CoC : Crematory - Illusions : Review

Crematory - _Illusions_
(Massacre, 1995)
by: Brian Meloon (5 out of 10)

If you liked their last two releases (1993's _Transmigration_ and 1994's _...Just Dreaming_), and if you like The Gathering, then you'll probably like this quite a bit, as it sounds much like a fusion of the two styles. Personally, I find it quite unsatisfying, first because the song structures are too simple, but also because it doesn't effectively create any kind of mood. There are dark sections (in the style of _JD_) which are immediately followed by light/happy/bouncy sections which just don't fit together in a cohesive fashion. The result is that this album comes across to me as a collection of riffs more than any single unified vision. The production is fine, as it was for their first two releases, although some of the keyboard patches sound a little cheap. The playing is good, but a little more restrained, especially the drumming. Of course, this is appropriate for the lighter sound of this album, but I found it a little disappointing, since the drumming was one of the things I liked the most about _JD_. I guess this really isn't that bad, but I just can't get into it ... then again, it's probably worth seeking out if you like gothic-type stuff and don't mind death metal vocals.

(article published 17/1/1996)

CHATS
19/10/2001	A Bromley	Crematory: The End Complete
14/9/1997	A Bromley	Crematory: Burn Baby Burn

ALBUMS
12/8/1997	A Bromley	7	Crematory - Awake