I pre-ordered three albums so far for 2024- and all of them were (or still are) highly awaited. ILLUMISHADE’s second album „Another Side Of You“ was one of them. As an expression of how much awaited this album was, let me tell you that I ordered it twice. Yes. Exactly. We got two copies of this album – first we ordered the CD (in a bundle with a t-shirt) and then about a week before the album came out, ILLUMISHADE mentioned in a video that the vinyl has bonus tracks. I am a simple person, so me and my girlfriend decided that yes, bonus tracks (that we knew before because they had been published on Spotify in 2021 already) are enough of a reason to pre-order the vinyl as well.
Our vinyl arrived last Thursday, the CD on Friday and here’s my opinion. Little spoiler: Any other releases in 2024 will have a hard time to get past this album. It’s only February and „Another Side Of You“ already has the potential to be my favourite album in 2024.
Actually quite a lot of songs from this album had been released before – and all of them were absolute bangers that foreshadowed what an amazing piece this album would be. In comparison to ILLUMISHADE’s first album I’d say the style has changed. I personally think it’s heavier and somewhat darker. I remember that in the early days, Jonas Wolf himself called the sound of ILLUMISHADE Disney Metal and I’d absolutely agree, because their first album also gave me very strong Disney vibes (and it didn’t get much better when they covered Into The Unknown from Frozen 2.) Not that I’d have a problem with that, I love Disney movies and their soundtracks, but I personally think that Another Side Of You is less definitely less Disney and more … still very epic and cineastic, but rather like a dark fantasy movie than a colourful, bright Disney movie.
With Enter the Void the album starts with an instrumental intro with lots of orchestration. Intros and interludes are somewhat typical for ILLUMISHADE, so this kind of an opener is not surprising. It goes over into ELEGY, which had been published long before (in 2022). The song has a great energy and is highly melodic. During their tour with Delain, ILLUMISHADE opened their set with the combination of those two songs. ELEGY is not necessarily one of my favourites, but I rediscovered my love for this song when I heard it live.
The album continues with ENEMY, which they released last year and holy cow, when this song came out I was blown away. It’s one of my absolute favourite songs on this album AND of ILLUMISHADE in general. The lyrics are strong, the guitars make me tremble, the orchestration is beautiful, everything about this song is perfect. Also don’t forget to check out the music video, which is a visual masterpiece (hail Kami Zero, one of the greatest make up artists in Germany).
In the Darkness is the first song on the album that hadn’t been published before and already the guitar intro makes me fall on my knees. Actually it gives me the vibes of a very energetic intro to an anime – every single bit of this song. I already loved the short snippet I discovered in the game ILLUMISHADE’s drummer Marc had coded to give people a little preview of the new album. Out of the songs I hadn’t known before, this one has immediately climbed the rank of my favourites and when I heard it I knew that it would be hard for any new release this year to beat Another Side Of You. This song is a masterpiece of songwriting and damn it, I want to hear it live. Dearest ILLUMISHADE, please reserve a spot for this in the setlist of your tour with Visions of Atlantis!
Cloudreader is another song that had already been released and it’s one of the calmer, dreamier songs of the album. And it’s a great live song (one of those songs that makes you sing along and wave your arms, you know. Or your phones, with lights on). I love the lyrics, and that guitar solo? I feel almost bad for Marc and Yannick because I’m not praising the drums and bass enough, but sorry: Jonas Wolf is an outstanding guitarist who very rudely draws all my attention to himself đ
When Here We Are was released I didn’t know what to think of it first – but after a few times it turned into another favourite of mine. Another song with strong lyrics and amazing vocals. It enfolds its energy – and magic – a bit more slowly and once the chorus starts, it just blows you away. Bam. Here we are. No more questions. The song keeps its promise. And it’s a live banger.
At this point I need to mention the music videos of ILLUMISHADE once again, which are plain beautiful and tell a story. And please allow me a fangirly moment in which I need to stress that this band consists of five incredibly beautiful people. God, I love their music videos as much as their music. And Here We Are is another perfect example of that.
I ran into CYCLONE in Marc’s ILLUMISHADE adventure. I once again adore the guitar intro, which is certainly one of those that give the album this darker vibe. Other than that, I think I still have to warm up with the song a little. I like the lyrics, but the overall melody hasn’t quite caught me yet. Maybe because the song carries a … doomy vibe? Not sure if that’s a fitting description, but it’s one of those songs you can’t easily dissolve in and just vibe along. It needs a bit more time and attention I guess.
