Customer Reviews

Chimera

5 star:		(62)
4 star:		(29)
3 star:		(23)
2 star:		(18)
1 star:		(13)

 

 

Delerium is easily one of my favorite groups. I have all their newer albums (Semantic Spaces, Karma, Poem, Odyssey: The Remix Collection) which I prefer to the gloomy darkwave of their melancholy archive days. And while their latest offering may not be their best, there's plenty of catchy tunes with beautiful female singing, making 'Chimera' (an imaginery monster made up of incongruous [out of place] parts) worth buying, whether a longtime fan or just a casual listener.

IMO this album is great but it definitely doesn't flow without faults. With every new record, the guys of Delerium (Bill Leeb and Rhys Fulber) seem to stray further and further from their trademark sound. I guess you could say it's the evolution of their music growing with the ages but it doesn't seem to be working in their favor. I mean, why change something that's already good? A lot of people were let down with 'Poem' so if you were one of those disenchanted aficionados then you'll be even more disappointed with 'Chimera'. I think the success of their club hits "Innocente" and especially "Silence", which were both overly played and remixed by one too many DJs, may have gone to their heads, steering them in the wrong direction. Even with Leigh Nash of Sixpense None The Richer contributing her vocals to "Run For It" and "Orbit Of Me", they're still not likely to get any radio exposure but they're certainly guaranteed to lose a couple once-devoted followers. Why? Well, for one, there's hardly any haunting Gregorian chantings and the ethereal sirens are mostly overshadowed with pop and dance beats. It's pretty sad but "Eternal Odyssey" is the only song on here reminiscent of their Karma days. So with that said, I still think some of these negative reviewers are being a little harsh, exaggerating their unconstructive point. It may not be their greatest effort but it's definitely not bad. After a short absence to work on his solo project, Rhys Fulber returns (but for how long?), bringing with him his love of Middle Eastern music. It's also nice to see Kristy Thirsk come back with a soaring performance to close 'Chimera' with. It's songs like "Fallen", "Truly", "Eternal Odyssey", "After All" and "Returning" that make the merit of this purchase commendable. And like a lot of new releases coming out, this includes a bonus disc with a remix of "After All" by contest winner Andrew Sega and the amazing "Stopwatch Hearts" with Emily Haines, which reminds me of something you'd hear on Conjure One (ala "Center Of The Sun"). You can also view three of their music videos from your computer with the Quicktime player. On "Semantic Spaces" a man is wandering the desert sand dunes, and on "Silence" a man and a woman bind one of their hands with a rope, linking them together, running on a rocky seashore until they break free. "Aria" is the only video I really like though because it actually features all the Mediaeval Baebes.

Few musical groups have undergone the dramatic and consistent changes of Bill Leeb and Rhys Fulber as Delerium. Their early music (Morpheus, Syrophenikan) was dark industrial; later albums (Euphoric, Karma) became more dance-y and incorporated ethereal and beautiful vocals from Sarah McLachlan and Kristy Thirsk. Successive albums have become more sappy, and Poem was almost unbearable.

This album is ingenue-rich. Some of the collaborations work (Zoe Johnston, Jael, Margaret Far, Kristy Thirsk). Some of them don't (Leigh Nash, Rachel Fuller,Sultana, Rani, Julee Cruise). As for the latter group, I have enjoyed their work elsewhere, but here the lyrics are juvenile and the sound seems cloying rather than ethereal. There's a big difference but a fine line between haunting and mawkish, and Delerium & Co. keep jumping back and forth across it. Some songs are gorgeous, others are treacly, as if someone had distilled the essence of the movie 'Ghost' onto a disk.

If you liked 'Poem', you will enjoy 'Chimera'. If you are a fan of any of the accompanying vocalists, this will be of interest. If you liked early Delerium, this will not appeal to you.

I am a huge fan of Delerium but this album I think is less than memorable. Anytime Delerium puts out a new CD I am there at the store waiting to get it the first day it is out. I got in my car put this CD in and was in disbelief that this was delerium. This CD just sits on a shelf collecting dust now. Balligomingo's CD sounds more like Delerium than this does. If you are looking for the haunting sounds of the earlier Delerium you will not find it on Chimera. If you are looking for forgetable dance mix usa type music this is the cd for you.

