| CD REVIEW Treekillaz |
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Band : Treekillaz" Confession time: I have to admit I didn't know about the existence of this weirdly named band...even though the Swiss Grunge quartet hàs been around since 1999! The quartet (with singer Bucher and guitarist Jessi as remaining original members, they've had one line-up change in 2006 when Chab came in on the bass and Andi on the drums, the latter replaced by Tom in early 2007) first self-released two albums (1999's Arboles Muertos and 2000's Livestuff, which got the band shows outside their home country with a 6-date tour in Germany and Holland – still, home soil shows were still kept at a low rate in those beginning days), and thus attracted the attention of the N-Gage label, who released the band's 2001 album Oxygently (this time generating some more shows on home soil, a 5-date German tour, and several Swiss festival appearances). This in turn attracted the attention of major label Warner Music, whom released and milked out the band's sophomore official album, 2002's Indiva...[promoted most strenuously on Swiss soil with extensive touring throughout that year (of the 44 shows played in 2002 only 5 were in Germany), the ensuing one (24 shows on home soil, with a 14-date tour in late September-October leading the band through Germany, Sweden, and Holland), and 2004 (25 shows done in total that year, of which 3 in Germany, and 2 in Austria)] to the max before dropping the band again. But hey, N-Gage was still there, and willing to release the band's 3rd album, 2005's Leaving Last. With their past experience, the band played first played the home soil that year (29 shows in total, of which of course several again festivals), and concentrated on abroad gigs in 2006 (11-date tour as support act for Clawfinger in late February-early March covering Luxembourg, Holland, but mainly Germany and the UK; followed by 6-date Holland tour in April and a 6-date Scandinavian tour in late May, again with Clawfinger – the guys also played one show in Germany and Austria in early June and then did some Summer festival appearances before taking it easy the rest of the year). 2007 and 2008 must've seemed pretty lame to the band, as they only did 17 gigs throughout 2007 (7 of which done in Holland during 3 week-ends, apparently) and 18 the following year (only one prolonged week-end outside Switzerland, with a gig in Germany and two in Holland). 2008 was also when the band released In Bed With Friends (their last under N-Gage), which saw Clawfinger's Zakk Tell and Flight 195's JC guesting on a song each, and also saw several songs on the album getting a remix version. No idea what went on with the band at that time, but 2009 saw the guys playing only 10 home soil shows, but in 2010 they were back in full force, playing some 21 shows in Switzerland and even putting in a 10-date German tour during December. That was of course partly due to the new album being released in Switzerland at the start of the year through FABA Records, an event which was followed by both critical and commercial success. Now the time has come to let other treekillaz” fans enjoy the album without having to order the album through import channels. With the release of the album on Benelux soil, the band already planned a short Holland tour in November (check dates in the “Tour” section on the band's own site (www.) treekillaz.com). I have to say, I listened to the album before checking the info, and the session therefore became a slight disappointment for me...a feeling which has changed somewhat, now that I know what this band is actually about. You see, the album opens quite surprisingly with the very nice Techno-infused “Disco” (I àm a sucker for crossover situations, you know), and while the ensuing “The Ignorant” has nó synth additions at all, the following “Driver” doés (not in the same overwhelming way as during the album opener, but at least for the first half of the track)...and those two songs combined kinda put up an expectation for me which was met nowhere else on the album. Now that I'm enjoying the benefit of proper information, and am aware of said tracks being “experiments” by the band, I can also appreciate the album as a whole much better. It's not the only deviation from the “strictly Grunge” ways the band has taken, by the way. On a couple of the tracks there's passages where one can recognize some added Stoner influences, and in fact album closer “Out Of Town” is a very nice combination of Stoner and Southern Rock/ Metal. There's also a deviantly more aggressive touch to “Free Me”, and an equally deviant calmness to the balladesque “Beautiful”. To hear music and see some videos (including “Disco”, by the way) off the new album, best log onto the band's own website (address mentioned earlier), where you'll also find songs (as well as videos) off the other (official) albums. The band has a MySpace, but as you might know by now I cannot (and I hope it's only temporary) log onto that recently up-dated site. 87/100 Tony. |