Tristania
Widow's Weeds
Napalm, 1998
Gothic metal is nothing new these days. It has been done by many with varying
degrees of success. But when a band like Norway's Tristania perform their
particular brand of Gothic Metal as well as they do on their debut, Widow's
Weeds, you've just got to give them credit. Nothing new or innovative, just
a perfect marriage of both Metal and Gothic themes performed by talented
musicians with their own personal touch added to the concept. The result is a
very promising debut album rich with all of the best aspects of the genre, an
album that gives fulfillment to the listener on all levels.
The Tristania sound is reflective of old Theatre Of Tragedy with a slight
sprinkling of Black Metal, mainly in the vocal approach. They follow the "Beauty
and the Beast" vocal concept made popular by the likes of Theatre Of Tragedy,
where growling male vocals are coupled with angelic female vocals. And these
vocals are performed convincingly by guitarist Morten Veland and Vibeke Stene,
also utilizing a full blown choir. Morten's voice is very powerful, mainly
performed in a harsh, growling voice, but also incorporating Black Metal and
clean vocal approaches, possessing a very commanding presence.
Where Tristania excel and many other bands performing a similar style fail is in
the emotional and atmospheric department. Keyboardist Einar Moen is quite
skilled in his ability to create the type of atmosphere that this music calls
for and orchestral arrangements come across powerful. These songs draw the
listener in with overwhelmingly emotional delivery and sweeping, sorrowful
atmosphere. Moments within "December Elegy", "Angellore" and "Wasteland's
Caress" can take your spirit right out of your body and lift you up to the
Heavens. It's truly that powerful. Indeed, Tristania perform this style better
than anyone who is currently attempting it, perfectly combining the right
elements together to create a dark journey through sorrowful emotions.
2001
Tracklisting
1. Preludium...
2. Evenfall
3. Pale Enchantress
4. December Elegy
5. Midwintertears
6. Angellore
7. My Lost Lenore
8. Wasteland's Caress
9. ...postludium
Tristania
Widow’s Tour
Napalm Records, 1999
What we have here is a home video of a Tristania performance in Oberwart during their tour for the Widow’s Weeds debut. Considering that the material on display is entirely taken from said debut, and that this shooting is almost entirely made up of the band performing these songs on stage, it stands to reason that any interest in the viewing of Widow’s Tour will surely rest with dedicated Tristania fans. This will be an exercise in boredom for those who are indifferent or even those who have had a casual flirtation with the band’s output.
It’s all professionally done. The camera angles are nicely varied. The sound leaves little, if anything, to be desired and the visual quality is satisfying. As I stated above, if you are one who adored Widow’s Weeds, it will be interesting to watch the band perform the material. Gothic metal doesn’t always translate convincingly in a live setting, and it’s often not the most visually stunning display. What makes this particular situation a success is that Tristania know how to construct an engaging tune and deliver it in a compelling manner. The songs are strong enough to carry the performance on their own. And that’s really what it’s all about anyway…good songs. There’s six of them here, with the first four being straight shots of the band on stage, while "Evenfall" mixes in conceptual images along with the stage show and "Wasteland’s Caress" flashes between stage shots and backstage footage and other more casual settings of the band.
One always hopes for more with these types of packages. Interviews would have been a nice addition, or an accompanying booklet with some notes from the label or the band themselves. Even so, Widow’s Tour is certainly a worthy purchase for anyone into the band’s refreshing take on gothic metal, and even though the atmospheric component does not generate as powerfully in this environment, it remains a satisfying visual/sonic encounter.
3/27/04
Tracklisting
1. Midwintertears
2. My Lost Lenore
3. December Elegy
4. Pale Enchantress
5. Evenfall (video)
6. Wasteland's Caress (tour cut)
Tristania
Beyond The Veil
Napalm, 2000
Upon hearing this band for the first time with its second album, Beyond The
Veil, I was completely blown away in every possible way that you can be
blown away by an album. Familiar with the band name from various Napalm Records
advertisements and mail order catalogs, I had not really knew much at all about
these Norwegians, picking up this album based purely on the provocative beauty
of the cover artwork and the intriguing song titles. I was completely unprepared
and taken by pleasant surprise within the first minute of this album, the music
nearly reaching through the speakers into my body and taking firm grasp of my
soul, causing me to sit, hypnotized, by the magnificent grandeur it possessed.
First song, "Beyond The Veil" is the perfect choice for album opener as it
represents every aspect of Trsitania's vast sound, which ranges from beautiful
choral arrangements to grand Gothic tragedy to bombastic Black Metal
aggressiveness. Vocalist/Guitarist Morten Veland possesses a very powerful voice
which dwells in-between Death and Black vox most often leaning towards the
Black. His vocals are extremely potent and performed with an overwhelming array
of emotions, offset by the equally impressive talents of session clean vocalist
Osten Bergoy and female vocalist Vibeke Stene, whose delicate yet convincing
voice is usually accompanied by an ocean of choirs to create a theatrical
element to these vast compositions. The sound on this album is huge, with all
instruments shining clearly through, especially the drums which sound an awful
lot like electronic drum pads were used for this recording, though this is not
indicated in the linear notes. The dominant sound here is Gothic/Symphonic Metal
bringing to mind early Theatre Of Tragedy with slight hints of symphonic
blackened metal, but instead of writing their own versions of those bands songs,
Tristania take their influences and create something truly unique. There is a
lot on offer here with each song playing the role of a mini epic, with
highlights being the aforementioned title track, the beautiful clean vocal
arrangements of "A Sequel Of Decay", the powerful mid section of "Opus Relinque"
and personal favorite "Heretique", which features extremely powerful clean
vocals by session member Jan Kenneth Barkved, reminding me of Garm's heroic
clean singing on Borknagar's The Olden Domain. "Simbelmyne" is a short
piano instrumental that sets the stage for the epic" Angina" led by Veland's
amazingly powerful vocals." Dementia" ends the album with a glorious yet
sinister epic atmosphere, bringing the awesome Summoning to mind.
