ETHERNITY is a name that was appearing regularly like a geostationary satellite, constantly present in my radars since the early 2000's! From the ultra fervent opening sequences of "False Lamentations" full of blistering orchestrations, to the closing patterns of the long epic apotheose of "Obscure Illusions", the Elite of Belgian Progressive Power Metal bunch, known under the ETHERNITY moniker provides, a constant stream of dense and bombastic Metal ("XIII"), musically very near of the North American tradition with large emphasis on the Dark colors inherited from the Scandinavian fashion...Unluckily, the vocal style of Julie Colin is a major letdown for me, despite her good range, she holds a decent technique but the vocal mode is a little too polished, it restrains the natural expansion of their Metallic sound by giving a too clinical hermetic impression ("Alone"), at least to these ears!

The third track "Shadows On The Wall" which by the way, retrospectively was the ideal choice for their second video-single is giving the potentiality of a saving solution, this song is giving a new lightning up to their style with a more straightness in the guitar shape and in the riffage method...Both are enhanced by once a new found dynamic in the soaring singing parts! Created in collaboration with skilled guitarist, talented songwriter and famed producer Simone Mularoni (EMPYRIOS/DGM) at the Italian Domination Studio, the sound design is brilliant, fitting exactly the genre, in an almost flawless equilibrium, the mix reveal perfectly the synthetic textures and otherwise the more organic layers of this complex recording ("Rancor").

The addition to some guest vocalists, namely Kelly Sundown Carpenter (DARKOLOGY/ex BEYOND TWILIGHT/ex OUTWORLD/ex ADAGIO), Swedish citizen Tom Englund (EVERGREY) and Mark Basile (DGM/ex MIND KEY), is clearly an obvious marketing strategic move, absolutely a clever trick indeed, an asset for this album and it even could be considered like a proof of weakness in the lead vocal rôle ? Adding those three gifted and reputed male singers, is clearly an obvious secured tip, a great way to ensure success riding the wake of their past, as the material on offer in the great title track on this occasion is comparable to 2013's EPYSODE "Fantasmagoria" demonstrating their more ambitious theatrical tone and their experimental side.

To conclude, "Obscure Illusions" is a great way to introduce ETHERNITY, an encouraging starting album for a promising band, still in search for a maturity, yet a name that will be discussed again and again in a near future, I'm pretty convinced!