Search - Time Requiem :: Optical Illusion

3.5 stars - neoclassical metal with Goran Edman on vocals

Justin Gaines | Northern Virginia | 03/07/2009

(3 out of 5 stars)

"2006's Optical Illusion is the third album from Swedish neoclassical/power metal band Time Requiem. The band, formed by songwriter/keyboard superfreak Richard Andersson (ex-Majestic, Space Odyssey) has a sound very much influenced by Symphony X and Yngwie Malmsteen.



The big change from Time Requiem's 2004 album The Inner Circle of Reality is that vocalist Apollo Papathanasio is out and former Malmsteen singer Goran Edman is in. Optical Illusion is still very much a bombastic epic neoclassical power metal album with extremely intricate keyboard solos, but Edman's presence definitely changes the dynamic. Edman's voice is much smoother (he does a lot of AOR work) than Papathanasio's, and gives the album a more melodic sensibility.



Optical Illusion is a quality neoclassical/power metal album with some first-rate vocal and instrumental performances. The only thing it's short on, and this is a problem for the genre as a whole, is emotion. As much as I enjoy the music, I don't really connect with it the way I would an Angra or Evergrey album. It's just a much more clinical style of music. It's also nothing you haven't heard before. Andersson and company play this kind of metal well, but they're not blazing any new trails.



If you're a fan of Symphony X and Yngwie Malmsteen, by all means check out Time Requiem. Optical Illusion really isn't anything new, but it's a good example of the band's sound."