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Album Details
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· Produced By: Adam Smith
· Running Time: 68.02
· Release Date: June 22
· Released: EU
· Genre: Hard Rock / Melodic Metal
· WebLink:
· LabelLink: Escape Music
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Artist Bio
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Mike DiMeo - vocals / Jason Hodges - guitar / Adam Smith - guitar, bass, keys / Tim Yatras - drums
Mixed and mastered by Tommy Hansen at Jailhouse Studios, Denmark
Music arranged by Smith/Hodges
Ilium is a melodic power metal band with strong roots in the classic heavy metal sound as purveyed by the likes of Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath and Judas Priest, from Newcastle, Australia. The band has already released three albums and is currently poised to release their fourth album 'Ageless Decay' on Escape Music.
Guitarist Jason Hodges and original vocalist Mark Snedden formed the band as Iliad in 1998 having previously played together in Oracle in the early 1990s. This embryonic version of the band also included former Oracle guitarist Kris Arendse and the final Oracle bassist Michael Noonan, as well as drummer David Pearson. With the introduction of Adam Smith (also formerly of Oracle) on guitar, the band changed its name to Ilium, with Kris leaving the band after a brief stint with three guitarists. In 2002 the band commenced work on their eponymous debut EP produced by Lord Tim, but Michael Noonan played on only two tracks before leaving the band, with Adam Smith completing the bass duties and yet another former Oracle member Matthew Woodland joining the band shortly before it's release. The EP, which included a cover of the Fleetwood Mac/ Judas Priest classic 'The Green Manalishi (With The Two-Pronged Crown)', gained the attention of several notable labels, including Sentinel Steel boss Denis Gulbey, with Italian label Adrenaline's metal label Steelheart signing the band for the release of their debut.
Ilium then began recording the debut album Sirens of the Styx with Dungeon's Lord Tim producing and Steve Moore playing drums. The album was released on 18 December 2003. It contained the track "Incipience: Beowulf Defeats Grendel", part one of a trilogy centred around the Beowulf legend. (Parts 2 and 3 are included on "Vespertilion".) Another song, "The Celestial Sphere", later became the subject of Ilium's first video clip. After the recording of the album, Peter Gilchrist became the band's bassist, with drummer David Walmsley joining shortly thereafter.
Permian Dusk was released in November 2005. The album won a particularly strong review from German metal magazine Rock Hard!, which gave it a score of 9.5/10 and led to reviewer Wolfram Kueper claiming it to be the best power metal album of 2005. Ilium produced a video clip for the track "Chloroform Divinity" from this album. This was by no means a unique assessment however, with the bands combination of unusual and intelligent lyrical content (largely by guitarist and published author of supernatural fiction, Jason Hodges), superb melodic guitar work and soaring vocals proving popular with a broad cross-section of metal fans.
The band's third release 'Vespertilion' was released in Dec 2007 and again has been given very favourable reviews by Rock Hard! and other publications. This album is the last to feature vocalist Lord Tim, Ilium have recorded their 4th album, entitled 'Ageless Decay' with vocalist Mike DiMeo, a legend in metal circles being the longest serving vocalist for New York legends Riot before succeeding Jorn Lande as the lead vocalist for Roland Grapow's post-Helloween project Masterplan. The album will be mixed and mastered by the Danish power metal legend Tommy Hansen, who practically wrote the book on power metal production with the godfathers of the genre, Helloween.
Ageless Decay is a breath of fresh air for the band, with Mike DiMeo fitting into the lead vocal slot in an effortless manner. The music is more dynamic than before and flows along with magnificent guitar leads and bold keyboards. This is Power metal like you have never heard before, totally professional and so infectious, the hooks will leave you spellbound from the start. Production is flawless as you would expect from Tommy Hansen, this CD is the bands best yet and can only see them secure their dominance of the power metal scene.
The final piece of the puzzle came when Khalil Turk from Escape Music, having been blown away by the bands compositions, relentlessly pursued the band and signed them for the label. With a new depth of maturity, especially with Mike DiMeo’s soulful yet powerful vocals and Tommy Hansen’s state of the art production, the band are at the top of their game, and with the fifth album already written the band have demonstrated that their creativity continues to evolve to ever greater heights.
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