studio for a few years, thus peaking the curiosity of some of us on the western side of the Atlantic.

The consequential sound that comes into being on My Misanthropia is somewhat curious, having many of the attributes of the high octane yet super-melodic character of a number of post-Helloween bands to hit the scene in Germany and Scandinavia about 15 years prior, but also importing more of the mid-paced progressive rock/heavy metal tendencies that have tended to embody many of Lance King's past efforts. The most obvious act that this resembles is Freedom Call, particularly the later albums just prior to Beyond where the speed and bombast was scaled back a bit and a somewhat more restrained character of sound emerged. This approach is very much conducive to King's vocals, which already have a heavily similar tinge to Chris Bay's soaring tenor wails, though in contrast to his extremely high work on Pyramaze and Balance Of Power, Lance doesn't hang around the top of his range the entire time and provides some deeper Geoff Tate inspired work to complement his head voice.

The comparisons to Freedom Call and a number of similarly light and upbeat power metal acts don't end with the vocals, and there are several key songs on here where Ilium all but challenges Freedom Call to move back to their glory days. The speed infused "Penny Black" and the nearly equally fast and super-catchy closer "The Cryptozoologist" are all but dead-ringers for a number of select classics off Crystal Empire minus the massive choral sections, and the soaring title song and opener "My Misanthropia" isn't far behind. Things cool off a bit with relatively up tempo but less crazy rockers like the galloping ode to tyranny "Godless Theocracies" and the riff happy "Zenith To Zero", but the overall edge this album possesses remains in tact. But like with several of the recent Freedom Call outings, this album comes with a couple of slower, plodding songs that are reasonably solid yet anticlimactic, particularly "Quetzalcoatl" and "Lingua Franca", which lyrically are actually a bit interesting as they delve into the dystopian science fiction realm from a political angle, but don't quite seal the deal musically.

As a whole, My Misanthropia comes off as strong yet fairly flawed, as the pacing gets thrown a bit by a continual sense of non-commitment to their area of strength, which is on the upper end of the tempo spectrum. Much of this album gets stuck in a quasi-progressive rut where greater variety is attempted, but the result is a series of jarring peaks and troughs that results in a fair degree of frustration. Instead of a sense of build up from a strong opening to an even stronger finish, this album rivets at the beginning and the end, while it almost seems to fight itself in order to maintain a sense of flow, resulting in a power song trading blows with a mediocre one for much of the middle of this thing. It showcases a fair degree of technical competency between the precision guitar riffing, fancy guitar solo work and attention-commanding vocal work, but inconsistent songwriting turns what could have been a great album into a mostly good one.

Tolkien said not all those who wander are lost. Lance King has done a bit of wandering himself, having been the vocalist for multiple bands over his long and industrious career. King continued expanding his musical journeys by joining up with Ilium, an Australian power metal group with a bit of a history under their belts. “My Misanthropia” is the name of this union between King and the Aussies, and it certainly has moments of sounding stuck and misplaced, giving its flares of brilliance out in only temporary intervals. Its biggest fault is found not in its style, but the wishy-washy songwriting, which is consistently inconsistent. At times Ilium strikes gold, but “My Misanthropia” veers off and screws up the attractive musical model Ilium has at its disposal.

Ilium stands on a cusp between Helloween and more melodic power metal bands based solely on “My Misanthropia,” which is baby’s first Ilium album. Lance King fits well into this mold, as his experience from having worked in multiple power metal groups leads to a comfortable transition to Ilium’s open-ended vision. Parts especially emulating the Helloween-esque underpinnings make King sound like a doppelganger to Michael Kiske, an affinity not worth tears. King’s vocal delivery is likewise synchronized to the variety of paces and foundations used on the record, finding no woe adapting to up-tempo power metal tracks or mid-paced, atmospheric numbers which populate the album plenty. I honestly anticipated King’s vocals were to tax Ilium’s style given his track record, but his consistency serves as the force preventing “My Misanthropia” from capsizing.

The songwriting, though ambitious, jumps on that grenade, often acting as the source of the periodic dud. Ilium’s problem isn’t a lack of variety—“My Misanthropia” has plenty—but a total absence of permanence between tracks. They have this awful habit of unleashing a mediocre tune in the middle of excellent songs, a pattern captured right off the bat when the mid-paced plodding of “Quetzalcoatl” sticks its head between the admirable title track and the blazing up-tempo power of “Penny Black.” “Lingua Franca,” another mid-paced bomb this time replicating Helloween’s stupid side à la “Dr. Stein” without the childish fun, carries the torch from “Penny Black” to the incredible power metal spectacle of “Godless Theocracies.” This variation continues once “The Hatchling” rolls around, and sure enough Ilium is back to farting around for a few minutes.

Only ones worth mentioning otherwise are “Orbiting a Sun of Sadness,” a track which moves into an ethereal atmospheric territory that is really something spectacular, and the up-tempo magic of “The Cryptozoologist,” whose speed and might make it the best cut here. The two songs paired between them slip back to dull measures, which unfortunately end up making “My Misanthropia” little more than a wash. Lance King sounds tremendous, and the instrumental competency of the group is outstanding, but the songs drop and rise at a pace that is too erratic to make “My Misanthropia” the album it could have been.

This review was written for: www.Thrashpit.com