Tvangeste
Firestorm

July 2004
Released: 2004, Neoblast
Rating: 4.0/5
Reviewer: JP

I have long argued that a band must be judged first and foremost on it’s own merit and after that, should one consider external influences. Accordingly I tend to take each band as a whole and tend to dismiss accusations of ‘being a clone’ as an unsophisticated analysis as people tend to listen with their eyes and judge far too quickly, asserting they have heard it all before.



Having prefaced my personal position first I will get the obvious out of the way first…Tvangeste could be considered by some to be a Dimmu Borgir and Cradle of Filth clone. On a superficial level you could draw many direct comparisons with those two influential bands. However I feel Tvangeste stands on it’s own merit very well and apart from those bands and here is why.



Tvangeste is a Russian band with many diverse styles and influences that could be (genre purity debates aside) called Black Metal. I do use the term loosely as there really is too much going on here, musically, lyrically and in terms of arrangement and production for the band to be tagged BM. A glance at the band member list sees this ensemble throwing everything into the mix, male-female vocals, (high vocals, low vocals and a soprano type) violins, two keyboardists, tons of double kick drums, flute solos and additional strings. A heady mix to be sure. They are far less ‘metal’ than the other bands have use the eastern musical influences to add a nice distinguished touch to the songs.



There must be some Eastern European connection to some industry people in Quebec as there are a few bands like Divina Enema, Merlin and Tvangeste showing up on these small labels in Canada. Neoblast does a great job with packaging; a nice booklet with a cool look and layout, more drawings instead of photos. Licensed from the Japanese label World Chaos, this Russian band is certainly making their impact worldwide. The CD is enhanced which is nice but I don’t see the purpose of the radio edit of the lead track. What’s the point? No commercial radio station would touch this with a ten-foot pike-axe.



Lyrically the band touch on topics one might expect of an Eastern European band, less weepy romantic gothic nonsense about red roses and red wine, but they dwell more on the fight for Prussia to be free from foreign invaders and influence particularly from the 1200’s. Certainly themes of war, defiance, rebellion, and battle are the standard as well as a mild anti-Christian sentiment. You could almost say these guys have a strong epic Viking style and theme but with the class and sophistication of the royal courts of old Europe.



The vocals of Chirva remind me of both King Diamond and Dani Filth and the soprano at times sounds as sweet as Tara of Nightwish. I would have liked more guitar as it is often buried in the mix overshadowed by all the other elements. The combination all the extras, the female vocals, strings, flutes, choirs, spoken word, on top of epic, progressive, blackened/Viking tinged metal make FIRESTORM a very enjoyable listening experience.

Tvangeste
Firestorm

August 2004
Released: 2004, Neoblast Records
Rating: 2.5/5
Reviewer: Waspman

Some things just drive me insane. You’d think this would lead me into a tirade on Prussia’s Tvangeste and their new album FIRESTORM, and you’d be right, but only indirectly. The thing that pisses me right off is the fact that this CD has been getting rave reviews all across the internet, and for the life of me I can’t see why. Half of the time the reviews are wildly incorrect. In fact, our own JP is the only one that I’ve read who has described the band’s music accurately (despite the fact that he likes it – hahahaha). Black metal? My ass. Therion? Not even close. Innovative? Bullshit I say.

Now, that’s not to say that Tvangeste is actively bad per se. It’s just that they don’t do anything that is particularly memorable or inventive. Yes, the album features the Baltic Symphony Orchestra, and the Prussian Chamber Choir, plus a bevy of keyboards, female vocals, and the band’s own flutist and violinist. Well, I’m sorry but it takes more than that to stand out if all you’re going to do is rip-off Cradle of Filth (Dani Filth should sure for the blatant plagiarism going on with the vocals) and Dimmu Borgir. I think my main problem is that despite all of the fancy guest appearances, you can’t tell that they are there! I’d wager that there is nothing on this album that couldn’t have been done on keyboards alone. That’s the problem of both the paper-thin production and the band’s own weak composition skills. Too bad I guess.

That being said, there are some good songs on here: “Fire in our Hearts”, “Under the Black Raven’s Wings” being just two. But a radio edit of “…Raven’s Wings”?!?!? Come on. Get a grip on reality folks. I don’t think Top 40 radio is going to be throwing on FIRESTORM any time soon.

In the end this has to go down as a botched experiment that could have been so much more. As it is, this is simply a tired and tiring disc that fails to come even close to the bands it so obviously wants to be.