Illusion's Play
Illusion's Play
Track Listings
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1. Sleep Mirrored
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2. Still-Motion
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3. Entwined in Mystery
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4. Curse Life
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5. Fragile Emptiness
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6. Illusion's Play
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Illusion's Play,Shape of Despair,Season Mist America,Doom Metal,Heavy Metal,Pop,Rock
Average customer rating:
- Not their best, but still exquisite funeral doom.
- Doesn't Compare To "Angels of Distress"
- (4.5) Funereal art
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Illusion's Play
Shape of Despair
Manufacturer: Season of Mist
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD
 General
| Alternative Rock
| Styles
| Music
General
| Rock
| Styles
| Music
Death Metal
| Hard Rock & Metal
| Styles
| Music
General
| Hard Rock & Metal
| Styles
| Music
Similar Items:
- Shades of...
ASIN: B000A2H7B8
Release Date: 2005-08-23 |
Tracks:
- Sleep Mirrored
- Still-Motion
- Entwined in Mystery
- Curse Life
- Fragile Emptiness
- Illusion's Play
Customer Reviews:
Not their best, but still exquisite funeral doom........2006-05-21
Let's get something straight before I start. In my opinion, Shape of Despair is quite possibly the best band to come out in the last decade. Keep that in mind when reading a Shape of Despair review written by The Trickster. Back in 2001, I was rapidly losing interest in the modern metal scene, mainly due to constant clones appearing and mediocre releases from previously excellent bands. Then came Shape of Despair's "Angels in Distress" album. Not since My Dying Bride's "Turn Loose the Swans" had I heard such melancholic, beautiful, emotion inducing music. It reinvigorated my love of metal, and set off a temporary obsession with all things funeral doom. I tracked down the bands debut album "Shades of..." and found to my utter disbelief, that it was just as good, if not better! While listening to Shape of Despair, nothing else in the world matters to me. I am simply alone in those very moments, enraptured by the utter destitution and emotions of sorrow.
I have debated these feelings with others on many occasions now. Why is it that some of us find music filled with loss, despair, sorrow, darkness etc. to actually be uplifting? Anyway, that's a discussion for another time. Onto the review...
"Illusion's Play" contains 6 tracks and times in at over 60 minutes. This should give you some idea as to what you're in for here. Long epic tracks of funeral doom that contain heavy guitars, extremely slow drum beats, atmospheric keyboard work, and growled vocals. Things are a little different this time around though. The extraordinary female vocals of the last two releases have been reduced to a couple of appearances, which I find disappointing. Fortunately, they have added a couple of lengthy ambient string sections that are truly breathtaking. "Fragile Emptiness" is a departure for Shape of Despair that sounds more like something that Skepticism would create, although I find its repetitiveness a little distracting to an otherwise beautiful album.
"Still-Motion", "Curse Life" and "Entwined in Misery" are all classic Shape of Despair epics that make this album essential, even if it doesn't quite live up to the high standard set by their first two albums. If you've never heard the band, I'd start with "Angels of Distress", and finish with this one. There's a few mp3s on the bands website for you to have a listen. Now if only that Esoteric, Skepticism, Shape of Despair tour would come to Australia. Please?
Doesn't Compare To "Angels of Distress".......2005-11-21
"Angels of Distress" was an album with such powerful emotion and beautiful melody. Their latest album "Illusion's Play" however is truly lacking emotion and melody. The songs are mainly monotone hymns of depression. I am rarely bored when listening to bands like My Dying Bride, Katatonia, Evoken and How Like A Winter but this album is just a bore fest. Seriously, it is as if the songs on this album are composed around one note.
(4.5) Funereal art.......2005-10-03
This is the only Shape of Despair album I've heard. Basically, they're a solid funeral metal band. The songs are slow, minimalistic, and beautiful, in a metal way. The singer has a great death metal voice, and the reverb on it is brutal. On the second song and in certain parts of the others he does some clean singing, usually in conjunction with the female singer in the band. Normally I hate clean singing when it's mixed with metal, but the girl has a great voice that really goes with the sorrowful tone of the music. Actually, the only reason I gave this 4(.5) stars is because I think Pasi, the main singer, should sing more in the songs. He really has a great death voice. Of course, being a funeral band, there are the inevitable Evoken comparisons - I will do mine in reference to "Quietus." Whereas Evoken focuses on making bleak, crushingly slow funeral, SoD has more of a melancholic, warmly flowing style of funeral. When Pasi is singing, he hands-down beats the vocals on Quietus. On the other hand, the drumming is way better on Quietus; SoD has some pretty basic and boring drummming. But really, if you like funeral metal, you'll like this album.
