Tristania – Rubicon

Releasedate: 27-09-2010; Label: Napalm Records
By: Sabine van Gameren

Tristania is a Norwegian Gothic Metal band that formed in 1997. “Rubicon” is their sixth studio album they released.

It has been quiet around Tristania for quite a while now. Their previous release came from 2007. In this time of silence there have been quite some changes in the lineup. The band brought in a new female vocalist, but also male vocals have not stayed for what they are. Recently they lost their clean vocalist too, so it must be said that Tristania have been through quite some changes. The only ones who are still there after long time are guitarist Anders and keyboard player Einar.
For the fans this all might be a point of deep consideration. The new Tristania comes with plenty of diversity which can be found a pro. Some songs are typical ballad like, while a bit more up tempo work can be found as well. In the very first song the vocals sound quite strange though. They seem a slightly bit different than the rest of the album brings. Nevertheless it is an interesting start that sets the tone. The band must be careful they don’t take the tempo down too much, these ballads on the album are nice but with an overkill the whole sound of Tristania might get boring soon. The best parts of the album can be found when the tempo goes up and the riffs set a wonderful melody, the vocalists give a powerful performance. Overall the album is good to listen to, though it does not shine as bright as it could have been. Listeners must be aware that this might not be love at first sight. Perhaps when the band gets confidential with their current line up they give us that killer album, but for now we just do with the mediocre “Rubicon”.

Line up:
Kjetil Nordhus – Clean Vocals
Mariangela “Mary” Demurtas – Female Vocals
Anders Høyvik Hidle – Guitars, Harsh Vocals
Gyri Smørdal Losnegaard – Guitars
Ole Vistnes – Bass, Backing Vocals
Tarald Lie – Drums
Einar Moen – Keyboards, Programming

Tracklist: 01. Year of the Rat 02. Protection 03. Patriot Games 04. The Passing 05. Exil 06. Sirens 07. Vulture 08. Amnesia 09. Megical Fix 10. Illumination

Links:
Tristania MySpace
Tristania Official