Melodic bass prodigy Illenium has had his well deserved share of fame through his magical, thought-provoking music that leaves one wanting for more. His regularity and consistency when it comes to releases have been left unscathed, even through heavy touring and internal struggles (which he opens up about in his earlier single Take Me Down).

His new single sees him return to his widely-thought long-lost melodic dubstep territory with soaring synths standing majestically above a kick-snare that kicks nostalgia into overdrive. Of course, sound and musical taste is not immune to change, and you’ll hear a tinge of the glitchy midtempo influence with in the dirty second drop filled with crunchy sound design.

With a metallic sound not heard from Nick ever since his Ashes album, Pray also features the bone chilling vocals of Kameron Alexander, a new name to EDM. Vaguely reminscient of EDEN’s raw, desperate delivery in Leaving, Kameron takes it a step further by filling up the mix through his wide, dynamic voice during the vocal sections. A certain harsh character of his adds to the minor tonality of the tune itself, adding the finishing touches to the near perfect instrumental.

As opposed to the much warmer, mid-bass heavy sound of future bass, melodic dubstep is known for its emphasis on the high end with a tinge of detune. Since tunes like Drop Our Hearts Pt. 2 and Rush over Me (which can be attributed to Seven Lions), that sort of sound design has been notably missing from Illenium’s arsenal.

A soulful, mind-numbing and beautiful release from Illenium bodes well for his recently announced third artist album, for it has been dubbed the best Illenium song in more than a couple of years – a sentiment I am inclined to share. Nick’s stuck with these soulful vocals for a while (like in God Damnit), but both the production and the vocals trump those of his previous releases.

The song begins with an acoustic section straight out of an indie tune back only by the strings of a guitar. The Illenium orchestral percussion is introduced soon after, moving straight into the buildup with the vocals an octave higher increasing the energy ever so gradually. Variation in the oscillation frequency on the supersaw filters as well as a brand new melody in the drop make for an exemplary melodic dubstep drop, one that is repeated in the third drop, closing the track how it started.

The second drop on the other hand, is one that still retains a tinge of the melody (for Illenium is one who has hardly ever strayed too far from melodies) but with a much harder sound. Similar to his VIP of Where’d You Go with Said The Sky and 1788-L, there’s a clear rhythm in this tune – one that reverberates above the exquisite, varied sound design in the leads and basses.

Illenium is really riding a wave right now, having sold out not one, not two, but three shows at Red Rocks in October. September also sees him perform at the iconic Madison Square Gardens venue in NYC, where he’ll be teasing a ‘new album live set’. This can only mean his third is coming later this year?!