I like all kinds of music for the most part and as a result, I have a huge CD collection. Delerium has always been at the top of my favorite artists list as I own 7 (counting "Chimera") of their albums plus 5 or 6 Front Line Assembly albums (Bill Leeb's name for his industrial project). If you are a long-time fan of Delerium, there is no need to explain their evolution (and several people have already done this in their reviews). You will also probably not like "Chimera" on your first listen if you are a long-time fan.

It took me a long time to really enjoy "Poem" as I felt that it had too many vocal tracks on it (I was especially angered by not having the version that had "Terra Firma" on it - instead I got the version that had a chopped down version of "Silence", which was pointless to include). Yet, I find myself wanting to listen to that Delerium CD over "Semantic Spaces" and, gasp, "Karma". I have a feeling that "Chimera" might be the same. That doesn't mean that I think that "Poem" or "Chimera" are/will be better than "Karma". Leeb will never ever be able to top that 1997 masterpiece. It was good to see Rhys Fulber and Kristy Thirsk back on this one, even if it was in limited roles. Here are the tracks and my thoughts on each:

1) Love - was a little disappointed with this one as it featured a vocalist that I heard on the last Faithless album, "Outrospective", in Zoe Johnston. Was expecting more, but didn't get it. Still an above-average track - 4/5.
2) After All - this track had a cool vocoder effect in the beginning and is a solid song but I can't say that it is one of the best - 4.5/5.
3) Just a Dream - this is an AWESOME song! Clearly one of my all-time favorite Delerium songs as it ranks right up there with "Flowers Become Screens", "Wisdom", "Inner Sanctum", and "Silence" (the full version, not edited). This song is so sad when you first listen to it and Margaret Far has a great voice. I hope I will hear her again on other things - 7/5.
4) Run For It - track featuring Leigh Nash from Sixpence None the Richer. I think "Innocente" is a better song and this track tries to copy it. It is okay and Nash *can* irritate some with her distinct voice but I will give it a 4/5.
5) Truly - pretty strong track as the vocalist there has a strong voice - 5/5.
6) Serenity - one of 2 instrumentals on this CD. It is solid but not as good as the other one. But it is still nice to hear an instrumental to break things up a little bit - 4/5.
7) Touched - I have read some people trashing this song and saying it was a lame attempt to get Pete Townsend of the Who to guest since it is his girlfriend singing. However, I like this track the more times I listen to it. Maybe it is Pete's guitar playing with the vocals and the rest of the music, who knows. But it is one of the better tracks on this CD, IMO - 5/5.
8) Forever After - could be better, haven't been able to get into this one yet - 3.5/5.
9) Fallen - this track features Rani who sang on "Poem". Does an outstanding job on this one - 5/5.
10) Orbit of Me - a clunker. Leigh Nash returns but isn't given much to work here - 2/5.
11) Magic - yet another clunker plus I loathe this vocalist's voice as she sounds like she is 6 years old - 2/5.
12) Eternal Odyssey - after 2 disappointing tracks in a row, it is a relief to hear this. Featuring a clever sample on Barber's "Adagio for Strings", this is one of the best Delerium instrumentals, starting in the "Semantic Spaces" era, ever - 6/5.
13) Returning - great way to end the CD by bringing back old favorite Kristy Thirsk. To no one's surprise, she is outstanding and makes this track one of the album's highlights - 6/5.

As for the 2nd disc, I didn't feel anything good or bad about "Stopwatch Hearts" or the remix of "After All". The videos were somewhat cool, although it was disappointing not to see Sarah McLachlan for the "Silence" video (although I did like the remix of that song). However, I will say that I was most pleased with the "Aria" video and that bonus CD is worth it just for that, hehe.

All in all, you will have to give this CD several chances as Bill Leeb keeps changing what he wants to do with Delerium. Yes there are some clunkers on here (which is why I am giving it 4 stars), but with tracks like "Just a Dream", "Fallen", "Eternal Odyssey", and "Returning", it is definitely worth your time and money to pick up and add to your collection.