The next song, Fairytale, was another song I encountered in the preview adventure and already then I knew I would love this song. It’s a ballad with a strong intro, then slowly enfolds its energy and it once again gives me some heavy soundtrack-vibes. Fabienne’s vocals are so beautiful in this song, probably because her voice partly seems so fragile, but then again it’s very strong. I mentioned in my concert review for Uden that I’d defend Fabienne with my life, she’s an incredible singer and that’s something I don’t say easily as someone who often struggles with female voices. Also I have to mention the beautiful lyrics again. And the beautiful guitar solo. And just a lot of beautiful everything. With an epic finale.
Back to the album: The Horizon Awaits is an interlude that, if I remember correctly, was released together with its following song HYMN (just like Enter The Void and ELEGY – and just like those two, this combo was also released in 2022). I guess this is why the sound of HYMN reminds me a bit more of the first ILLUMISHADE album. This song just feels epic and … more symphonic than the rest of the album. I guess the name itself is a perfect description. And I like it, but it’s not necessarily one of my favourites. Maybe because it kind of breaks out of the, as I said, a bit darker, heavier sound of ILLUMISHADE and … it glows? That sounds weird, but yes, this song glows.
TWILY is another one of the new, unknown songs on the album – and I think it’s one that I personally didn’t come across while digging my way through their little adventure. For me personally, the song has a magical, somewhat mystic touch. I like the sound and the vibe it transports. Generally, it’s one of the calmer songs – until after the first chorus, when the sound gets significantly heavier. But it’s still a darker, more mystical sound. And once again … I adore the lyrics. This song is just absolutely beautiful. I had to listen to it a few times because I personally feel more drawn towards the heavier songs, but by now I love it.
Riptide was the last single ILLUMISHADE released before they dropped the album. For me, that was rather unexpected, because it was just … two or three days before the actual album release? I need to mention the orchestration / synthesizer / whatever in this song again, which is what gives the sound of ILLUMISHADE its magical touch. And then we’re back with heavy, hammering guitars and bass and the heavy sound of this album. The melody is not necessarily a typical sing-along song because for me personally, it’s more … „demanding“, I can’t easily dive into. But the more I listened to this song, the more I loved it. In short: Epic.
Now Hummingbird, which is the second-to-last song if you exclude the bonus songs on the vinyl. And this is a proper ballad that makes me either dream or cry, depending on my current mood (right now, while writing this, I feel pretty much like crying). This song is incredibly touching. It starts with the piano and beautiful, layered vocals. The humming in between is what makes this song special. And when drums and orchestration join in, this song is the type of song that will give you goosebumps. And then … guitar and base and I could faint. Excuse me, this entire review is full of praise for this band because there’s nothing I dislike about this album (okay, CYCLONE is not my song, but every single one is a masterpiece). And let me mention the lyrics again. I. Am. In. Love.
The final song of the album is … a surprise. Definitely back to the Disney-sound. And a feature with Coen Janssen of Epica. Ever wanted to hear a lovesong in Swiss German? That’s it. I still hear my girlfriend say „I’m so excited to hear the German song.“ Yeah, well, Swiss German is a whole different level than „German German“ and since I haven’t read the lyrics so far, I only have a VERY vague idea of what Fabi is singing đ I mean … yes, the song IS beautiful, but it also makes me giggle and I can’t even tell you why.
Now: Bonus tracks. Four of them. And all of them have been published fairly early, namely in 2021. The vinyl includes The Destined Path with its ouverture The Ethereal Glade and The Endless Vow with its ouverture Edge of Dusk. And once again, given that those two (or four) songs are a bit older, they’re also closer to the older ILLUMISHADE-stuff soundwise. Destined Path is a very epic ballad and I love this song for its sheer beauty, but I can somehow see why they decided not to include it in the album itself other than as a bonus track. It doesn’t quite match the overall sound of the album anymore. (Also it once again gives Disney soundtrack vibes. Can I please have a Disney princess inspired by Fabienne Erni?)
Edge of Dusk is probably one of my favourite ILLUMISHADE instrumentals / interludes. Maybe because there’s an absolutely amazing string part and I have a very soft spot for strings. And I repeat: Soundtrack vibes. This one is epic as fuck and I’d pay to see this performed by an orchestra. The Endless Vow is another song that I love dearly. I guess it also doesn’t quite match the vibe of the album, but you should check it on Spotify, because it is beyond beautiful. As soon as I hear it, the chorus gets stuck in my brain and refuses to leave.
All in all, Another Side Of You is a great album and all the songs that could keep the promise made by all the songs that had been released out of this album before. It’s incredibly strong and it shows that ILLUMISHADE consists of five incredibly talented musicians who, by now, seem to have found together much better than for their first album. I love the current sound of ILLUMISHADE, I am excited to see what’s ahead and I can’t wait to see them live again (also I can’t wait for them to go on a headline tour because I need longer sets).
