Customer Reviews

Ashes

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Y'know, I can completely understand why some people are bashing this album and why longtime Tristania fans might not appreciate it. I am a huge fan of this genre and worship Beyond the Veil as the absolute best Tristania and symphonic goth metal album of all time. Ashes is nothing like Beyond the Veil. It isn't even remotely similar to Widow's Weeds, and has very little in common with World of Glass. I have waited a long time for something new from this European band, and was quite surprised at how different this album is. No choirs, not a lot of acoustic and 12 string guitar. Not very much keyboard or orchestration.

That said, by the time I had spun this disc a half dozen times I was completely mesmerized. What Ashes lacks in substance and layering it more than makes up in atmosphere. I found the album to be a very stark and beautiful masterpiece, easily conveying mood, emotion and poise. It has a more raw and minimalist feel than previous Tristania albums, and comes across as a more personal album.

The more I listen to Ashes, the more aware I become of it's simple brilliance. It certainly is a welcome addition to my CD collection and features some very memorable tracks.

My personal faves: Shadowman, Equilibrium and Bird. The version I have features 9 tracks in total.
Complete tracklisting is:
Libre
Equilibrium
The Wretched
Cure
Circus
Shadowman
The Gate - (bonus track)
Endogenisis
Bird

When Morton Veland, the founder and creative genius behind Norwegian B&B band Tristania left to form Sirenia, most pundits thought that signaled a death knell for Tristania. However I thought, yes, but they still have Vibeke Stene. Stene has an hauntingly, alluring, pure voice that is intoxicating to listen to and sure enough, their release of World of Glass on the retreating footfalls of Veland seemed to bare that out. World of Glass was a strong album with Vibeke prominently featured.

In the meantime Veland was rolling along with two and a half (one was an EP) wonderful new albums but he still didn't have Vibeke.

So what did Tristania do on their new album Ashes? They witheld their greatest asset, relegating her to few lead vocals and mostly background vocals. Blaaaah! You guys blew it. Tristania is now more Death Metal than Beauty and the Beast. Death Metal fans may and probably will enjoy this album but I didn't think of them in that light or I wouldn't have wrote about them.

If they're going to so under-utilize Vibeke, they may as well send her packing over to Sirenia so she can reunite with Veland and make their music even better.

Band Members

Vibeke Stenne Vocals
Osten Bergoy Vocals
Kjetil Ingebrethsen Vocals
Kenneth Olsson Drums
Einar Moen Synth and Programming
Rune Osterus Bass
Anders Hoyvik Hidle Guitars

For those not familiar with Tristania, Ashes is their fourth full length album. It was preceded by Widows Weeds (1998), Beyond The Veil (1999) and World of Glass (2001). I would describe their music as Dark, Romantic, Symphonic Gothic, sometimes referred to as Beauty and the Beast music, in reference to the use of "growling" male vocals to offset the sweet, smooth, melodic sound of the female vocals, choirs and symphonic music. This style of music commands more popularity in other parts of the world than stateside, though adherents can be found everywhere. I don't know why they did it (Maybe they had budget concerns concerns with the new label) but they have abandoned some of the main tenets, that the previous three successful albums were built upon, by drifting into an even darker more atmospheric, less symphonic sound. There is very little of the previous sound but I did think three of the eight songs were better than average.

I enjoyed "Equalibrium", "Cure" and "Endogenisis" the best, probably because they were the most similar to the style that I was familiar with. "Equalibrium" starts pleasantly in a medium tempo with Vibeke taking on vocal duties. She is joined shortly by Osten Bergoy who on this number sings with clean vocals. There is nothing special about the music but it is consistent and enhances the pretty vocals. Others may disagree but I think "Cure" is very good. It has an slower atmospheric sad texture and also features Vibeke singing solo. Again the music is not particularly compelling but the overall effect of the song is, especially the wonderful piano playing in the middle backing Vibeke's heavenly voice. At 7:37 "Endogenisis" is the longest of all the songs, which are all fairly long. It starts out with some heavy growling but evolves quickly into a pretty ballad style, ethereal number, featuring clean vocals by Vibeke and Osten with an occasional growl.

