The Interzone Mantras [Import]

Tea Party | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 16, 2001)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: EMI Import
• ASIN: B00005RKTS
• Also Available in: Audio CD
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (41 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #164,277 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Interzone

2. Angels

3. The Master & Margarita

4. Apathy

5. Soulbreaking

6. Lullaby

7. Must Must

8. White Water Siren

9. Cathartik

10. Dust to Gold

11. Requiem

12. Mantra

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Whatever one thinks of the Tea Party's ambitious yet commercial rock, the band deserves credit for not being afraid to come off as pretentious as a sack of Rush records. True to the trio's nature, The Interzone Mantras--the group's fifth full-length studio disc--is a study in excess. From an insert that folds out into a 16-panel poster of a multi-armed, multi-eyed deity to a song title borrowed from a Russian novel ("The Master and Margarita") to deep-throated spiritual pronouncements and everything-but-the-didgeridoo arrangements, the album never shies away from piling on more sound and more self-importance. That it works more often than not is testament to the band's knack for strong melodies and a compelling blend of riff-o-rama guitars and orchestral atmospherics, as on "Soulbreaking" and the acoustic ballad "White Water Siren." Barrel-chested rockers like "Lullaby" and the white-hot horn-driven opener, "Interzone," add some oomph to the proceedings, though nonfans will find the disc's more dirgelike moments ("Dust to Gold") trying. The album ends as it should, though, with an eight-minute denouement of crunchy guitars, Middle Eastern textures, and swelling strings that build to the decidedly unpretentious mantra, "Love is all we have / Love is all we need." --Shawn Conner

Product Description

Sixth studio album for Canadian alternative rock act, featuring all new songs. 12 tracks in all including 'Interzone', 'Angels', 'Apathy' & 'Requiem'. 2001.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not their best, but a very good album.., November 7, 2001

By 

Kate (Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Interzone Mantras (Audio CD)

I think The Tea Party are absolutely superb, but if you are looking to purchase their best album, you are more looking to grab a copy of 'Edges of Twilight'..

Initially, I was extremely disappointed when listening to this album. It seemed to be completely void of the Eastern and Indian influences and the saturation of instruments that Tea Party fans are so accustomed to. Still, a little change never did any band any harm, except perhaps Radiohead.

It initially didn't seem to differ a great deal to me other rock pieces out there, and if The Tea Party is anything, they are distinctively individual.

However, after a couple of listens, the beauty and maturity of the lyrics on this album are clearly comparable to their best work.

Like all albums, it has its little disappointing moments; the verse chorus verse of 'Apathy', or 'Must Must' for example, and the shortness of many of the songs is a little unlike the traditional Tea Party.

However, if you have a listen to tracks like 'The Master and the Margarita', 'Soulbreaking' and particularly, the amazing 'Mantra', their old marvellous self becomes a little more apparant. It is an extreme contrast to the much lighter 'Triptych'; their last album..

Overall, this is a deeper, increasingly intricate and much darker Tea Party, and whilst it may not suit all fans, it will certainly touch a spot in some Tea Party loving hearts.

Whilst it does showcase some amazing lyrics, it really does not touch my heart in the way 'Edges of Twilight' and 'Triptych' manage to.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Canadian band since RUSH!, October 27, 2001

By 

David Parker (burlington, vermont United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Interzone Mantras (Audio CD)

What a crime that the TEA PARTY continually get the snub by the American record labels that have tried (or maybe never tried) to promote this great band. This is the Canadian trio's fifth studio album and one of their best, and like the last album, is being released without benefit of an American label. This one is at once a return to their hard rock roots yet very complex, varied and layered - not as bloated and directionless as their last, but still excellent, album "Triptych". I can't help but think that people just can't get past Jeff Martin's Morrison-vocals-meets-Zeppelin-riffs songs, (and this in a world where nothing BUT derivativeness is embraced by everybody - how else to explain the success of bands like Creed, Blink 182 and Matchbox 20?!) But look beyond the obvious and you'll hear in the Tea Party one of the most inventive and unique bands in the world. The fact that they absolutely rip it up live only further proves how talented these three are. A great new release...

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Return to Rock, October 27, 2005

By 

Chubb Hottie (Austin,Texas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Interzone Mantras (Audio CD)

WOW! I am relieved that TTp have released this album. Triptych is a good album. Good album. Interzone Mantras is a GREAT album. This has all the classic Tea Party elements. It fuses eastern instruments with a truly rock sound. It took me 2 spins of this disc for me to fall in love with it. This album along with The Edges of Twilight and Transmission are my favorite Tea Party offerings. If you love great rock music with thought provoking lyrics, then this is the album for you. If you are new, I suggest doing a little research on the band to fully understand their work.