Theatre Of Tragedy

Storm

Written by: PP on 30/03/2006 04:45:11

Throughout the 90s, Theatre Of Tragedy was one of the main bands laying groundwork to their newer, more successful genremates such as Within Temptation and Lacuna Coil. The band released classics after another, and helped boost the genre into the mainstream popularity it enjoys today. "Storm" is the groups sixth studio album, and their first one with their new singer Nell after Liv Kristine left the band two years ago to pursue a solo career.

And in my opinion, the band has lost more than just a singer. They've lost their heart and soul, for Liv's voice was simply much more powerful in a more beautiful way than Nell's is. That being said, Nell is still a great singer and her voice mystifies the already dark, haunting songs even more. It helps to contrast Raymond's deep, low, almost demonic whisperous vocals to create dynamics that attempt to separate the band from the rest of the rather tiresome goth scene, currently dominated by the likes of Nightwish and Within Temptation.

But despite the atmospheric dual vocal dynamics, the songs sound bland and depthless even after several consecutive listens. It's difficult to establish a favorite on the album, as all of their tracks follow the same exact structure: A simple, dark guitar riff on the background with some soft piano/keyboard assisting, Nell's voice high up in the sky carrying the band forward, followed by the antonym low-pitch voice of Raymond. The band chose the title track as the first single from the album, but in my opinion it could have been "Fade", "Senseless" or "Begin & End" and nobody would've noticed the difference.

There's something missing from "Storm" that was evident on "Velvet Darkness They Fear" and "Aegis", and I'm afraid it's Liv. Her leaving the band seems to have caused irreversible damage to the band's much loved sound, and although the fans will most likely accept Nell with open arms, her vocals don't vary enough to keep my interest up throughout the record.

5

Download: Storm, Fade
For the fans of: Within Temptation, Paradise Lost
Listen: Myspace

Release date 24.03.2006
AFM Records
Provided by Target ApS

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