With the focus in Norway being on the morphing of the infamous Black Metal scene
into the realms of Industrial and Techno territories, there is a very healthy
Symphonic Metal scene emerging from this region as well, which seems to be
centered on combining the early efforts of Paradise Lost and Norway's own
Theatre Of Tragedy with symphonic blackened metal aggression. With other acts
such as Trail Of Tears and The Sins Of Thy Beloved releasing impressive albums
recently, it seems there is another Metal resurgence on the horizon in Norway,
headed by a new generation of musicians with a flair for the dramatic and an
obsession with dark romanticism befalling to sorrowful tragedy. If you are
searching for the next magnificent Gothic/Symphonic Metal masterpiece, your
search has just ended.
2001
Tracklisting
1. Beyond The Veil
2. Aphelion
3. A Sequel Of Decay
4. Opus Relinque
5. Lethean River
6. ...Of Ruins And A Red Nightfall
7. Simbelmynë
8. Angina
9. Heretique
10. Dementia
Tristania
World Of Glass
Napalm, 2001
Tristania were really on to something. Widow's
Weeds and Beyond The Veil were both fantastic displays of atmospheric
gothic metal, providing proof that, yes, this kind of music can indeed be
performed with class and conviction. Of course, nothing presented on either of
these albums was particularly new or innovative, but Tristania executed the
material with undeniable skill and craftsmanship, and perhaps more importantly,
they proved quite capable of creating an atmosphere of romantic tragedy that
actually came across very effectively, without the pretentiousness and
cheese-factor that so many other similar acts suffer from. They approached the
style with a refreshing and creative perspective that truly set them apart from
not only their peers, but the pioneers of the style as well. However, it seems
as though the well of inspiration that the band drew from for these efforts has
run a bit dry with third album World Of Glass.
The most significant reason for the decline in creative and engaging energy
within the band's sound is the departure of vocalist/guitarist/songwriter Morten
Veland. It's been Veland's highly creative vision, commanding vocal presence and
ambitious compositional construction that has contributed so immensely to the
band's past success. While Veland has resurfaced with his new project, Sirenia
(who's At Sixes And Sevens debut is actually a more fitting follow up to
the outstanding Beyond The Veil, further confirming that the sound
Tristania were pursuing on that album was more so Veland's vision), Tristania
has ultimately failed to live up to the high expectations set by their previous
work. World Of Glass suffers from a lack of a strong vocal
presence. Three session vocalists are featured, none of which solidify
themselves as a convincing vocal force able to carry these songs. The two clean
vocalists appeared as guest singers on Beyond The Veil, delivering
effective performances, but neither are capable of being a featured vocalist
that can sustain an entire album. The "extreme" vocals are weak, and a major
drop-off from Veland's forceful growl. The female vocalist, Vibeke Stene, is an
adequate enough spot vocalist, but also cannot carry an entire song herself. Her
contributions work best when in conjunction with the choirs, which, by the way,
are not as interestingly arranged as before. It doesn't help much that the
lyrics, like the vocals, have suffered a significant decrease in quality. It
seems they tried to simplify the words for a more direct approach, but lines
like "I can see God's unborn son--playing with a loaded gun--all our
sins...--he'll die for us...--or did somebody lie to us?" just don't cut it.
The clever arrangements of the band's first two albums are not to be found here.
These songs are without a soul, almost as if the band quickly assembled them
without much care for strong hooks or anything memorable whatsoever. The magic
that once dwelled within this band's songs has deflated into an empty void. The
captivating orchestrations, penetrating melancholy and yearning atmospherics
have been watered down into bland songs that have no meaning for existence. Even
the instrumental performances are dull, and there is no doubt that they are
exceptional players. For sure, Tristania still dwell in the realms of gothic
metal, but it's an uneventful and soulless portrayal of the style. The band
almost get it right during "Tender Trip On Earth", particularly during the
chorus, and "Deadlocked" somewhat resembles the forlorn beauty so skillfully
produced previously, but it's not enough to save this album from drowning in
it's own mediocrity.
World Of Glass is an uninspiring effort from a band who previously
delivered some of the most effective music of the gothic metal genre. I'm not
sure what the differences were between Morten Veland and the rest of the band,
but the effects of the split have clearly had a negative effect on Tristania's
ability to craft powerful and moving songs. Hopefully, the band will locate a
more than capable lead vocalist who can also aid in songwriting and ideas,
because the band just seems lost here. Highly disappointing.
2/2004
Tracklisting
1. The Shining Path
2. Wormwood
3. Tender Trip On Earth
4. Lost
5. Deadlocked
6. Selling Out
7. Hatred Grows
8. World Of Glass
9. The Modern End
10. Crushed Dreams
Tristania Discography
Widow's Weeds (Napalm, 1998)
Widow's Tour Video (Napalm, 1999)
Beyond The Veil (Naplam, 2000)
Midwintertears/Angine EP (Napalm, 2001)
World Of Glass (Napalm, 2001)
Ashes (Napalm, 2005)