Tension

Noise Therapy

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 13, 2002)
• Original Release Date: 2001
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Redline Ent
• ASIN: B00006BTAJ
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #38,034 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

About the Artist
Opening track "Get Up" is a powder keg poised to explode, a bobbing and weaving litany of guitar-driven jabs and lyrical follow-through. A throbbing bottom end propels "G-Hole" as a melodic wall of vocals are hoisted atop the mix, while "Far Away" sets adrift with an electronic kickstart amidst a penetrating guitar groove that sets the tone for the 10-track American debut. "What I think, what I feel, has got control of me/What I feel, what I am, is taking over me" belts frontman Dave Ottoson on "Far Away," and that could easily be the Noise Therapy mantra, whether plunging the interpersonal-depths of the band's lyrics, or just examining their place in America's vast musical landscape.

"We're looking for a cohesive sound, but we want different styles in that sound," continues Thiessen. "We're not scared of trying different things, and we're not scared of people saying that something doesn't sound like Noise Therapy—it all sounds like Noise Therapy, and it all came from the same place."

In the case of Tension, the band's Redline Entertainment debut, the songs were tapped in a musical place uninhibited by genre-lines, and unscathed by outside forces. They were hand-picked by Mötley Crüe to open their reunion tour in 1999, then, following a one-year sabbatical while guitarist Kai toured with Tommy Lee's Methods Of Mayhem, Noise Therapy regrouped in early 2001 with a new creative spark, and a renewed focus and vision. "When we got back together after that year, Kai had a newfound musical confidence, and the two of us started writing together more," says Thiessen. "We decided we wanted the sound to be more heavy, with more dynamics." So they entrenched themselves in Ottoson's rehearsal studio for the summer, and came out with three dozen songs that they took into the studio with longtime friend and production guru Mike Plotnikoff [KISS, Fear Factory, Cranberries]. Joined behind the controls by a team including Yes keyboardist Igor, John Cougar Mellencamp guitarist Mike Wanchic, and former Frontline Assembly and Fear Factory manipulator Rhys Fulber, the results were an album as addictive as it was corrosive.

"It may seem like a weird mix for making a heavy record, but good music is good music, and we wanted people who've been doing this for 20 years challenging us, telling us what we could be doing better," says the bassist, who has co-production and writing credits on the Columbia Records debut of fellow Vancouver natives Flybanger. "This time, it was a lot more of a band effort, and a lot of these songs really didn't change from when we were in the studio—They helped us with the icing, a chord here or there, rewriting a couple of bridges... But none of these songs were written in the studio."

At the forefront of the onslaught is "Inside," a riveting propulsion of guitar-driven energy and vocal elasticity, penned from the perspective of "killing yourself to live," and surviving in a world that eats the underdogs for breakfast, and spits them out by lunch. The intensity is unmistakable, which has led to the band's close ties with the extreme sports community, including a Spring 2002 performance with skateboarding legend Tony Hawk's Birdhouse production. "We've got a crazy live show—there are always a lot of injuries onstage, bodies getting thrown around and people going crazy," says Thiessen. "Canada knows our reputation as a live band, now it's time to show America."

With Tension as their springboard, let the Noise Therapy begin…

—Paul Gargano, 05/02

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Great music for everyone, November 19, 2004

By	Unorthodox (USA) - See all my reviews

This has metal, rock, and everything in between. This CD grows on you so much. Since I wok at Best Buy, I hear the songs Get Up, and Ride five times a day for months on end, so it is safe to say I got sick of them. Just recently I listened to it again, and I'm in love all over again. I honestly cannot compare this CD to any other for once, which is actually pretty refreshing. Listen to the samles; they don't give the songs much justice, but they give you a glimpse.

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding CD, November 11, 2004

By	five-6-kilo (DE United States) - See all my reviews

Have you ever had a CD for 6 month's or so, and thought that it was a good CD.. then 1 day, you really sit down and LISTEN to it. Then you kick yourself in the arse for not realizing just how damn good the music is. Thats what happened here. Last weekend, I found out the ENTIRE CD rocks, and there is not a damn thing wrong with it. Without telling you everything about this CD, I only suggest you check out the music clips, and you will find that the clips alone will prove this to be a great CD.

3.0 out of 5 stars theyre eccentric, but it just doesnt cut it, August 27, 2003

By	J. Moscatello "drumminfrog" (mt pleasant, sc United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

noise therapy intrigued me after hearing the violent "inside", i picked up the cd.i was happy at first because it was pretty violent stuff, but after a couple listens, i began to become bored and uninterested, finding myself going back to "inside" for satisfaction.not a bad cd but nothign great either.