There’s no faulting this band for commitment. German group Tremors have been around since 1994, and this is their second full release. A mark of this longevity is the tightness of their music, whose style is a constant Death Metal of a melodic nature, enhanced by growled vocals. The driving forcefulness of their music reminded me to some degree of their fellow countrymen Crematory.
After a fairy unchallenging opener which features all the qualities mentioned above, but improved by a nice underscoring line in keyboards, the album takes on a lively edge with the commercial-sounding “Graveyard for my Friends”. The glued-together melody, hooky riff and gradual progression up the scale have a distinct Scandinavian air, as if we’re listening to any of Scar Symmetry, Soilwork or In Flames. It’s lightweight and bouncy, and altogether a nice track. The following track “My Darkest Hour” is along similar lines and there’s a sense of mystery in the air, like Black Metal even. But the chorus is utterly trite and banal and if it hadn’t been for that, this would have been a good track. At this point the mood changes and for the mid-section of the album we head off into what I can only describe as military Melodic Metal. Many of the tracks share the quality of being mechanical. A perpetual beat is there. There is no feeling or soul. As I listened to “Come Undone”, I could picture Rammstein trying this genre. It does provide a headbanging opportunity however of a steady kind. The title track “Frozen Shores” gave a glimmer of hope, indeed the drama and anticipation at the start are good, and are followed by a darkly trotted out piece of Death Metal melancholia. Like much of this album, there’s an air of finality about this. The structure here is slightly more interesting, and there’s a welcome acoustic interlude. “The Procession” is more representative of this album. The track’s title is appropriate. It’s the musical equivalent of oppressive dark clouds. It ploughs on and weighs us down. The drums are like a dark day. Only the keyboards sound a subtle flavour to this grey dish. The album continues in this vein and the final two tracks “Down” and “Grey” are typically mechanical, their titles conveying the mood. There is a bonus track, a cover of the Deep Purple track “Perfect Strangers”.
The style changes over the course of this album until it drops into a dark groove by the end. It’s all competently pumped out but I found it was devoid of soul. “Frozen Shores” fulfils a need for Melodic Death Metal but failed to get my juices flowing, I’m afraid.
http://www.myspace.com/tremorsmetal
Andrew Doherty
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