Illusion FadesLocation: Athens, Greece – Genre: Gothic, Metal, Rock.

The Illusion Fades is one of the most popular and famous bands on the Greek Gothic scene has been active since 1990 and after all these years of commitment and the current Gothic rock styles.

Goth traditionalists (or puritans) have certain parameters of what does and does not constitute a Gothic act. These parameters tend to reduce the options for producing revolutionary work, which requires a skilled artisan to carve a masterpiece considering the limitations. If strict tradition was applied in Tokyo there would be very few bands that would be considered purely Goth – but we love hybridization in Japan!

But coming back to my point, its like whiskey – there are those who don’t mind blended whiskey and there are those who would only drink single-malt – and The Illusion Fades’ Psycho Burn, like a fine single-malt whiskey delivers a pure taste.

The sound on this album reflects the time and devotion the band has put into bringing all the core elements of Goth music into an album that delivers a refined product with dark ambient sounds and harder rock riffs all held together by the smoke-damaged, zombie-like vocals that would rival the most guttural grunts of some Germanic bands.

The careful use of analogue keyboards, voice samples at the start sets the stage for an album that burns with strong riffs in Full of Fire and Dead White Snow and softened sadness with Eyes of Sorrow, and the eerie tracks like Blood Ballad and Eyes of Sorrow. All compositions are in English ensuring maximum reach for the global Goth audience and the mature approach delivers a finely crafted album that any Goth enthusiast would enjoy.

My only complaints were:

  1. iTunes couldn’t pick up the album data (song title, artist, etc.);
  2. It took me a while to realize the band’s name was The Illusion Fades (Psycho Burn sounded cool to me);
  3. My browsers had different problems with the band Web site (perhaps it was made for Opera). However, their MySpace and YouTube accounts work fine.

Igor’s final call on The Illusion Fades’ Psycho Burn is… BUY IT! This album is something that purists and hybridized Goths will enjoy listening to again and again (as I have been for the past few weeks along with Amy’s Arms. It is that fine single-malt whiskey you bring out on special occaisions (or every time if you are a purist)!

illusion-fades-large.jpgPsycho Burn :: Track List
1. Close to the Fall (0:46)
2. Full of Fire (4:37) *
3. Run through the Nightmare (4:08)
4. Dead White Snow (4:29) Sample
5. Blood Ballad (6:55)
6. Rebirth (3:49)
7. My Dust Shining (4:10)
8. A Useless Part (5:02)
9. Eyes of Sorrow (6:09)
10. Love to Me has Faded (4:19)
11. Whispers in the Dark (0:39)
12: Close Your Eyes (7:26)
* Listen to on MySpace (plus three tracks from other albums.
+ Dead White Snow Video Clip on the CD and online +
Total playtime minus the video: 51.:8

Check out the video for Dead White Snow

[youtube CqwrZtg3KH0]

As to getting more information on the band you can try their regular page, but it didn’t work at all for me so head across to their MySpace page for more.

Available from:
Contact the band or the label Dead Scarlet Records regarding distribution.