The cover for the album at hand might look like there is some folky black metal hiding beneath it, but that’s not what you will find here. What is it then? Well, those who have been following alternative and underground music for quite some time, will recognize with the very first run-through where Illudium are coming from – sonically and geographically. While you probably won’t be able to pin the influence down to just one band, a decade and a place will soon crystalize.

In the instance of Illudium, Oakland, California, appears to be right next to Seattle, Washington. The 1990s are omnipresent in the band’s sound, and with that decade bands like Pearl Jam, Nirvana and Alice in Chains. But while certainly recognizable, grunge is not the only foundation on which the sound of Illudium is built. Another style of music sticks out, originating in the same decade, and even more influential – post metal. Now add powerful female vocals to these tow building blocks, and you should have a pretty good idea of what Illudium sound like.

Initially founded by singer-songwriter Shantel Amundson as a solo project, the band are a trio today. Shantel sings and plays guitar, Gregory Wesenfeld plays drums, and Max Zigman bass. The sound mixture they produce together is both peculiar and captivating. Their songs have no classic structures and you will be listening for recurring melodies in vain. What you get instead are autumnal soundscapes, sometimes unintrusive, sometimes dramatic, but never without a dark undercurrent. Quieter, more delicate and meditative passages are paired with harsh, doomy metal. Shantel’s clean and prominent vocals add an additional sense of urgency, while her lyrics revolve around mystical and metaphysical ideas.

The drama, the dread and the urgency that you hear on Ash of the Womb make perfect sense once you know that album “was born in the fiery pandemonium of the burning season of 2020 when huge tracts of the sunshine state went up in flames, while skies glowed orange at night.” I still remember the shock I felt seeing apocalyptic photographs of a world with an orange glow, and I can’t imagine what it must have felt like to live in it.

For fans of Kate Bush, Tori Amos, Emma Ruth Rundle and Chelsea Wolf.

(7.5/10 Slavica)

https://www.facebook.com/illudiumband

https://illudium.bandcamp.com/album/ash-of-the-womb