REVIEW: Spoken – Illusion | Under the Gun Review

REVIEW: Spoken – Illusion

February 12th, 2013

Adrian Garza

Artist: Spoken
Album: Illusion
Label: E1 Music
Genre: Alt-Rock

Contrary to popular belief, Spoken are still alive and well. The hard rock band may have allowed a good 5+ years to pass before releasing their seventh album, Illusion. One of the first things that stood out to me when first spinning the album was the band’s strong resemblance to Red, and upon a little digging and searching, I came to find that Jasen Rauch, Red’s main songwriter, produced Illusion. Somewhere between the muck and mire that is radio hard rock lies Spoken’s sound: fast hard down-tuned riffs, screams, pounding drums, and memorable hook-like choruses. Frankly, much of the album seems to have somewhat of a nu metal influence, which I’m completely alright with.

Tracks like “Stand Alone” really display the band’s ability to play absolutely crushing songs that showcase much of the chaos that the group is capable of. The band does have their softer side as well, with tracks like “Tonight” that remind me something of what could be found on an “edgy” Christian radio station.

There is definitely a certain degree of lyrical “meat” backing the album. “Don’t Go” has a few lines that stick out to me. Lines like: “Close your eyes, remember me the way that I was before/ I can’t let go/I’ll never make it alone/Just stay with me and we can weather the storm/Say you love me/Stay, please don’t go.”

The main problem that I see with the album is that it doesn’t go anywhere that mainstream rock hasn’t gone. It seems very apparent that the band has actually challenged themselves when writing and recording Illusion, but that’s just my own personal observation. Personally, it’s a tough decision to make as to whether or not illusion will hold up to the group’s past releases. I wish I could have more to say as to why a release like this just doesn’t pop out to me. It could be the album’s radio playability factor and my constant efforts to completely avoid music that sounds anything like that, but Illusion has no lasting appeal.

Review: 6/10
Reviewed by: Adrian Garza (Twitter)