Conclusion

Not only did Tristania diminish Vibeke's role in favor of dueling snarling voxes but they got rid of the other factors of beauty like the choirs and violins. What a disappointment! After a four year wait and eagerly anticipating their next release to get this. Now I know how some feel about the new NIN release.

Surprisingly many reviewers think Ashes is a good album, which proves my point that those who enjoy Death Metal would probably think it's great, while those that don't won't. On the other hand there are those who agree with me too. While I don't necessarily agree with everything they go on to say, I do agree that this is not a good album overall. Final Rating 2.75 stars, rounded up.

Similar Bands

After Forever, Trail of Tears, Penumbra, Sirenia, Theatre of Tragedy (old), Azmodan, Haggard

Tristania, once at the forefront of symphonic and synthetic metal alike, runs the ship aground with their fourth full-length offering. Einar Moen, the keyboardist who was basically the heart and soul of the band, is almost absent from this piece, leaving it to the overachieving but less-than-musically-adept guitarist Anders H. Hidle to run things. The songs have a distinctly modern sound, even bordering on metalcore at times. Anders' riffs are fairly repetitious and boring, and his use of discomforting arrangements and flat notes doesn't help a bit. His playing is somewhat melodic, but lacks any type of aesthetic structuring or technicality, making the listen fairly dull and ambiguous. The growls of Kjetil Ingebrethsen are unintelligible; unlike the crystal-clear sound of Morten Veland and Ronny Thorsen before him, all you hear from KJ is "raargh raargh RAAAAAAARRRGGGHHH!!!" Vibeke has effectively sealed the fate of her singing career, because she sounds like she went on a chain-smoking binge. There is no texture or emotion in her voice at all, aside from some irritating sighing. Osten Bergoy, the main source of vocal talent in the band, is again confined to back-burner roles. I don't understand this; he writes the lyrics to half the songs, so why doesn't he let himself sing more?

But onto the good points. Rune and Kenneth (bass and drums) are really allowed to shine here, which is good, because Rune in particular is highly underrated in his field. The songs aren't bad per se, but certainly do not measure up to the compositions that Tristania has created in the past. The thing that made Tristania attractive in the first place was the sheer complexity and intricacy of their works, and this new 'organic' direction means that the songs are painfully simple and stripped-down. No choirs at all, save for all three vocalists singing together in "The Wretched." By the way, it has 8 tracks ("Bird," the standout track, isn't listed), and the digipak has 9 ("The Gate" is the bonus; haven't heard it yet). All in all, three long years after the powerful and excellent World of Glass, the band comes back with a woefully weak effort.

The interplay of opposites is a constant in life; day and night, darkness and light, male and female, good and bad. The same holds true for Tristania's 'Ashes' [Enhanced] [Special Edition].

To concentrate on the good I have two words, Vibeke Stene. When she is singing the lyrics and music take the listener on a hypnotizing and sometimes frightening trek into a Netherworld where "the Song of Demons" is clearly discerned. When she is not singing the music slips backward into a somewhat mediocre collection of tunes. Don't get me wrong, they're not bad songs, they just don't carry the same emotional impact when Vibeke isn't singing.

Receipt for Success: Keep Vibeke at the microphone as much as possible.

When Morton Veland, the founder and creative genius behind Norwegian B&B band Tristania left to form Sirenia, most pundits thought that signaled a death knell for Tristania. However I thought, yes, but they still have Vibeke Stene. Stene has an hauntingly, alluring, pure voice that is intoxicating to listen to and sure enough, their release of World of Glass on the retreating footfalls of Veland seemed to bare that out. World of Glass was a strong album with Vibeke prominently featured.

In the meantime Veland was rolling along with two and a half (one was an EP) wonderful new albums but he still didn't have Vibeke.

So what did Tristania do on their new album Ashes? They witheld their greatest asset, relegating her to few lead vocals and mostly background vocals. Blaaaah! You guys blew it. Tristania is now more Death Metal than Beauty and the Beast. Death Metal fans may and probably will enjoy this album but I didn't think of them in that light or I wouldn't have wrote about them.

If they're going to so under-utilize Vibeke, they may as well send her packing over to Sirenia so she can reunite with Veland and make their music even better.

