Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Can you see the storm getting closer now?, May 20, 2006
Theatre of Tragedy is arguably the first and most important band that pioneered the beauty and beast type of bands, utilising brutal death growls and angelic female vocals. With albums like Theatre of Tragedy and Velvet Darkness They Fear, they set an example to a million bands who followed their footsteps, with only few of them trying to bring anything new to the table. Rather, they just expanded on Theatre of Tragedy's songwriting, adding in the occasional non-metal instruments. However, after Aegis, the band delved into a very industrial sound, dropping their characteristic sound and opting for electronic music with lots of dancey beats.
As the band lost touch with most of their older fanbase, they continued to experiment with industrial soundscapes, mostly evident on Musique. The following album, Assembly, marked their downfall and led to the departure of female vocalist Liv Kristine (now in Leaves' Eyes). Now, after so many years, Theatre of Tragedy returns with a new singer, a new album, and a new direction, according to second vocalist Raymond Rohonyi. Nell Sigland from The Crest is behind the mic now and she has a very soft, quite poppy voice that gives some of the songs a distinct 80's pop flavour. Almost all songs are centred around the piano and synth work of Lorentz Aspen; he plays both solo piano pieces and electronic synth textures. Although Storm is no where near as industrial-sounding as Musique and experimental as Assembly, it doesn't really stray too far away from these albums. I guess it would be logical to say this album is a mixture of their previous two; mixing atmospheric synth work with subtle guitar harmonies and static drumming. On the title track, Nell sounds passionate, and thanks to the clever mix of Greg Reely (Paradise Lost, Fear Factory) her doubled vocals are really amazing. It's like she harmonises with her identical twin before crunchy waves of guitars begin to soar above the delicate piano melody. "Silence" is relatively heavier, with great whispered vocals and accompaniment by Rohonyi. Unfortunately, how much his vocals add to the overall success of the album is highly questionable. I still find his singing (and spoken parts) rather dull and uninteresting. There are moments when the contrast between their voices works though, such as "Ashes and Dreams", a song that alternates between dark male vocals and fragile yet bright female harmonies. However, songs like "Fade", an entirely piano-driven ballad with only sprinkles of guitar riffs heard; or the rocking yet creepy "Begin & End" are a lot better, mostly because they're sung almost entirely by Nell. "Exile" and "Disintegration" return to Theatre of Tragedy's industrial, dance-style music, with lots of sampled beats and processed vocals. The album is wrapped by another midtempo track which is mostly sung by Nell, save for the middle part where Rohonyi narrates something in a nasal tone.
Some fans will still enjoy this disc, but I feel it's still inferior to their earlier work. Then again, I should know better as they'll never go back to playing that type of music again.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
back to the basics, July 29, 2006
For fans of Theatre of Tragedy's early work this album is a pleasent return to the music that first transfixed you. Well, for the most part. Their sound has evolved over the years, as one would expect. But, for those who hated the weird, whinny, vaguely European spoken word bits on the Assembly album, this might be a disappointment. I liked it though. For some reason it's less annoying paired with old-school metal than with the techo-pop on their last two cds. The female vocals are beautiful. Though Storm isn't as good as Theatre of Tragedy's first three albums it's a heck of alot better than most other "goth metal" out there nowadays and worth a 5 star rating.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Touches My Soul!, June 10, 2006
First of all I would like to mention that I am not a TOT fan from their humble beginnings but I started off with Aegis album and fell in love with it due to the contrast between a male harsh vocals and a female angelic voice like Liv when she was singing for the band. Ever since then I took an interest in the band with each new album releases. I noticed TOT was beginning to change their musical styles with each new release. I was not really happy with the move but I understand that as a musical entity, it needs to evolve. I still love songs from Musique and Assembly album respectively. It has its moments in time. They reflect the different time period of the band's lives what they went thru and their musical influences at that time. With the departure of Liv Kristine and the old chapter closed for good comes the new chapter with Nell taking the vocal chores. With the line up changes there surely will have new and different influences in the music going forth. With this being said, their new album Storm reflects just that. When I first listen to Storm from start to finish, I was already hooked on the melodies and the songs arrangements. Eventhough it is a much simpler straight ahead song arrangements nevertheless after couple of spins.. I was totally hooked on it. Singing and headbanging and playing drums on songs from the album. As always once I completely surrender my whole self spiritually I was in a place where only music is the only medium that was able to transport me to a higher place, a place only your imagination and mind can create. Most of the songs that were able to strike a cord with my inner feelings left me with tears flowing down my cheeks. At this time in my life I was going thru an emotional roller coaster and as you can see why I rated full stars was because the songs from Storm album with their emotional musical energy was able to helped me make a positive transition to where I am today. I was feeling anger, hate, love, depressed, sadness, disappointment, longing, frustration and etc.. I was very fortunate to have found TOT with Storm album.. The vocal melodies and the entire popish metal music concept just rhymes with my heart and inner feelings and emotion. I was able to connect my spiritual self with Storm and that is just an incredible feeling of reaching the light in times of emotional turmoil. With each and every listen to Storm, I am lifted to a higher place where only I can feel it. I was and still caught in the STORM. It is one of many albums that has made a positive impact in my life. I cannot thank TOT enough for a brilliant album!
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