Track Listing
1. Vandring 2. Why so lonely 3. Autopoema 4. Death-Hymn 5. Shaman 6. Trial of past 7. Lengsel 8. Salva me 9. Song 10. In mist shrouded 11. Oceana Year: 1994 Label: Voies of Wonder - Official Site |
The Third And The Mortal - 'Tears laid in earth' - By C. Diamantis
One of the first atmospheric doom metal bands to use exclusively female vocals and make the genre quite popular is this Norwegian band. This album, which is the bands first after an EP, made quite an impression in the metal scene when it was released, back in the middle of the 90�s. Not many bands used to play like The 3rd And The Mortal back then, although after a few years the genre would be extremely popular. The thing that undeniably dominates in this album is the beautiful voice of Kari Rueslatten. The slow, melodic and emotional music of the band creates a background on which this extremely talented vocalist can put her own melodies and complete this amazing work. From the a-capella intro Vandring to the 20-minute Oceana Kari shows the talent and passion that put her among the greatest modern female singers. Especially in the parts where there is pure singing (without words) she shows that her voice is indeed an instrument she can use perfectly. Like every doom metal band, TTATM have a slow tempo in their music and are interested more in creating an atmosphere and emotions that will move the listener than in displaying their musical skills. That doesn�t mean of course that they have no skill, (the work on the guitars especially is very good) but they pay more attention to the song than to the notes. Although all the songs are characterized by the same musical style there are subtle differences between songs that give the album a diversity which makes it even more interesting. From the dark Death-Hymn to the dreamy Oceana, many different emotions appear during the album and reveal the feelings of the band. Furthermore the fact that the band uses three guitars makes their sound heavier than many so-called atmospheric metal bands that only manage to sound mellow. The lyrics of the album are mostly in English (with the exception of Vandring and Lengsel that have lyrics in Norwegian) and are well written so that they fit perfectly with the music. Although it doesn�t say in the booklet of the CD, I�m pretty sure that they are written by Kari since most of them seem to be written by a woman. While not exceptional, they are important parts of the songs and complete the record. This album is a very important part of the evolution of atmospheric metal and one of the best albums ever to appear in the genre. Every fan of the style should buy this album immediately and not only them, I think that most of the metal fans (and generally everyone who likes good music) will appreciate the talent of the band. After this record Kari left the band and they both followed different paths (Kari a more folk/pop style and the band a more experimental jazzy/trip-hop style) so this album becomes even more historic. So, it�s a very good choice for every listener that knows how to appreciate good music, whatever its form. Metal Obsessive Grade: 90% |