Permian Dusk

Aussie power metallers Ilium are back with their second full length following 2003’s “Sirens of the Styx”. Now with Dungeon frontman Lord Tim on board tackling vocal duties, Ilium have all the hallmarks of a band right on the verge of breaking out. Unfortunately, it appears that we’ll have to wait for the next offering to find out, as “Permian Dusk”, while by no means bad, just isn’t quite ready for prime time.

The main problem I had with the debut was the singer – I absolutely could not stand his whiny, nasally voice, and it nearly ruined an otherwise solid offering. And while I wouldn’t place Lord Tim in the top tier of power metal singers, he is a drastic improvement (then again, the Aflac duck would have been a better choice than the old guy). Much as with “Sirens…”, the focus is largely on the twin-guitar attack that so proudly emulates the Maiden sound, sometimes a little too closely. Guitarists Smith and Hodges are the main cogs in the band, generally writing all the songs and lyrics, so it only makes sense that they would dominate.

The problems creep in, however, in the form of songwriting. At over fifty-six minutes for ten songs, things can get a little boring or samey at times. This problem is compounded by the fact that Ilium stick too closely to the traditional metal formula, rarely changing the tempo drastically. Sure, not every band need play 100 mph all the time, but 7+ minute long songs get boring when they plod along at the same mid-pace crunch the entire time. The same thing goes for most of the solos – they just seem so restrained, as if Hodges and Smith are afraid to really let loose. If you’ve got world-class songwriting ability (like Maiden), then you won’t need to rely on tempo changes and whatnot, but Ilium are guilty of some rather unexciting and overlong songs here.

I’ve listened to this thing quite a few times from beginning to end now, and I still have trouble differentiating between songs save for one or two. I certainly can’t say that it’s bad, because it’s not. Actually, if you’ve heard Dungeon, it’s just about what you might expect – slow things down a bit, keep the same production as on “One Step Beyond”, and generally make the songs just a little less catchy, and you’ve got “Permian Dusk”. Casually recommended to traditional/power fans, but not what I’d call a must-buy. Keep an eye on these guys, however, as their next album should determine whether they’re going to fulfill that potential or simply be relegated to the second-rate Maiden clone scrapheap.