Out of the ruins of Hellstream rises Illusion Of Clarity, a great new band from Sweden. They play a clear toned but eclectic brand of Progressive Metal. I prefer the name Illusion Of Clarity for a prog band anyway,  Hellstream is more appropriate to a Doom Metal band, I think.
The guitar-work is great, neoclassical at times and crunchy at others. The music is quirky and cool. The drummer is pretty fast but keeps in interesting, instead of succumbing to the boring drum-work you frequently find in this genre. The singer has a cool, high voice and performs some neat vocal harmonies. His singing is accentless but a little difficult to understand, due to his ear-catching vocal style. The lyrical quality isn't very good for the most part, however.
There are only four songs on this demo and everyone is excellent. Oddly enough, the first song, Faceless, is my least favorite, although it is pretty good too. It urges someone who just goes with the cruel flow to form his/her own, nicer identity.
Beyond The Borders Of Logic is just a shade softer then Legacy Of A Cold Heart and full of cool, speedy guitar-work and eerie, beautiful vocals. It ties with Unconscious Minds as second favorite song on the demo. Beyond The Borders Of Logic is a song about analyzing yourself. Legacy Of A Cold Heart holds the distinction of sounding influenced by American Country music. It is very dynamic and cool, with plenty of great vocal harmonies. Legacy Of A Cold Heart is about a dysfunctional family. It is my favorite song on the album.
Unconscious Minds is a little deeper than Beyond The Borders Of Logic but every bit as cool... I've listened to these songs back to back and I still cannot chose one over the other... both are perfect! It is about being so tired out by the pressures of living that your true gifts are lost.
I am pretty impressed with Illusion of Clarity, a progressive band that triggers the need to headbang is very rare. I hope to hear more from these boys!