Review by Lynxie on July 19, 2023.

----Welcome to Lynxie's Guide to Chinese Power Metal. Let us glimpse unto this weird little world caught in the past----

... Oh wow, I finally found a Chinese power metal band that is not, like ten years behind its time. Released three years before Barque of Dante's Final Victory, the Beijing metaller 幻世狂想 (Illusion)'s debut 乱世无双 (Invincible) is, without doubt, the earliest Chinese power metal effort and, my, doesn't it sound like the lovechild of Rhapsody and Helloween, with some Dragonforce thrown in for good measure. And the feeling of listening to anime OSTs is inevitable if you understand the lyrics.

Well, I can't see why some people are complaining about this release having no originality. The formulas of Europower have been done and perfected by the first few power metal Gods long ago, and I've always thought the late 90s and early 00s were the time when these formulas have been tested to the extreme. Isn't it only natural that a bunch of young Chinese power metallers should follow suit and prove themselves worthy? At least they're singing in Chinese -- judging by the Chinglish chorus on Stand Alone though, I think it's best if they stick to Chinese.

Defensive mood set aside, any one who's read my take on symphopowers will know I don't hold with useless orchestral intros and interludes. I've never really quite liked Rhapsody at any rate, and the Rhapsody wannabes out there, like Illusion here, take their orchestras too fucking seriously. If they could ditch 翔 (Flying) or 海韵 (Rhythm of the Sea) and hit my head on with, say, the riffy 新生 (Rebirth) and I'll be infinitely happier, especially when those interludes were essentially a repetition of the prior songs' main melodies. If I recall correctly, the keyboardist Jason Hou also dropped by Barque of Dante's Alchemist. So, yeah, I finally know why 96 existed. And putting a ballad as a third track is just fucking perfect for ruining dynamics and stopping the flow of the album, all the more so when the ballad is so radio friendly like the poppy 夜之歌 (Song of the Night).

Anyhow, 乱世无双 (Invincible) is only narrowly saved by the genuine songs. The most interesting ones here would be 冲出黑暗 (Running Out Of Darkness) and 旅行 (Travelling). I mean, I certainly did not see the dark, somewhat Dark Ride-esque riffing and the heady bass coming on the former track, whilst the latter is a more modern Helloween hard-rock tune that I don't ever recall hearing on the Chinese side. The rest of the songs like 新生(Rebirth) or the self-titled track would start moody and slowly spiral upward to a more triumphant chorus, while sporting some Middle Eastern tune in the solos. Else they would open up with some real crispy riffing like 最后狂舞 (Last Dance) or the title track, and go through more Rhapsody hailing orchestral moments before reaching the fruity chorus. Sure, they all go happy in the end, though I don't think Freedom Call is quite the influence, unless you're counting the title track and Stand Alone. It's just a fairly standard Europower progression. Oh, and need I mention that they have a seven minute hidden track in the end that starts with a radio sampling sound and have such horrible mixing that it sounds almost charming? Its drums and guitars even have that muffled 90s quality, but the keyboards are mixed too upfront.

Personally, I think some credit should be given to Illusion for being the first Chinese power metal band, and they've actually the most solid lineup that China could produce on its own. After all, when Hou is not indulging his ego, the dynamic keyboards on Stand Alone and eerie synth on 冲出黑暗 (Running out of Darkness) shows that he actually knows his job pretty well. I actually quite like his first neoclassical, then somewhat jazzy instrumental solo piece 天马行空(Freedom). And of course, ever true to Dragonforce's influence, Illusion has to have a keyboard-guitar duel on every track. Their guitars managed to put out some real Stratoween riffworks on tracks like 新生 (Rebirth) and 最后狂舞 (Last Dance) too, never a bad thing in my books. Interestingly enough, Illusion actually has four vocalists. While I appreciate that they didn't follow that Nightwish aesthetic and kept Zeng Li's complementary lines to a tasteful amount, Li Tianji's, Liu Jia's and Liu Yunlong's tones are not really all that different -- I think one of them can soar a bit higher. Then again, in general, Illusion is not going for that soaring-high-above-the-clouds quality with their vocals, so having three male vocalists does sound a bit superfluous. But, hey, at least they don't sound like chipmunks.

I admit, the mere name ''幻世狂想'' does look like the name of a one-off project; that seems to be the fate of one too many Chinese power metal bands, some didn't even make it past the debut-album stage. But, often as not, those albums would turn out to be a damn epic legacy to have. So I rest assured, if not satisfied.

Highlights:
冲出黑暗 (Running out of Darkness)
新生 (Rebirth)
旅行  (Travelling)
天马行空 (Freedom)

Rating: 7.2 out of 10