Comments:
Tears of Anger return with their sophomore release, In The Shadows,
on Lion Music. Brothers Benny and Björn Jansson are joined by
drummer Daniel Flores (Mind's Eye) and bassist Johan Niemann (Mind's
Eye, Therion). Following up their debut release, Still Alive,
with music that expands upon their melodic, progressive and metal
tendencies, the band delivers another fine opus.
From
Björn Jansson comes a voice that falls between a harsher, grittier
James Christian (House of Lords) and the progressive nuances of Jorn
Lande (Masterplan).
Even hints of Doug Pinnick seep through on "Spirit Running Free"
and "How I Live."
The guitar interplay between Benny and Bjorn is extremely heavy and
very progressive. The duo produces edgy guitar rhythms that intertwine
with the aggressive drumming of Flores and bass antics of Niemann.
The
music is ferociously heavy … and for the first six songs features
very melodic choruses featuring the vocal harmonies of the brothers.
Teetering on the edge of the dark side with the minor tonality of
many of the compositions, the band captures your attention for the
first half of the album with these lavish vocal arrangements and promptly
shift gears away from the big vocal choruses on some the CDs final
songs.
Starting
off with "In The Shadows," a progressive driving number,
ripping with energy and the first huge chorus to be heard on the CD.
"Spirit Running" mixes heavy riffs in the verses with a
melodic bridge which takes you into the chorus. If anger is what you
need then Tears of Anger complies with "I Hate You," a lyrically
cheeky endeavor whose chorus proclaims these words in way that can
not be construed as a loving sentiment.
"Sell
My Soul" opens with a brief piano intro which is soon joined
by heavy guitars and vocal accompaniment, the song appears to have
an influence from Masterplan's "Soulburn," and a heavy dose
of compositions recorded by House of Lords. In fact the progressive
nature of many of the riffs accompanied by Bjorn's vocals produces
the same level of intensity as the band Masterplan. The band gives
off subtle hints of neo-classical metal influences throughout the
album. "Live Those Dreams" displays those influences as
well as do many of the other songs represented on the CD.
With
the slight change in the vocal accompaniment on the last few songs
the dynamics of In The Shadows changes slightly and it will
take a few more spins to feel and hear the subtle nuances that bind
the CD together as a whole. It almost makes since to start your first
listening experience by jumping straight to song number 7 "Scene
of the Crime," and listen until the final song "I'm Coming
Home." Run through this scenario a couple of time and then spin
the whole CD.
There
most certainly something brewing over in Sweden, as many of today's
quality progressive and hard rock releases are of from this country.
Sweden has turned into Europe's equivalent to the L.A. music scene
of the '80s. Tears of Anger prove that they are as good as if not
better than their peers.
http://www.tearsofanger.com
Band
Members:
Bjorn Jansson (g)(v)
Benny Jansson (g)
Daniel Flores (d)
Johan Niemann (b)
Track
Listing:
01. In The Shadows
02. Spirit Running Free
03. Tears In My Eyes
04. I Hate You
05. Sell My Soul
06. Live These Dreams
07. Scene Of The Crime
08. Light Up My Fuse
09. How Will I Live
10. Full Of Lies
11. Close To The Fire
12. I'm Coming Home
HRH
Rating: 8.4/10
