Последний рассвет

Thankfully, Illidiance have managed to address some of my more recent concerns with this single "Последний рассвет," the second of two released within the last few months. The band seems content to spoonfeed us good songs piecemeal like this, but I really wish they would just hunker down and release another full-length. Their style is one that veers dangerously close to Ektomorf bro-metal territory but manages to put the burners on at just the last minute, somehow benefiting greatly from this genre mashup. We get the esoteric synths, groove-inflected riffage that siphons more heaviness from the production than the riffing construction itself, and of course Syrex's great clean vocals, cut directly from the early Scar Symmetry mold. Many of the recent songs have neglected to allow the clean vocals to take hold like they did on "Neon Rebels" and "Shockwave," so it's nice to have that back.

But "Последний рассвет" is hardly anything mind-blowing when looking at Illidiance's best work. It'd fit nicely on Damage Theory but is wholly outclassed by "Neon Rebels" and the like. The formula is familiar by this point; rushing to the refrain and filling in the gaps with chunky riffage not entirely unworthy of existence on its own. The band has a good grasp on borderline djent-esque breakdowns and the drums always lock into a memorable cadence beneath the remainder. One final complaint is the fact that the song seems far too short! By the time you are finally appreciating it, the outro is playing. Bummer.

Either way, it's awesome to see that these Russians are still capable of delivering the goods, and are cogent of the fact that they should get back to their earlier sound. The other single "Когда грянет гром" seemed like a one-off ballad-esque number, but it wasn't anywhere near the quality of "I Want to Believe," so the jury is still out, from a certain point of view. Full-length is next, I hope.