Song Description
"The Illusion" is a haunting classical rock track that explores lost faith, blind devotion, and the atrocities committed in the name of religion. Layered within the music is a powerful moment in history—the inclusion of Ronald Reagan’s 1987 speech to the United Nations General Assembly, where he famously suggested that humanity’s divisions might vanish if faced with an alien threat from beyond this world.

Originally written in 2014, The Illusion first appeared on my debut album Time Machine – Reflecting Shattered Dreams. This 2025 release is a brand-new AI reimagining of that version, breathing cinematic new life into the original while keeping its spirit intact. Thunderous guitars, sweeping orchestration, and raw emotion collide in a track that challenges belief, confronts hypocrisy, and searches for universal truth.

THE ILLUSTION

[Verse 1]
I've been lost in emotion
I've sailed the seven seas
Searching for reasons
The good book is not what it seems

[Verse 2]
I see it in the distance
Like water on the sand
So tired and weary
It's all I can do just to stand

[Pre-Chorus]
With time
I have come to realize
It's all a dream
Mirage
In the desert of my life
Is all that this came to be
So, 

[Chorus]
Take all your time
If God's on your side
Justify all that you've done
Devoid of feeling
Closed to reason
Closed to love
Can't you see this
All that you do
For your God

[Verse 3]
I've been to the edge and now I've seen the truth
We've sacrificed freedom, we've sacrificed good
We're living this lie
I'll teach you to see the new light

[Verse 4]
The things that you do
In the name of the one
I question your reason
I laugh at your song
You dance to their tune
You are so blind to this wrong

[Pre-Chorus]
If God
Is the thing you use to justify the need
You'll find
Nothing more than dark
When you fall asleep
So, 

[Chorus]
Take all your time
If God's on your side
Justify all that you've done
Devoid of feeling
Closed to reason
Closed to love
Can't you see this
All that you do
For your God

[Written by Ronald Regan]
In our obsession with antagonisms of the moment, we often forget how much unites all the members of humanity. Perhaps we need some outside, universal threat to make us recognize this common bond. I occasionally think how quickly our differences worldwide would vanish if we were facing an alien threat from outside this world.

[Outro Chorus]
So, take all your time
If God's on your side
Justify all that you've done
Devoid of feelings
Closed to reason
Closed to love
Can't you see this
All that you do
For your God

Time Machine - Echoes of Shattered Dreams

The Illusion

About

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DRMpYn3DaExz7nilHD0_DMTQvKzAScuXxLZdVw0/?igsh=OHV3anV6MTZzaTR0

I’m Dean R. Chandler — a London based songwriter, recording artist, and storyteller. My music is rooted in a lifelong search for meaning, weaving together themes of love, loss, faith, alien contact, and humanity’s future.

My upcoming double concept album Human Odyssey (set for release in January 2027) is the culmination of decades of writing and reflection. It’s a narrative journey that begins with a search for God and ends with an encounter with extraterrestrial intelligence — exploring not only what it means to be human, but also where we might be heading as a species. Musically, it draws inspiration from the epic storytelling of Jeff Wayne’s War of the Worlds, the synth-driven edge of Gary Numan, and the emotional depth of artists like Tori Amos and Chris de Burgh.

I previously released Time Machine – Reflecting Shattered Dreams (2014) and continue to revisit my archive of songs written across 35 years, reimagining them with today’s tools and sounds. Some pieces remain intimate and acoustic, while others expand into dark rock, industrial, or orchestral landscapes — but all are connected by a focus on emotional honesty and cinematic storytelling.

Beyond music, I’m fascinated by the intersection of creativity and technology. I’ve been experimenting with AI-driven composition and production to bring old demos to life and to spark entirely new works. For me, these tools are not replacements for human artistry but extensions of it — ways of unlocking stories and emotions that otherwise might have remained hidden.

At its heart, my work is about connection: to the past, to the future, and to the unseen mysteries of existence. Music, for me, isn’t just entertainment — it’s a chronicle of transformation, a conversation between spirit, science, and sound.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/dean-r-chandler-b19715382/
www.deanrchandler.co.uk

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