Suicidal Madness - Illusions funestes

SUICIDAL MADNESS - Illusions funestes (WOLFSPELL - CD 2016)

Before we go further into this review you need to realize that I am not so much into depressive black metal. I do enjoy to listen to the music of some DSBM projects, those, which have something exceptional and intriguing in their sound, but I just don’t play such stuff often. Wolfspell Records did release quite few great bands from this style, like Hermóðr and Kalmankantaja, and now I got an album from Suicidal Madness to review. “Illusions funestes” is their second album and it’s exactly the type of sorrowful and melancholic black metal, which leaves me careless. Don’t get me wrong. I don’t think that Suicidal Madness is worthless and has completely nothing to offer. No. They do present solid quality music, they do everything is proper, good way and generally you will not say that it’s an album to wipe your ass rather than to listen to. It’s just the fact that I personally couldn’t get into its atmosphere and generally I felt terribly bored by it is the reason why I will not recommend it. I had enough of it after couple of spins and my thoughts were like “so, I’ve listened to it two times, do I want to hear it again? Hmm, no”. Of course I did play it few more times, to give it a justice, but my impression didn’t change.

“Illusions funestes” is an album that may be OK for the fans of depressive black metal, but other listeners will let it in one ear but out the other. Immediately. There are some fragments, which did catch my attention a little bit more, there’re even couple of faster parts, there’s also an acoustic part accompanied by distorted guitar, which sounded really OK… Also “Corps dans un corps” came out better, with some nice sounding parts of violin and piano, what helped the band to set a nice atmosphere. But then you have songs like “Démence”, which with its completely uninspiring and boring riffs I would want to erase from this album right away. Then the title song – soooo boooring opening theme! I’m almost glad that the CD skips on this track, so I don’t have to listen to it in entirety. Or “Mort”, which may also have some interesting ideas (again due to the use of additional instruments such as acoustic guitar), but as a whole is boring and forgettable as hell. And I don’t even wanna start on the instrumental tracks that open and end this album – especially “Outro” sounds like something completely unnecessary.

So… “Illusions funestes” is not interesting enough to capture my attention and truly is a mediocre and unmemorable album. You can skip it.

Standout track: probably none, but let’s say “Corps dans un corps”

Final rate: 60/100