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I remember first hearing these guys quite some time ago with their ultimately boring self-titled debut EP. However there was something that drew me to their latest opus Ageless Decay. Was it the awesome artwork or the bizarre track titles – or maybe the fact they had the highly capable Mike DiMeo replacing ex-Dungeon vocalist "Lord" Tim Grose at the microphone. Upon first listen this is clearly a cut above the EP which was to be expected – Ageless Decay is the fourth full-length from Ilium. However the addition of such a brilliant vocalist to the fold has really taken Ilium to the next level. Whilst I'm not about to proclaim this to be the holy grail of Power Metal, I still believe that this is a good release – largely in part to the aforementioned vocal talents of Mike DiMeo. In all honesty, acquiring Mike's vocals was probably one of the best things that could happen to the band – this side of hiring Bruce Dickinson of course. Fans of his work with Riot and especially Masterplan would do well to give Ilium a look in.

Opening with certainly one of the finest track Ageless Decay has to offer, "Mothcaste" is basically your standard meat and potatoes Power Metal track although it's handled nicely and never comes across as bland or plagiarism – however you will have heard a lot of songs similar to it. "Hibernal Thaw" is certainly more interesting and has a slight Tad Morose feel to it which is a really nice touch. "Omnipedia" features a great intro riff which again reminds me of Matters of the Dark-period Tad Morose. The title track is a speedy number typical of the genre but it's nice to see the pace pick up, the majority of the material here remaining fairly mid-paced. "Fragmented Glory" stands as my favorite track, evoking the feel of a true Power Metal anthem along the lines of Helloween or Gamma Ray. Overall Ageless Decay is a veritable Power Metal pick and mix albeit slightly rough around the edges and let down from a little bit of filler (see "Nubia Awakes"). You could seriously do a lot worse though and this is a fairly charming release which fans of Power Metal will definitely enjoy.