Dark Illusion – Where The Eagles Fly

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It took four years from their debut album to record this follow-up, probably down to the busy schedule of singer Thomas Vikström more than anything, and the UK release comes several months after the Swedish one. In a backwards step from their excellent Beyond The Shadows album, which was a classic of dark power metal, this album is far more derivative. Most of the songs sound like a mix of Helloween and Saxon where more often than not Vikström’s vocals are the only highlight. Most of the songs, like Land of Street Survivor, Destiny’s Call and Dark Journey are fun enough, but the feeling that it’s all been done before is inescapable. Only the Saxon-ish groove of Evil Masquerade hints at the sound of the first album. Even closer Epic is far from it at 4:39 with one final power-metal-by-numbers riff. Vikström demonstrates the high end of his range very well on this album, particularly compared to his work with Candlemass and on the first Dark Illusion disc, but there’s only so much he can do to save generic songs like these. Fans of Helloween, Stratovarius or Vikström’s previous power metal band Stormwind may find enough to enjoy here to make it a necessary purchase, but others should look elsewhere for something more original.

Written by Andy Lye
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