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STATE OF ILLUSION “Pluto’s Ghost”
STATE OF ILLUSION “Pluto’s Ghost”
By Colonel Angus
STATE OF ILLUSION are back with their sophomore release and it is more of what we love about the band but this time, there is more of a focus on the songwriting. That’s not to say that their previous record “Aphelion” was lacking, quite the opposite. “Pluto’s Ghost” builds upon the foundation of those songs and brings a more focused approach to each track making each note and lyric very deliberate. That may be because it was solely written and produced by vocalist and chief songwriter Jacob Porter. the disk contains thirteen tracks but the beauty reveals itself when listening to the piece as a whole and not experiencing single tunes here and there. We are taken on a journey that ends with a feeling of resilience.
The aptly titled “Intro” is just a launch sequence of a rocket and sets the mood for the whole record. The real material starts with “Deja Vu” where we are treated to a haunting prog metal piece that slowly builds to a crescendo towards the end. At the very beginning, we get space sounds provided by NASA which make their way throughout “Pluto’s Ghost”. This gives all the songs a common thread and connection that almost begs to be listened to as a complete work. Bringing home that prog metal vibe even further to the forefront, the riff heavy “Yet So Far” is rhythmic heavy track where the guitars take the spotlight until the chorus where Porter’s vocals produce one of the catchiest choruses on the record.
Shifting back to something similar to the first track, “Starlight” has a haunting nature and a sense of loss. Although there is an unmistakable sense of loss, the listening experience is also marked by a striking and unexpected beauty derived from the vocal performance. The roller-coaster ride that is “Pluto’s Ghost” moves us down more riff heavy territory with “Wasted Life”. There are parts that remind me of DREAM THEATER but with a much different vocal. Even the chorus, while heavy, contains more melody than most melodic metal can muster up in a whole album. Lyrically, it speaks to someone of my age (I’m not divulging my age but I am and old metalhead) who looks back at all the time I spent spinning my wheels and not getting much in return.
“Heal the Heartache” is a sonic wall of sound that speaks of loss and through the instrumentation, we feel each note and lyric as if we are experiencing that same loss. When I mentioned earlier that the band takes us listeners on a roller-coaster ride, it was not just musically but lyrically as well. Next up is another reflective track about losing ourselves “Along the Way”. This one feels perfectly placed next to “Heal the Heartache” as both In my view, center on making the most of our time together and refusing to let outside trivialities take priority. Continuing with the reflective nature of the material, “Enough” is another tune about loss but as with all the material here, the chorus lifts the song into something beyond sadness.
Taking a turn toward their heavier side, “Crashing Down” has this great stop/start riffing during the verses that compliments the fluid and melodic chorus. After nine tracks so far, I’m starting to see the secret weapon of “Pluto’s Ghost” is the catchy chorus that anchors the tracks while the verses weave between haunting, melancholy, and rhythmic riffing. That being said, “Artificial Paradise” is one of the tunes where the chorus doesn’t have that same melodic chorus that was featured on the earlier material. That’s not to say that it’s bad, quite the contrary, this is a great heavy prog metal piece that borders on chaotic. Stepping back, “Rain” is the opposite of chaotic, lulling the listener into a mellow sense with a hypnotic bassline. After “Artificial Paradise”, this one is a nice detour to have us catch our breath for seven minutes.
Continuing with something mellow, “Home” is a beautiful piano and vocal track that lets Porter’s vocal take center stage. While it is so different from the other material here, it somehow fits perfectly with all the other songs and I feel it would have been a mistake if left off the record. The album ends with a tune that feels like a combination of all the previous material wrapped into one five minute piece. There are bits of chaos from “Artificial Paradise”, some haunting passages from “Starlight”, and the straight-up prog metal “Wasted Life”. After the mellow “Home”, this one wraps up the record with something that feels like a culmination of everything on “Pluto’s Ghost”. This is definitely going to be one of my top 10 of 2026. If you haven’t heard STATE OF ILLUSION, get “Pluto’s Ghost”; you won’t be sorry!
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