Canadian melodic metallers Borealis have announced the release of their fifth studio album, entitled “Illusions”, which will be out on October 7, 2022 via AFM Records!
With their critically acclaimed debut in 2008, Borealis took the heavy music scene by storm, and seen them opening for several metal greats such as Epica, Sonata Artica, Saxon or Kamelot to name just a few. Four years since 2018’s “The Offering”, Borealis returns with their brand new magnum opus, arguably marking the bands most complete album to date while adding more orchestral elements and darker themes. The album not only introduces composer and multi-instrumentalist Vikram Shankar (Silent Skies, Redemption, Lux Terminus), who was brought in to compose all of the orchestra and synth elements, but “Illusions” is also a continuation of the story from “The Offering”, taking place years later through the eyes of the children and how the traumatic events they experienced has shaped their lives.
“We are so excited to release this new record, considering how long it’s been and what the world has been through over the last 2 years!“ Singer and guitarist Matt Marinelli comments. “With the extra time we had with this one, we feel like these are some of the best songs we’ve ever written. Some of the songs were written way back in 2019 so we’ve had time to really perfect them.”
Borealis shared a lyric video for first album single “Pray For Water”! “We wanted a textbook Borealis song on the album, something where, as soon as you hear it you know it’s us,” Matt says. “Using the continuation from The Offering (2018), this album is about the surviving children and how they’re coping years later. This song in particular is about one of them praying for the sacrifice to be stopped.“
Watch the new Borealis clip for “Pray For Water” at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTf3bsa6WYk&ab_channel=AFMRecords
About the band’s sound development and their cooperation with Vikram, guitarist Ken Fobert explains: “We had been fans of Vik’s music and content for years and with this album, we really wanted to bring it to another level. We didn’t want to do the same old thing this time around with just adding strings and orchestra. We did do that, but we also wanted to incorporate more synth elements and weird futuristic sounds to give these songs a bit of a different vibe and character than what you would typically expect from us. I think with the phenomenal composing that Vik did for these songs, we were able to achieve that.”
“Illusions” was produced by Borealis, engineered and mixed by the band‘s drummer, Sean Dowell, and was mastered by Thomas “Plec “ Johansson. Slated for a release on October 7th, the album pre-sale is now available!
“Illusions” track listing: 01. Illusions feat. Christine Hals 02. Ashes Turn To Rain 03. My Fortress 04. Pray For Water 05. Burning Tears feat. Lynsey Ward 06. Believer 07. Light Of The Sun 08. Face Of Reality 09. Bury Me Alive 10. Abandon All Hope 11. The Phantom Silence
Borealis is: Matt Marinelli (Vocals & Guitars) / Ken Fobert (Guitars) / Aiden Watkinson (Bass) / Sean Dowell (Drums)