Illuminandi
Demo I & Demo II (Demo CD) 2002 No Label
Haggard worship is what we get on this work combining the two demo’s of this Polish band. The band shares the extensive use of strings (violin, cello), acoustic guitars and the combination of brutal vocals and clean singing (both male and female) with the masters of classically inspired death/gothic metal. The main difference is that Illuminandi take a more serene approach, since the string arrangements and clean vocals are here in the majority. Although the sound quality on the second demo has clearly improved, there are not many differences between the two demo’s in terms of song writing and musical approach. The compositions are mostly relaxed, some times more uptempo, but in general they should please most fans of symphonic dark metal like Haggard, Cemetery of Scream and Therion, although the high musical level of the underestimated Estatic Fear or the first Lacrimas Profundere album is seldom reached. Remarkable and original is the fact that all tracks (with the exception of ‘The light’) are sung in Polish. The band can be contacted by emailing illuminandi@kdm.pl.	1. Kto mnie wyzwoli? 2. The Light 3. Wiec My... 4. ...i o tym drugim... 5. Nie lekaj sie 6. Kielich 7. Alleluja Approx. 31 minutes
Reviewed by: Kostas Panagiotou