California is home to an abundance of great Metal bands. From the giants of the Bay Area Thrash scene, right down to the Oakland's Stoner superstars, like SLEEP and ACID KING. In short, the area around San Francisco has produced great bands from across the Metal spectrum. But almost 200 miles away from this Metal paradise lies the city of Fresno; a city with very little Metal credentials, other than it is the home of BODY COUNT's guitarist Ernie C. It has a small but fertile underground scene, out which Progressive Metallers ILLUDRIA came just a couple of short years ago. Having gained a reputation for themselves extremely quickly in their hometown, they have finally released their debut record, "Sentient", which is an interesting release.

It opens with a short keyboard intro which is strongly reminiscent of old dance hall music. When the first proper track, "Prime Meridian", kicks in, it's clear why they've have gained a following so speedily; they couple some crazy jazz-esque guitar lines with harsh Metal vocals. It's an interesting mix that works surprisingly well. The keyboard and the drums often work in order to complement each other. This song seamlessly flows into the following track "Eden", which opens with some great keyboard and guitar work. It's decent, and in some aspects, notably through the way that the keyboards are utilised, it's quite unique. Jonathon Simpson's keyboard playing is incredibly good, and he incorporates a lot of musical elements into his playing which, to many, would seem a million miles away from Metal or even Rock. In particular, some of his music is strongly reminiscent of Victorian/Edwardian Music Hall tunes. "Sleep Walking" is more or less a straight-forward Progressive Metal tune song, as is the songs after it, "House of Cards". The keyboard in this particular song plays a sharp, classical influenced, waltz style piece over the top of the track, and it works brilliantly. The second half of the album features some great instrumental tracks, such as "Cognitive Dissonance" and the brilliant, Celtic influenced "Terrarium". This album is, overall, fantastic; however, there are one or two ways in which they could improve. The main way in which I think this band could move forward is by making each track stand out from the others. At times, many of the songs run into the following one, and it's hard to tell where one song ends and another begins. It is great that some of the tracks blend into each other, but it makes it hard to choose a single, stand out tune on this record. In every other regard, this album is stunning.

If you like Progressive Metal, you will find a wealth of great material on this album. Whereas some Progressive acts tend to focus on over the top technical wizardry, these guys actually attempt to make each individual instrument complement the others and strengthen the various elements on offer here. With any luck, this album will gain a lot of attention, and see these guys reach the same heady heights as the juggernauts of the San Francisco Bay Area.