| CD REVIEW Cryonic Temple |
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Band : Cryonic Temple 3 ½ years is long enough in between albums, so why díd it take so long for this Borlänge (that’s a small town in the middle of the Land Of A Thousand Lakes. The nearest city would be Falun, situated some 16 kms in North-Western direction...Gavle would be some 150 kms to the East, Stockholm 200 kms in the South-East) based Swedish Heavy Metal act to get together a follow-up to their third album In Thy Name (released in May 2005, we got to post a review only on 15/08, due to the fact that the Limb Music Productions always sends us their promo material a little late)? Well, apparently the guitarists found it was time for some “necessary” line-up changes...in fact, they are the only remaining members from the previous album’s line-up. Lead singer Glen Metal (real name actually Johan Johansson) was replaced by former Mindscape singer Magnus Thurin, and in the rhythm section we now find Bjorn Svensson on the bass and Hans Karlin on the drums! As in the new musical direction there would be no more use of a permanent keyboardist (well, as I mentioned in the review of In The Power, the keyboards were usually drowned out by the guitars anyway), Jan Söderlund was also given his walking papers (although I believe his departure was one of the last to occur). All of those changes apparently took enough time, and then the guys also had to look out for a new record label, as their 2-record deal with LMP had been completed. Things combined to the band only being able to enter the studio again towards the end of April this year. Mixing terminated halfway July, the boys had recorded 10 songs plus a couple of extra goodies...but at the time it was still uncertain what would be the track-list, or what would be used as bonus material. It now turns out 11 songs made it onto our promo copy (and no bonus tracks mentioned in there!), for a total of 51:40 completely enjoyable listening time! More enjoyable than in the times when Glen Metal fronted the band, because...well, the band likes to see Thurin portayed as having a vocal style influenced by the likes of Michael Kiske, Geoff tate, and Tony Martin...which is something I can full-heartedly agree with...and which makes for some fár more soaring vocal renditions than the band would’ve been able to get from their old singer! After nine truly splattering songs (check out a couple of samples at myspace.com/cryonictemple, and compare to the two older songs also posted there…oh, wait a second! A couple of days ago that would actually have been possible, but the band has now changed their media player to contain only the new album’s three opening songs “Immortal”, “Standing Tall”, and “Where Sadness Never Rests”) the band shows a more sensitive side to themselves with the semi-acoustic (the electric guitar being etheric and of secundary importance, and also there’s the use of some atmospheric/ orchestrated keyboards, if they ain’t the real thing...cello and violin, I mean) and emotional ballad “As I Sleep” and the short acoustic and instrumental album closer “Departure” (which...seen its title, you know, might’ve been better placed as the album intro?, but then the band must’ve had their own reasons to act as they did!). Nice album, and certainly one I would listen to with a positive ear whenever I came across it outside the home (you know, at friends’, at the pub...not that I go there a lot anymore, at the record store, wherever!), and even if it isn’t an essential buy for me, I’ll grab it along to add in my collection any time I’d come across it in the second-hand section! 84/100 Tony. |