Song of the Day: Disillusion, “Back to Times of Splendor,” from Back to Times of Splendor (Metal Blade, 2004)

In 2004, German trio Disillusion peaked in a major way with their debut full-length, Back to Times of Splendor, and its epic, hour-long journey of progressive, melodic death metal. At 14+ minutes, its title track really has it all: technical riffing and complex arrangements that traverse from melodic Swedish death metal to lush clean passages to orchestral segments to jazz breaks to borderline nu-metal grooves, occasionally with a rocked out swing. All of this scattered with gorgeous solos, tribal percussion, classical guitar, restrained atmospheric ambience, guttural growls, and fabulous singing... and that's still only a portion of the big picture!

My jaw was on the floor when I first pressed play on this thing 10+ years ago, and I'd still contend that it's one of the finest albums Metal Blade has ever released. The mind-blowingly awesome songwriting is truly emotional and moving, and still kills me to this day.

There is a road that I must travel
May it be paved or unseen
May I be hindered by a thousand stones
Still onward I'd crawl down on my knees

Perhaps the album was a decade ahead of its time? I could certainly see it being more appreciated were it released today, given that wildly diverse and progressive forms of metal that fuse beauty and aggression seem to receive a touch more "popular" visibility over the last few years.

I'm not sure how active Disillusion is these days, but they are performing Back to Times of Splendor in its entirety on May 29 in Vienna, Austria. Perhaps we should all cross our fingers that the experience will inspire them to write and record a new album in that vein!