Tristania are back with The Darkest White, their 2013 gothic metal opus. The real question is; does this bring Tristania back up to the top of their game or remain on the average level of their previous outing?
I think it’s safe to say that this album is far more developed than the predeceeding album. Granted I did like quite a few tracks off the album – Year of the Rat, Exile, and Magical Fix get quite a lot of plays – but it wasn’t that heavy in comparison to how Tristania used to be and it seemed a lot less…dark? I don’t know if that’s the right word, but it certainly sounded like a band finding their feet again rather than a band who’ve been around since the dawn of gothic metal.
The album opens with one of Tristania’s heaviest tracks today and it certainly grabs your attention in a much less radio-friendly manor than Year of the Rat did. Number has a blackened edge to it that helps it sound absolutely glorious. Instantly you can recognise that Tristania are back, and they’re here to stay. The vocals interplay has improved significantly too, andMariangela certainely shows what she’s capable of on this album.
‘The Darkest White’ is another heavy album that sounds like a combination of Ashes and Rubicon to me. It’s pretty intense, and it got stuck in my head for days when I was trying to write this review. The lyrics are quite cliché but they’re excellent and will get stuck in your mind – you’ll definitely listen to it a few times. In fact that’s common on quite a few tracks on this album. They really looked at their influences and who they were as a band for this album and it shows. Be it the droning chant on ‘Himmelfall’, the traditional gothic ballad of ‘Lavender’ or even the pure sorrow that is ‘Scarling’
The highlight of this album is easily ‘Requiem’, and it is my favourite song on the album. It has a real beauty to it, both lyrically and musically. The song is summed up by it’s chorus line of “If you lose the battle, win the war” – sure it might be overused and simple; but I’ve not heard a song in a long time that sums up this subject so magically.
There aren’t really any bumb songs on the album, something that will please people who thought that ‘Rubicon’ was a few decent songs, but mostly filler. The only song that I gave less than 4 starts was ‘Night on Earth’, and it isn’t even a bad song. It was just a song that I didn’t really enjoy that much and thought was pretty forgettable in relation to the rest of the album. I think it also was disadvantaged by having ‘Cathedral’ as the next song, as I found that song very addictive and often skipped ahead to that.
Overall this is a very mixed album, and is fabulous. It has a wide range of emotions and will appeal to anyone who adores gothic metal, femme metal, or the beauty and the beast vocals. I think it’s safe to say Tristania are back as one of the big players of gothic metal.
Here is the breakdown of the album:
Britannia Metallum 