Band Members

Vibeke Stenne Vocals
Osten Bergoy Vocals
Kjetil Ingebrethsen Vocals
Kenneth Olsson Drums
Einar Moen Synth and Programming
Rune Osterus Bass
Anders Hoyvik Hidle Guitars

For those not familiar with Tristania, Ashes is their fourth full length album. It was preceded by Widows Weeds (1998), Beyond The Veil (1999) and World of Glass (2001). I would describe their music as Dark, Romantic, Symphonic Gothic, sometimes referred to as Beauty and the Beast music, in reference to the use of "growling" male vocals to offset the sweet, smooth, melodic sound of the female vocals, choirs and symphonic music. This style of music commands more popularity in other parts of the world than stateside, though adherents can be found everywhere. I don't know why they did it (Maybe they had budget concerns concerns with the new label) but they have abandoned some of the main tenets, that the previous three successful albums were built upon, by drifting into an even darker more atmospheric, less symphonic sound. There is very little of the previous sound but I did think three of the eight songs were better than average.

I enjoyed "Equalibrium", "Cure" and "Endogenisis" the best, probably because they were the most similar to the style that I was familiar with. "Equalibrium" starts pleasantly in a medium tempo with Vibeke taking on vocal duties. She is joined shortly by Osten Bergoy who on this number sings with clean vocals. There is nothing special about the music but it is consistent and enhances the pretty vocals. Others may disagree but I think "Cure" is very good. It has an slower atmospheric sad texture and also features Vibeke singing solo. Again the music is not particularly compelling but the overall effect of the song is, especially the wonderful piano playing in the middle backing Vibeke's heavenly voice. At 7:37 "Endogenisis" is the longest of all the songs, which are all fairly long. It starts out with some heavy growling but evolves quickly into a pretty ballad style, ethereal number, featuring clean vocals by Vibeke and Osten with an occasional growl.

Conclusion

Not only did Tristania diminish Vibeke's role in favor of dueling snarling voxes but they got rid of the other factors of beauty like the choirs and violins. What a disappointment! After a four year wait and eagerly anticipating their next release to get this. Now I know how some feel about the new NIN release.

Surprisingly many reviewers think Ashes is a good album, which proves my point that those who enjoy Death Metal would probably think it's great, while those that don't won't. On the other hand there are those who agree with me too. While I don't necessarily agree with everything they go on to say, I do agree that this is not a good album overall. Final Rating 2.75 stars, rounded up.

Ashes is VERY different from previous releases by Tristania so it may come to a shock to many people when they do not here the majestic chiors or medaeval influences from their last releases. Tristania appear to have gone in a completely new musical direction and the music is very impressive. However, older Tristania fans may be disappointed becasue they are attatched to Tristania's older dn very different sound from Widows Weeds, Beyond The Veil and World Of Glass.
When Morten Veland, the band's megalomaniac growler left after Beyond The Veil, Tristania's sound did change a little in World Of Glass but it was still recognisable as the same band. With Ashes and its more modern sound, it could be a completely different band.
Vibeke's vocals are still beautiful but less operatic and more toned down. this is disappointing because her voice doesn't really stand out as much as it used to. She sings far more on this album than she did in, for example, Widow's Weeds, and this makes it less special when she starts singing. The "growling" by Kjetil Ingebrethsen is no where near as good as Veland's or Ronny Thorsen's and you can't decipher what he is singing (well, growling , not singing!). Osten Bergoy features much more in Ashes than he has done before because he is now a full time member of the band. This is a very good thing as I love his vocals.
When listening to Ashes, listen to it with an open mind, without comparing it to Tristania's older stuff because otherwise you will be disappointed with what is otherwise a brilliant album.

Okay, so this album does NOT sound like older Tristania, but it's still a decent album. In fact, I think this album is quite good. I don't care if it doesn't sound like Tristania, it's still a good album.
I was disappointed at first because I was expecting it to sound like World Of Glass or perhaps even Widow's Weeds or Beyond the Veil (wishful thinking I guess), but after a few listens I got over the fact that it didn't sound like the other albums and realized that it did have potential. It may have taken a while, but this CD is definitely worth a listen if you can get past the fact that it does not sound like their previous work.

