 |
| |||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||
| - | ||||||||||||||||
| Review | ||||||||||||||||
|
After experiencing a different kind of positive success with their previous effort, Illumination, Tristania continues along their current musical path with Rubicon, with one exception. Instead of having various band members throw in male vocals, a new member, Kjetil Nordhus, has been brought into the mix. Unfortunately, this doesn't mean the band is going back to their original darker Gothic Metal roots, but instead dabbles a bit in a darker atmosphere while still focusing on the lighter female vocal oriented songs of late. So, for those hoping for a return to the days of Beyond the Veil will be disappointed, but in this case, it's not necessarily a bad thing. Rubicon is a very strong album that still retains Tristania's unique haunting atmosphere that has been present on their recordings for quite some time now. This becomes the biggest fear on this album, especially with the title track and lead single, "Year of the Rat". The song itself is a lighter song, but as you progress through the song, there is a sudden moment when the album grows significantly darker for a very brief amount of time, and we are introduced to the new male singer's vocals, but it's just so short and feels odd given how abruptly it comes in, and how short it lasts, almost as if it were tacked on at the last second. And then there's "Patiot Games" which, again, is a lighter song, but this features male vocals at the start, and has a bit of a darker feel to the song. The chorus is sung clean, is a little lighter, and has some layered harsher vocals thrown into the background to make it sound more powerful, and it works. However, again, as the song progresses, it suddenly gets really dark, and really heavy, featuring a great guitar solo, but again, it seems out of place and almost tacked on. The difference here compared to "Year of the Rat", however, is that it works with the song nicely, so whether it was tacked on or not, it's still heavy and sounds great with the song in the long run. For the most part, Rubicon is heavily dominated by female vocals, leaving little room for the male vocalists involved, which is sad given how many people on this recording actually contribute vocals, both lead and backing. Many of the songs led by these ladies of metal are done very well, and often sound whimsical and intoxicating with their suiting beauty, such as with "Patriot Games", "Exile", and the male oriented "Vulture", but there's no denying that some of the stronger songs on this release are those that are more duet-oriented then anything. "Sirens" is a phenonemal song, moving at a much slower chugging pace that blends both male and female vocals perfectly to create a near-operatic level of beauty to the mix, enhanced by the haunting guitar chords that adorn much of the song outside the chugwging verses. While songs like "Year of the Rat" are enhanting for what they are, and often wind up being heavier then the rest of the songs, these duets really show more potential from the band, mostly thanks to the ambience the music sets, and, in this case with "Sirens", really pushes things with instruments that suit the environment that the band sets with the music by adding such things as a violin to further set the tone for the listener. Rubicon also seems to be very diverse as far as the music goes. While the music still retains the same kind of atmosphere between one song and the next, there are many different musical approaches brought into the mix. While "Year of the Rat" is more of Tristania's take of a general Gothic Rock song, you have other tracks that break that mold like "Magical Fix" which incorporates more of a traditional Hard Rock sound to it with some open guitars chords for the main verse and lower, almost spoken word vocals that give off a slight Thrash feel before bursting into a very heavy, fast paced chorus, which the band expands on around the homestretch of the song with near Melodic Death Metal riffs and gutterals that bring the song up to it's suiting climax before concluding nicely with the soothingly sung, yet very impressive chorus. Then, of course, there's the signature upbeat Rock anthem-like track "Patriot Games" that has a more upbeat feel then anything, even though the main verse features a slower, darker performance that borders into the realm of Doom Metal before jumping into a powerful chorus and some bridges that take full command of the song. But, the most unique of all is the closing track, "Illumination", which actually is not a song off the album of the same name, which brings an operatic style to the mix int he male vocals, mostly during the chorus. It's these variances in the music that matter so much for the listener, keeping the recording from being predictable or even repetative, and it works very well for the band in the long run to creating a unique sounding album that only shows the band continuing to explore their musical abilities, especially with all the newer members that have joined since the band's last effort. While Rubicon isn't necessarily an album that can compete with the die hard fans lusting for a return to the band's heavier, darker material, this release stands on it's own with a unique atmosphere, and excellent musicianship and song structuring that offers great variances with each track, leaving the listener attentive and at the edge of their seat the entire time. There's nothing really wrong with the album outside of the fact that the songs feel a little restrained at times, and the fact that the band seems to not really utilize the male singers as much as they should. Either way, Rubicon is a Gothic Metal ride that lives up to the subgenre's name, leaving the listener practically diving from darkness to light through the album in a well transitioned manner for much of the album, and violently jerked at times when the shifting feels tacked on, but luckily that's not all that time. Fans of Tristania, old and new, should have no problem approaching this album, and will surely find enough enjoyable material throughout to keep coming back for more. |
||||||||||||||||
| - | |
 |
--
--
--
--
--
 
|