Let me start off by saying that I have been a huge Tristania fan ever since they debuted ten years ago.  They were among the first bands to incorporate the "Beauty and the Beast" vocals, with the devilish death metal screams from the male lead singer, and the extremely beautiful operatic singing from the female counterpart. For me, back than I would say that there were three main bands in this genre to really be taken seriously, Theatre of Tragedy, Sins of thy Beloved and Tristania.  All bands were great in their own way, but Tristania just seemed to come out ahead in all aspects of their music.  They were just a little more Heavy, a little more Catchy, in a sense just a little more complete.  

Ten years later after 4 amazing albums, Tristania are back with their fifth full length, Illumination.  Although this is not a bad album by any means, they seemed to have lost most of their edge.  Don't get me wrong, this album is good, it's absolutely beautiful, but it is hardly metal anymore.  The "Beauty and the Beast" vocals are almost non-existent.  You will hardly hear any Death Metal vocals on this release.  Almost all of the vocals are done by Vibeke Stene, and although she has an amazing voice, you really don't get the feel that they are hard or metal anymore, making it almost a soft operatic rock album.  Now, that can still be good, but for true followers of Tristania it is a bit of a let down.  Their is barely any rush or energy in their songs, they are basically slow and very easy to listen to. There are beautiful acoustic guitars on most tracks, the drumming is precise, everything just seems to have been done very easily and without any extreme thought.  If you are looking for intensity, than you may as well look elsewhere, because you really will not find it here.  It sounds as though this entire album could have been written sitting down.  

That being said, it truly is not a bad album, but for an old time listener, it is definitely a bit of a let down.  And truthfully my favorite song on this album is the slowest most non-metal track, Destination Departure, and I don't know if that says something about this album or not, but it's almost as if I am listening to an entirely new band.  They are not the same Tristania they were even on their last release.  For a new listener who is interested in beautiful gothic tinged music, this is a gem.  For fans of Tristania's past albums, I’m not sure how you will take this.  I like it if I’m thinking of them as a different band, when I remember that it is Tristania, I’m completely let down.  Their main vocalist, Vibeke Stene, has currently left the band, so lets see what the future holds for these talented musicians.  For me personally, I hope they go back to their roots for their next release.