Illusion - Special Edition

Being very impressed by MAB's debut album "Decay", I was eagerly awaiting their follow-up, "Illusion". While it was enjoyable, I was a little disappointed. It was undeniably softer, and worse, less weird, than Mab's usual output. It was more melancholic, more ballad-oriented. While a few of MAB's crazy and heavier songs were heard here and there, they felt almost out of place and gave the album an air of confusion and not knowing what it was trying to do.

Luckily, MAB also released a special edition of 'Illusion", consisting of Italian versions of some of the album's highlights, and which I'd recommend over the regular edition. It's shorter, but that's a good thing, because it chose most of the album's better songs. The really weird and out there tracks like "Leave me Alone", "Doctor Noise" and of course "Pretty Little Girl" are included there. They also chose one of the better ballads of the album, "Illusion", renamed "La Illusione", instead of the sappier ones like "April Rain".

However, I find their choice to end on "Honey River" (most of the Italian versions keep their English title, except "La Illusione" and "Buona Nova", formerly "Leave me Alone"), one of the duller songs on the album, somewhat questionable. It's also a shame that the other really wild tracks like "Motherfucking Magic" and "Johnny" were not included. I wouldn't have minded either if they had included another nice ballad, "La Vita", and one of the more enjoyable rock songs, "Razor".

I can't judge if the lyrics in Italian are better than their English counterparts, however, I'd say Alice Dionis sounds even crazier (in MAB's awesome way, of course) singing in her mother tongue. Her voice sounds more high-pitched, which makes her sound more emotional, but also more innocent, making her more aggressive singing parts, her shouting and her growling, even more unexpected.

Since these are the only changes from the original version that I have noticed, I can say that the songs have the same good points as their originals, so this review applies to both versions. "Pretty Little Girl" mixes fake innocence with creepiness and madness, sweet singing with hysterical screaming and weird laughter, it's about something that is creepy and dangerous, but we're not sure what. This truly represents what MAB is all about. Well, that and "Motherfucking Magic", with its almost thrash metal riffs, weird lyrics, angry screaming and operatic vocals and absurd sense of humor.

I often describe MAB's songs as "crazy" and "hysterical", but to them, it would not be an insult. They deliberately act weird and angry, and make it sound good. "Doctor, Noise?" is a good example of that portrayal of a confused and crazy mind, singing nonsensical lyrics, sometimes singing, sometimes sing-talking and sometimes yelling or growling, over music that sounds not quite like "Smells like Teen Spirit" and a bunch of other stuff.

MAB are good at portraying madness, but it turns out that they are also good at portraying other emotions, like pain or frustration, in a way that's just over the top enough. "Buona Nuova", for example, is a joyous bluesy rock number about kicking a former lover out. Maybe it's a more mundane topic for MAB, but it's a great example of a break-up song. I'm not sure what "La Illusione" is about,