Beyond the Veil

Tristania | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 6, 2000)
• Original Release Date: June 6, 2000
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Napalm
• ASIN: B00004T8ZT
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (44 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #143,678 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

This is the Most Mature Gothic Metal Product of all Time! Bombastic Choirs and the Female Singers'vibeke Breath-taking Vocals Take the Listener and Won't Set Him Free! --This text refers to an alternate Audio CD edition.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Morten Veland is amazing..., September 7, 2003

By 

mysanthropyk_overlord (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Beyond the Veil (Audio CD)

When I first got started into the realm of Tristania, I was immediately caught by World of Glass, and Beyond The Veil took some getting used to. But after playing it through thorougly several times (and annoying the hell out of my roommate - hey, that's what he gets for making me endure The Calling and the damn Moody Blues for so long!), I see more and more good qualities about Beyond The Veil that just aren't present in World of Glass, and it has become (along with Lacuna Coil's Comalies) the most valued item in my music collection. Why? Listen for yourself, the album is darn near flawless. This is complex, heavy, dark, beautiful, poetic, and inspired music, much to the contrary of anything you'd find on the American mainstream. Our RIAA would frown upon such talented artists, which is why it is impossible to find Tristania in any American music stores.

Morten Veland is an amazing songwriter in both the lyrical and instrumental regimes. His lyrics may not be quite as introspective as Einar's or Osten's, but they're more poetic and less cliche. He's up there with Dani Filth as one of the more creative lyricists in metal, but unlike Filth, there are no satanic references in Tristania's music, it's just pure gothic poetry. And you can call it "gothic" due to the archaic themes of their songs. You don't have to be a goth to make gothic music; in fact, true gothic metal bands are not composed of goths. So stop calling Manson and Evanescence gothic. Anyway, back to the album, the guitars are so much better than they would be later on World of Glass, since Anders seems to be more of a rhythm guitarist and typically doesn't play a whole lot of riffs, whereas Morten makes a good lead. Morten's powerful extreme vocals are worlds better than Trail of Tears' Ronny Thorsen, who was his "replacement" on WOG. Osten Bergoy's clean singing seems to stand out much more here, as he sounds more like a professional vocalist on here than the cartoon character he sounded like on WOG. The choir parts are woven into the music far better, enhancing the atmosphere a great deal instead of overpowering the music. And then there's the lovely Vibeke Stene. She doesn't take as much prominence here, but to some degree, that's a good thing, because instead of sounding like mellow music with gruff vocals like most of WOG did, Stene's parts come out more as the light shining through the darkness. Flawless.

Tristania is in a class of their own, and I get tired of seeing them compared to mediocre acts like Theatre of Tragedy. The only rival they have right now is Sirenia (Veland's new band), so cut the "they sound like Therion" or "they're TOT + Cradle of Filth" or whatever. That's the problem with music fans today: they don't embrace the idea of originality. Hell, any established female-fronted band (i.e., Lacuna Coil), no matter how long they've been around, is automatically an Evanescence clone in the eyes of today's industry sheep - I mean - music fans. Tristania is a clone of nobody. They are possibly the most original band in the music industry, maybe even more so than Opeth. Not many bands use a mix of slow, heavy metal mixed with operatic female vocals, live violins (the best part), classical male singing, powerful drumming, and death/black vocals in a constantly-changing and unpredictable musical environment such as this. So don't try to compare them with anyone, the massive talent of these guys (and girl) will blow you away. I dare thee... enter the realm of Tristania! Once you're in, you won't want to leave!

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Tristania are the Kings (and a Queen) of Gothic Metal, July 30, 2005

By 

Vixenne Victorienne "Kymberlyn Reed" (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Beyond the Veil (Audio CD)

Always on the lookout for something that isn't played to death on what passes for 'rock radio', I actually discovered Tristania through an ad in the late and lamented goth/darkwave magazine 'Carpe Noctem'. It took me two years after that to finally find a copy at a Best Buy (really) in West L.A.

I put it on my CD player, pushed play and went WHOA! My downstairs neighbor came upstairs wondering what kind of occult ritual I had going on.

At first listen, Tristania is NOT like anything I've ever heard before. It's as if Slayer married Kiri Te Kanawa and they had some kind of demonic love-child. Believe me, my eyes were wide open as I took in the insane soundscape that is the Tristania universe. There was the death metal growl overlayed with operatic soaring vocals with choruses of the Greek Furies interspersed within.

And I loved every freaking minute!!!

Normally I don't do male vocals that sound like the guy just crawled out of some grave, but Morten Veland's death-metal stylings were really great for atmosphere.

Then there's my drop-dead gorgeous (and full figured) Vibke Stene whose range puts Mariah Careless to shame. Both vocalists were well-balanced and everything was in its proper place - no overkill here.

And I love a band that treats its listeners like they're intelligent and literate beings, not brainwashed pop tarts.

This is what the Europeans have been doing with metal ever since we Americans rolled over and gave up our dominance to grunge and crappy emo-rock. Because of Tristania I've discovered an entire genre of metal where the bands aren't scared to have a tough female frontwoman and that the music, not the image, comes first.

24 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A stunning metal accomplishment, November 15, 2004

By 

Clarissa "MoonGoddess" (Ontario, California) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Beyond the Veil (Audio CD)

If this is any indication as to what Tristania is capable of doing than sign me on as a fan for life because this is simply out of this world!

When a friend of mine bought me this cd a while ago I wasn't quite sure what to make of it as 'Beyond the Veil' was unlike anything I'd ever been exposed to before. At first it was a bit harsh on my (then) delicate ears but I kept an open mind and with very little time at all I grew to love it. Now it is one of my all-time favorite albums. I normally can't stand demonic death growls, and while that hasn't changed much Tristania seems to be an exception with me. Oddly enough it just fits among the interplay of gorgeous operatic singing, intensely haunting choirs and sparsely used Gregorian chants. It almost sounds like a battle between Heaven and Hell with the fiercely powerful yet intricately woven melodies that are as beautiful as they are dark. I especially enjoy the epic "A Sequel Of Decay". It contains a lot of clean vocal parts, which really sounds good and makes me wish he'd sing this way more often. But, then again, they probably shouldn't change anything since, to me, they've delivered a flawless record here.

One thing I particularly like about Tristania is their ability to not follow the usual formula most metal bands tend to take. They're not afraid to experiment and I love the inclusion of the violin (the purest, most exotic instrument around, in my opinion).

I can't recommend this enough so stop thinking about it and buy it already!