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Bliss |
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| Tungsten are a melodic metal band from Sweden formed in 2016, releasing three albums to date - 'We Will Rise' (2019), 'Tundra' (2020), and 'Bliss', released in 2022. | ||||||
| Formed by drummer Anders Johansson (ex HammerFall, ex Yngwie J Malmsteen's Rising Force), Tungsten continue to grow and push their musical boundaries further than ever before. The bands melodic, symphonic power metal sound, has broadened beyond what the band offered on their first two albums - Tungsten now incorporating elements of the alternative and industrial metal genres, along with hints of folk and even pirate! The new album is eleven songs of eye and ear opening wizardry, that will draw the occasional similarity to Neue Deutsche Härte metallers Rammstein. However, the band haven't forgotten their musical roots, with one foot remaining firmly in the melodic metal genre... | ||||||
| ...the album coming to life with the industrial thumper 'In The Center' - very hard hitting with an emphatically bombastic blast. Clean and harsh vocals are present as Tungsten peddle melodic metal with industrial metal, to produce an incredible sound, and one that broadens the bands already very wide soundscape. With a little folk metal inspiration, Tungsten march on with the highly melodic 'Dreamers', visions of an enchanted forest with princes sword fighting over princesses springing to mind. Or is it just me with my very vivid imagination! And here comes the Rammstein similarity - 'March Along' a thunderous thud of foot stomping metal. Lacking any of the bands melodic metal roots, 'March Along' offers an infectious march of industrial inspired metal. The variation across the first three songs is incredible, showing the band are not afraid to experiment, expand, and shock their fan base with a barrage of "new and different" music. Harking back to their old sound though, 'Heart Of Rust' is mid tempo melodic power metal with a resounding oomph! The bombastic nature of 'Heart Of Rust' is a welcome relief to know that the band haven't completely shelved their past efforts, and are still the band that first emerged three years ago. | ||||||
| Albeit with a lot more experience and an experimental streak with seemingly no boundaries - as the band move swiftly on with 'Come This Way', another barrage of Rammstein inspired heaviness. A heavy foot stomper, 'Come This Way' mixes the sounds of Rammstein and Judas Priest with the bands core melodic metal sound to emphatic effect. And it's no surprise that a sprinkling of pirate metal appears on a song titled 'On The Sea' - Tungsten continuing their musical wander with a rum drinking anthem and a corker of a sing a long style chorus. Is 'On The Sea' a sea shanty? Not fully, but it's definitely halfway there! The title song 'Bliss' is the heaviest song heard so far, along with a much darker mood too - stomping heavily as it gets going. And the chant style chorus will have an in concert crowd screeching "bliss" as loudly as they possibly can. The bombastic oomph of 'Bliss' (the song) is incredible, and it's maintained with 'Wonderland' - albeit the darker mood is lifted and 'Wonderland' adopts the lighter and more fanciful attitude you'd normally associate with the melodic power metal genre. | ||||||
| As the album has progressed, every song has come at you from a different musical stand point, 'Afraid Of The Light' the latest to show variation - a Gaelic variation! The highly infectious "diddly diddly doo" rhythm is entertaining and highly addictive, 'Afraid Of The Light' instructing everyone to get up and dance a jolly jig. 'Eye Of The Storm' is a majestic swagger, and the nearest the album gets to being just a power metal song with no additional "off the wall" influences. The characteristic sound of melodic power metal is in abundance, 'Eye Of The Storm' an energetic and up tempo gallop. The final song on the album 'Northern Lights', clocks in at over six minutes in length making it by far and away the longest song on offer. And every direction the band have gone in for this album comes together, from the mellow tension filled intro, through the crescendo building march, to the anthemic hymn-like stroll mixed with thunder - 'Northern Lights' brings the curtain down on an intriguing album. An album that'll take more than just the one listen to fully comprehend what the band have achieved here. So what ya waiting for - go listen again. | ||||||
| Overall, a wide and varied musical journey, Tungsten surprise and shock with their most diverse work to date. | ||||||
| Review by Iron Mathew Collins | ||||||
| Reviewed for Metal Gods TV | ||||||
| Other Reviews | ||||||
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| We Will Rise (single) | ||||||
| "a bombastic blast of heavy metal, heavily whetting appetites for the bands forthcoming album - September 20th 2019, remember the date..." Read Review | ||||||
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| We Will Rise | ||||||
| "a power metal thunderstorm of heavy hitting anthems with touches of the symphonic and thrash metal styles weaved in" Read Review | ||||||
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| Tundra | ||||||
| "a mostly mid paced and mid tempo romp, Tungsten return with a melodic, majestic metal march" Read Review | ||||||
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| The Grand Inferno | ||||||
| "an immensely elegant and majestic march of melodic symphonic power metal featuring more styles than at a Paris fashion week" Read Review | ||||||
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