Simply put, this is yet another great Tristania album. It has a consistent flow, and includes a couple more tracks akin to the popular "Tender Trip on Earth" from World of Glass. Tristania's sound is becoming more mature and complex, and those listeners who are resistant to the change seem to be unhappy with it. My only complaint at first was that there were only eight tracks; however, each track is about six minutes long, making for a nice overall length from start to finish.

You know I hesitated to write a review of this album as I don't want it to turn into a simple "me too" rant, but I wanted to throw my two cents in. Let me start off by saying I usually detest this growling metal, and bands that play the guitars and drums so loud to hide the fact they're playing two chords and really don't have a clue in the world musically (I don't want to mention any names...Slipknot) but there's something about Tristania that drew me to them. The song structures are incredible, there's no wasted notes, everything is well planned out and always moving forward. The songs can be long but you never really notice the length as they vary so much and there is so much complexity to them. Some bands can play long songs and it feels like they're always building, moving forward (Elend for example), while others seem like they're just plodding along, not really getting anywhere (like this review seems to be) and while Tristania used to be the former, unfortunately this new CD is more of the latter.

I'm not going to get into the fact that the loss of Morten moved them in a different direction, or that you could see the changes even on World of Glass, that's all been done. What I will say is that the direction of this band has changed dramatically, and in my opinion, that new direction doesn't work. "The Wretched" is just like a grinding song with indiscriminate growling, there's no melody, no intricacies to it, just growling. The same holds true for "Circus" as well, there's just nothing to it. That's not to say there aren't interesting songs on this CD, Endogenisis brings Vbeke to the front a little bit, but not in the flowing opera ways of old, but more as just a singer. She has a beautiful voice that is somehow minimized by making her sing instead of "sing". Listen to My Lost Lenore then listen to the new CD and you'll see what I mean.

Now why 2 stars? Obviously I listed the problems I have with the CD, but on a couple of songs they do actually get things right and sound something like the Tristania of old. Unfortunately the big sweeping choirs are missing in a big way on this album. This CD is also missing the little things that add to the songs of yore. Listen to the final two notes on Wormwood where the tenor voice comes in out of nowhere for those two seconds, which may seem small, but it adds a layer of complexity that is missing on Ashes. This CD is worth a listen, and honestly I'm probably making it sound worse than it really is, but I was expecting so much more.

I'd have to agree with the previous two reviewers here. Tristania and Theatre of Tragedy were the two bands that got me into this kind of symphonic Goth metal in the first place. Now, whereas Theatre of Tragedy's Liv Kristine produced a very worthy work with her new band Leaves' Eyes last year, and upstart band Evanescence broke Goth metal into the mainstream, Tristania seems to have plummeted in quality.

One word summarizes most of this album: Boring. There are no guitar riffs, merely grinding chords that have no crunch, generating dense and unending noise, with chord changes almost always appearing at the end of each bar, and guitar parts that seem to utilize only on the bottom three strings at the first three frets. After about five minutes of this "brrrrr" guitar sludge, I was ready to hibernate. Vibeke Stene, who used to be my favourite vocalist in this symphonic Goth style, is now reduced to a reverb-drowned coo, and now she almost never takes the lead vocal as a lead vocalist should. Her parts sound more like high keyboard atmosphere, and the lyrics are all but undecipherable, drowned in the sluggish mix. Even Elizabeth Fraser from Cocteau Twins is more intelligible, and that's saying a lot.

I give one extra star because of some good acoustic accents, especially on the songs "Cure" (where the acoustic sounds almost like a harpsichord), and the best track on the record, "Endogenisis", whose acoustic intro is the only real hook on the whole album.

The entire presentation of Tristania on Ashes, musical and visual, reeks of apathy. The album design is inconsistent with the band's visual style up to now, looking like a generic indie-folk album rather than a metal record, the songwriting is vague and unfocused, the vocals sound like improvisations without direction, and the production is lifeless and one-dimensional. It looks and sounds like the band ran out of money to do a proper album and just made do with the lowest common denominator, hoping to sell this record for quick cash. Well, Liv Kristine won this round hands down, and unless Tristania gets off its butt and looks at how far its quality control has fallen (from the great heights of Beyond the Veil and World of Glass), the future looks grim indeed.