Average customer rating:
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Kabarett
Manufacturer: Musica Viva
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD
Reger, Max
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All Works by Schoenberg
| Schoenberg, Arnold
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All Works by Robert Schumann
| Schumann, Robert
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| Weill, Kurt
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| Zemlinsky, Alexander von
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ASIN: B0000DFZYR
Release Date: 2003-10-21 |
Album Description
The charismatic mezzo-soprano, Jean Stilwell, is one of Canada's most versatile artists - one who has that rare ability to light up any stage on which she performs. In addition to her extensive recital, concert and operatic performances, Stilwell has also garnered rave reviews for her smoldering approach to cabaret music, including the songs of William Bolcom and Benjamin Britten, Kurt Weill and Arnold Schoenberg, to those made famous by Edith Piaf, Marlene Dietrich, Zara Leander and Lotte Lenya. Her recording of French mélodies and cabaret, Les Chemins de l'amour, was heralded by the press, making the late Toronto music critic Urjo Kareda's list of the "Best Recordings of the Year 1999".
Average customer rating:
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Illusion's Play
Shape of Despair
Manufacturer: Spinefarm
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD
Death Metal
| Hard Rock & Metal
| Styles
| Music
General
| Hard Rock & Metal
| Styles
| Music
Hard Rock & Metal
| Imports
| Stores
| Music
Similar Items:
- Angels of Distress
- Shades of...
- Shape of Despair
- The Burning Halo
- Where Lovers Mourn
ASIN: B000620NAO
Release Date: 2006-04-04 |
Tracks:
- Sleep Mirrored
- Still-Motion
- Entwined in Mystery
- Curse Life
- Fragile Emptiness
- Illusion's Play
Album Description
Third album from Finnish act who more than live up to their name. Tranquil, serene, yet brooding with the same sense of impending doom as their earlier albums. 2004.
Average customer rating:
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In the Presence
Oztronix
Manufacturer: OzTronix
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD
General
| Dance & DJ
| Styles
| Music
Pop Rock
| Pop
| Styles
| Music
General
| Classic Rock
| Styles
| Music
ASIN: B000CA7U42
Release Date: 2005-03-29 |
Tracks:
- This Song
- For John
- Hire You
- Illusion
- Satisfied
- To the Top !
- Virgin
- Walk Again
- Comrade
- Fat Cat
- Show Us Yer Tits
- Degrading
Average customer rating:
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Illusion's Play
Manufacturer: Ranka
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD
ASIN: B0007NLGXU |
Product Description
new album
Customer Reviews:
Great doom metal.......2005-02-16
Illusion's Play is the latest cd from the funeral doom band Shape of Despair released in 2004. While this cd isn't as good in my opinion as their previous cds, it is still very good. Although the 6 tracks on here are all great, they don't sound quite as depressing as their older material did but that could be a good thing depending on how you look at it. Unless I am mistaken, this cd wasn't released in the U.S. so it could be somewhat hard to find, but it is definitely worth getting. All you doom metal fans go grab this one now.
Music Track:
- Industrial
- Iron Maiden [Import]
- Keelhaul
- Kill City Kills [Import]
- Killswitch Engage [Original recording remastered] [Import]
- Life Is Peachy [Explicit Lyrics]
- Live 1980 [Live]
- Live at Glastonbury 1990 [Live]
- Live in Moscow [Live]
- Lost [Import]
Music Track
music track
Recommended Music:
Fresh Cream [Import]
Sirvart Karamanuk: Choral & Orchestral Music
Sunny Sunday Smile
Music: Highlights of 4 Viennese Operettas / Vienna Volksoper
Reflections [Enhanced] [Import]
Push the Button [CD-single] [Import]
Sayonara [Import]
The Eminem Show [Explicit Lyrics]
Temptation
Peter Schreier - Dvorák · Strauss · Beethoven Lieder
Slow Jams [CD-single]
Reina Del Guaguanco [Import]
That Girl [Clean]
The New York School
Twentysomething