Disney Djent!
It was a slow week before a coming storm, so I took a swing at something I've never heard before. The early singles enticed me with the vocal allure of Fabienne Erni. Wikipedia informs me she started the band to earn her master's degree, and I hope she got it.
Another Side of You features several types of metal sub genres playing beneath that amazing voice. Erni sings like a Disney princess, which might be the reason they covered a song from Frozen 2 a few years ago. It's so smooth and pleasant, and even the soft Meshuggah guitars beneath it don't distract us from her. They keep the Disney sounds by being such a happy band. Many of the lyrics speak of love, community, and a happy future. Who does that any more? Much of the music accompaniment is peppy to match that, and one song even gives me Alicia Keys but loud vibes. The last half of the album gets a bit sadder, but it also becomes excessively 80's power ballad esq. Oh, and there's a theremin!
Skill: That voice is amazing, and the musicians are no slouches, either. 2/2
Variation: Djent, power, symphonic, power ballads, piano pop! There's even a song in (I assume) Swiss. 2/2
Bangers: Track one is certified! 1/2
Replayability: There are a few too many tracks, and the middle section kinda hampers it down for me. Keep in mind that I hate peppy songs. I kinda want to hear their first album, though. 1/2
Extra: Fourteen tracks comes out to just under an hour. I can't explain why, but most of this album didn't connect with me. It starts to pop on a second listen, but there's something lacking here. 1/2
Final Score: 7/10
Illumishade's second album is an eclectic mesh of a lot of things. Maybe that's why I'm not as high as I want to be on Another Side of You. But it's still a really fun experience that might be a good introduction to metal. It's definitely worth a listen or two.
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