Tristania: Illumination

So-called gothic metal has always confounded me, especially the kind that features beautiful and sexy female vocals and cold-as-frozen-steel male vocals. More often than not, I get this weird aural image of a band like, say, Lacuna Coil, sharing a stage with the Pet Shop Boys. In the case of Tristania's Illumination — expected to boost the Norwegian band's North American profile even more than 2005's Ashes — these 10 songs succeed without really altering that bizarre image for me. Vibeke Stene's powerful voice (thankfully) doesn't go over the top as much as it could, and it rarely veers into claustrophobic Tarja Turunen territory. But her presence is tempered by the dour delivery of guitarist/vocalist Anders Hoyvik Hidle, who occasionally resorts to parched death-metal gasps. (Listen to "The Ravens" to hear what I'm talking about.) The vocals of Stene and Hoyvik Hidle are backed by dark metal that's often atmospheric, mysterious, muscular and always evocative. Standout tracks include the pounding opener "Mercyside," the epic "Open Ground" and the haunting "Destination Departure." Some of the songs do tend to sound the same, but that can be said about most gothic metal. At its essence, Illumination seeks to define (read: not redefine) the genre. If that's good enough for Tristania, that should be good enough for me.

Track Listing:
1) Mercyside
2) Sanguine Sky
3) Open Ground
4) The Ravens
5) Destination Departure
6) Down
7) Fate
8) Lotus
9) Sacrilege
10) Deadlands

Added: January 30th 2007
Reviewer: Michael Popke
Score:
Related Link: Official Tristania Web Site
Hits: 3506
Language: english

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