TRISTANIA - "WORLD OF GLASS" (NAPALM RECORDS)
TRISTANIA - "WORLD OF GLASS" (NAPALM RECORDS)
When a CD cover is graced by a face the likes of Tristania's Vibeke Stene it is difficult for a man of flesh and blood to withstand buying it. If you add to that the fact that Tristania has so far released two utter grade A albums, I simply had to check this album out. I think I gave it a cursory listen in the record store, then went ahead and bought it.
"World of Glass" logically continues where "Beyond the Veil" left off. In fact, the first three songs are quite similar in style and tone. The third in particular, "Tender Trip on Earth", is a melancholic track of great beauty that combined Vibeke's siren-like voice with male clean vocals such as on earlier efforts. After those initial three tracks, "World of Glass" shows a gradually evolved Tristania. "Lost" is a very drum-heavy cut with rather a bit of an industrial ingredient, yet still very cool with the use of violin. I for one am glad they still make regular use of the violin, because indeed there is no instrument more suited to convey emotions of sadness and melancholy. The title track shows more gothic influences (but good nonetheless) and "Crushed Dreams" makes more extensive use of synth sound effects whilst still retaining the usual Tristania vibe and excellence. The limited edition version I managed to acquire features "The Modern End" as a bonus tracks, which is definitely worth while and, for the second half, really melodically beautiful. Ms. Stene, to use the words of Wayne Campbell, can wail.
"World of Glass" is a fine album worthy of Tristania. However, there are two or three tracks that do not captivate me as much as they ought to for the album to receive a full five-bullet rating. So four will have to do.
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RK
Written October 2001