Illumishade Another Side of You

"ILLUMISHADE, the Swiss band founded in 2019 around Eluveitie singer Fabienne Erni and guitarist Jonas Wolf, will release their magical second album and Napalm Records debut under the title Another Side of You on February 16, 2024. Media composer and orchestrator Mirjam Skal (synths, arrangements), Yannick Urbanczik (bass) and Marc Friedrich (drums) complete the rising modern metal star. On Another Side of You, ILLUMISHADE balance between light and darkness with ease, while Erni's crystal-clear voice and engaging charisma shine brighter than ever. Jonas Wolf's pointed guitar playing awakens fire and emotions in equal measure, while a fresh dose of modern prog gives the band's sophisticated songwriting a new touch. Another Side of You follows the young band's debut album ECLYPTIC: Wake Of Shadows The second album takes a more modern approach lyrically and musically, but still takes fans into the familiar, fascinating world of ILLUMISHADE. This is full of fantastically captivating vocals and hypnotic soundscapes, which are reinforced in some places by the Budapest Art Orchestra. With Another Side of You, ILLUMISHADE lay the foundation for a new chapter and pave the way to a promising future.

After the intro, the opener "ELEGY" starts off sonically dark with heavy riffs and menacing melodies that find their counterpart in the chorus. The use of the theremin shows the band's willingness to experiment right from the start. Skal's ethereal, cinematic sounds lie heavy over the pounding rhythm section. This applies even more to the even more pressing "CYCLONE", which expands this approach further and becomes the progressive highlight of the album with its cinematic sounds, Meshuggah-esque lead guitars and a majestic finale. If Pink Floyd merged with Tesseract - it would probably sound exactly the same. Drummer Marc Friedrich particularly shines here with his varied, complex playing. On the other side is "Cloudreader", a very accessible number that lies on the listener's heart like a warm autumn sun. The extremely dynamic drum work gives the song a welcome twist, while the modern metal fireworks "Here We Are" impresses with its powerful chorus and an exciting, varied middle section. Of course, ILLUMISHADE are no strangers to ballads. "Fairytale" is full of emotions and proves once again that Fabienne Erni is rightly considered one of the most talented singers in the current metal scene. The piece brings back memories of her extremely strong performance on ECLYPTIC's "Rise". Jonas Wolf's instrumental performance is consistently at the highest level, but "Fairytale" and the power metal homage "In The Darkness" with huge riffs and leads are particularly noteworthy. Wolf combines impressively nimble guitar playing with soulful melodies that caress Erni's vocals and precisely selected blues nuances, and once again underlines his position as an outstanding musician.

On the modern metal hit "Riptide" the rhythm section shows one of their strongest performances. "TWILY" presents what is probably the catchiest riff on the album and brings modern sounds into focus. A big surprise awaits the fans in the last song "Verliebt". Accompanied by beautiful piano melodies contributed by Coen Jannsen from Epica, Fabienne Erni presents the soulful lyrics - like all the songs on the album, written by bassist Yannick Urbanczik - in Swiss German.

Another Side of You is proof of how much ILLUMISHADE have evolved in a short period of time - something that is rare in today's music landscape. Each playthrough allows you to discover something new and reveals additional timbres. ILLUMISHADE always stay true to their style and prove themselves to be one of the most exciting bands in the scene, whose light you are only too happy to follow into a promising future. "
Source: Napalm Records