Here we go again! Delerium returns once more to offer us a unique blend of soft melodies and tribal far out tracks. Or do they? It seems inevitable that an artist (or artists) falls into a more popular style of music to appease a broader fan base. However, traditionalists will wave a weary finger saying they have gone too far into pop to hold the title of Delerium. I'll agree to this to some point. But as well all know things change. And music changes just as much as the seasons do. I honestly didn't mind Delerium's trot into some new territory, as long as I'm not smothered in it. Chimera felt like I was being choked with too much flavorful pop songs all at once. Almost over-night Delerium went from ambient-like moody tunes to radio friendly pop songs. If you take a step back and look at their discography, you'll see a 5+ albums dedicated to their signature sound of ambient-like tunes. Now change is good, don't get me wrong. But don't hit us in the head with it. There are too many throw away tracks on this CD, which is something I cannot stand. I find that, yes, some selected tracks are very well done, but the majority fall off my ears and are lost to me. Karma was a great blend of popish tunes and traditional tunes we know and love from Delerium. I hope that they will realize this and return to their roots on their next album.

I cannot begin to describe my disappointement with this CD. If I wanted to hear this commercial garbage, I would just turn the radio on. All of the creativity and uniqueness that made Delerium special are not present in this CD. I'm very surprised that one the most creative groups over the last 10 years would follow the commercial pop template in their new music. A real shame....

Delerium is one of my personal favorite techno acts in the past decade. I love both their earlier music of dark, haunting ambient instrumentals to their current ethereal material with today's upcoming female vocalists. I have been waiting for "Chimera" for the past few months. In traditional Delerium fashion, the cover art is simply gorgeous. The ethereal cover matches the equally beautiful music I heard on the group's new album. On "Chimera" Rhys Fulber comes back (at least for this album). I could hear Rhys' love for middle eastern music on songs like "Fallen" and "Truly". I first heard "Love" not too long ago on a chill out compilation and that just fed my yearning for new Delerium music. Zoe Johnston who sang on albums for Faithless and Bent, lends her rich vocals to the first track on "Chimera". I was introduced to Jael when I picked up Lunik's debut album "Ahead" a few weeks ago at my favorite record store. Jael reminds me a lot like Sixpence None the Richer's Leigh Nash, who ironically enough also contributes her vocals to two songs on the album. I don't like Sixpence None the Richer but I do enjoy Leigh Nash's vocals. The stand out track on "Chimera" for me is "Touched" with Rachel Fuller who sings on the track. I thought Rachel has one of the most beautiful voices ever heard on a Delerium cd. I especially love hearing Kristy Thirsk on "Returning". Kristy is one of my favorite singers that Delerium has used on their music over the years. All the songs on "Chimera" are stunning and breathtaking to say the very least. I wish people would stop comparing "Chimera" with the eternal classic "Karma". Obviously anything that Delerium puts out is going to be held up to "Karma". I wish people would stop that comparison 'cause they are never going to re-do "Karma". Delerium never ceases to amaze me, nor can they disappoint me.

Chimera has fallen far short of what I've come to expect... moving music that yanks on strings leading into the depths of my subconcious. The music has become as trite and devoid of meaning for me as most Pop and New Age.

I like the earlier, darker, more industrial Delerium, but the Delerium that really speaks to me started with "Semantic Spaces", and continued on with "Karma". In those two CDs, Delerium created music that has an almost spiritual significance for me.

In my opinion, one of the biggest reasons for this is that their vocals have just been another thread in the music. The music had almost the same emotional punch even if you didn't understand a word of the lyrics.

In Chimera, the vocalists have taken over.

Perhaps Delerium feels a need to cater to the pop scene that has recently discovered them. Or maybe its that the vocalists are pushing for more recognition. It must be hard to be a vocalist with such a beautiful voice (which is the only kind of vocalist Delerium has used lately) and not have your name be strongly associated with the music.

Whatever the reason, I don't feel that Chimera is worth the money I paid for it.

What happened? Where are the world beats? Wheres the ambiance of their earlier work ?They been replaced by generic disco beats! If you wanna flashback to the 80's house/latin/disco era this is the disc. If you want new delerium try their clone balligomingo instead - at least they sound like delerium.

j thought that it should be something different,but it's so boring and don't given to me any emotion,j can't comparate with poem,semantic spaces and karma.j hope the best from them in future.