Produced by Sedition
Released: 2008
Sedition's first album probably wasn't the greatest introduction to the world. Several years on and this Brisbane combo has served up their sophomore effort which is such a vast improvement that it could almost have come from a different band. With only the guitarists left in the band from the Arcane Secrets days, however, that could well be the truth.
As clunky as Arcane Secrets was, it showed that Sedition had some potential and this is the flowering of that potential. World of Illusion gets underway with "Aurora", an intro track that ends with a great tolling like large bells. This sort of thing is such a cliche among power metal bands now that it marks them as derivative and uninspired right from the get go, yet while it's true Sedition is hardly re-inventing the wheel here they are doing a lot more than just stringing together a bunch of well-worn ideas like many other bands of their ilk. The next track floats in on a raft of spidery synths that give way to a nice piece of guitar work from Simon Kelly and then the album takes off rather well. The songwriting is strong and apart from what appears to be a slight stumble in the title track (which is made up for later on by a deft bass solo from Simon Polhill), the arrangements are much, much better. Sedition displays classic power metal pretensions but at the same time adds a heavier element in a similar way to LORD, a band with whom they draw comfortable comparisons (LORD's current bass player is actually an ex-member of this group); Richard Ofsoski's vocals bear a strong resemblance to those of Lord Tim at times, though there are occasions where his notes aren't quite spot on.
Overall, with World of Illusion Sedition has delivered some well-played, well-produced and well-written power metal on an album with plenty of highlights and some remarkably heavy moments. The album's two longest songs,"Blessed are the Blind" and "Sins of the Father" are the definite high points, particularly the latter with its abundance of solos from Kelly and partner in axe weilding, Sinclair Newey. These and "Beyond Redemption" are the heaviest too with an almost thrash-like crunch. "Last Man Standing" on the other hand is a bit of a dull spot and impedes the momentum but in the majority World of Illusion is a pretty solid slice of Australian heavy metal.
- Aurora
- Do You Believe
- World of Illusion
- Last Man Standing
- Blessed are the Blind
- Sins of the Father
- Beyond Redemption
- My Last Breath
- Utopia
Rating: 87%
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