The Illusion of Democracy

The Illusion of Democracy is the only studio album by American progressive metalcore band Reflux. It was released on October 12, 2004, through Prosthetic Records. Live music videos were released for the songs "Above the Pyramid and the Eye" and "Single File to Bliss".

The band began working on a second studio album with a targeted release date of spring 2006, but these plans never came to fruition.

Background
Reflux was founded in 2000 by vocalist Ash Avildsen and guitarist Tosin Abasi in Washington, D.C. The band's first line-up would consist of Avildsen and Abasi along with co-vocalist John Mehoves, bassist Evan Brewer, and drummer Dave Lozano. In 2001, the band would begin work on a five-track demo; Lozano would leave during the recording sessions and be replaced by Steve Clifford. Both Mehoves and Clifford would leave the band after the demo's release, with Clifford eventually joining Circa Survive. Vincent Vinh was hired to replace Clifford while Avildsen would become the band's sole vocalist.

Two songs from the demo, "Above the Pyramid and the Eye" and "Single File to Bliss" would be re-recorded for The Illusion of Democracy while "Life Is More Precious Than Land" was re-worked into "An Ode to the Evolution of Human Consciousness."

Legacy
Following the break-up of the band, guitarist Tosin Abasi was approached by Prosthetic to release a solo album, with the project becoming Animals as Leaders. Abasi was hesitant at first, but later agreed, saying "there was a lot about Reflux that was far from my musical ideal. So when Reflux disbanded and I went to school for music, I saw a solo thing as a way to express my voice."

Vocalist Ash Avildsen would go on to establish the record label Sumerian Records in 2006.

Bassist Evan Brewer would go on to join bands such as The Faceless, Fallujah, and Look What I Did.

Reception
In a review for CMJ New Music Report, Amy Sciarretto described the album as "an experiment that never gets boring or predictable," and noted that the band "refused to adhere to a singular style or scene." She commented: "They employ some serious guitar wizardry, precisely built walls of noise and off-the-beaten-path time signatures... but they don't skimp on the melodics, either."

Kirby Unrest of Lambgoat wrote: "A huge part of what makes Reflux not only good, but memorable, is that their immense technical talents do not undermine a dedication to cohesive and flat-out catchy numbers. They don't dumb things down, but Reflux do succeed in maintaining musical bravado, filled with awe-inspiring moments."

Writing for Can This Even Be Called Music, Dæv Tremblay remarked: "Reflux shows above all insane musicianship. Tosin and Evan tappings, fast riffs and constant changes within the songs make them interesting... Lyrics are also worth checking out... there should be more artists like this."

Personnel
Credits adapted from AllMusic:
 * Reflux
 * Ash Avildsen – lead vocals
 * Tosin Abasi – guitar
 * Evan Brewer – bass, backing vocals on tracks 1 and 7
 * Vincent Vinh – drums


 * Additional musicians
 * Chris Dowhan – keyboards, piano


 * Production
 * Andreas Magnusson – production, mixing, guitar and bass tracking
 * Brad Vance – mastering
 * Stephen Juliano – design, artwork, layout