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Archived Reviews
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This Australian trio's single Ardor was reviewed on this site last year but this is the first time I've heard what Jason Are, Dan Loreck & Miss Ferox are capable of & I'm mightily impressed, I tell ya! With an undoubted talent for high-quality songwriting & by combining a dark, emotive feel with an almost poppy blend of EBM they're well able to offer a satisfying listen in any environment. Even the fact that "Ardor" isn't the album's highlight is a good thing as it means there are even greater treasures still to be discovered here, so many, in fact, that it doesn't ven matter that Are's vocals are of that typical electro band style that we've all heard so many times before as they quite easily play second fiddle to the expressive musical structures that grace such tracks as the no-nonsense opener "Miasma", the 'Enemy Mix' of "Arrow", which benefits from fine interlocking synth leads or the melancolic & emotive "Chronicle", which proves this is no one trick pony we're dealing with. The album is a success despite this one little moan although they do prove far more effective on the reflective title track while the duet with Miss Ferox on the dark & sexy "Core" comes across far better, the chorus proving one of the most memorable moments on a solidly danceable track. Further proof of their versatility comes in the form of the hard-hitting instrumental "Viridian 2005" which was inspired by 9/11 (it's an uprated version of an old track, I think) where another, even more appropriate, dark mood is further embellished by samples from that day while the album's latter sections offer further proof of their songwriting talents as, even at over 7 minutes duration "Anti-Fracture" proves to be not a second too long while the use of strong, lush synthlines ensure the two final tracks "Starscream" & "The Day That You Died" are in no way disgraced by the Assemblage 23 remix of the title track that is sandwiched by them both. Placing the tracks in such an order suggests that the band have plenty of confidence in their abilities & on this showing it's all well-founded, this excellent album proves that Temple Of Tears are a band that's going to go a long way. |
