Style: melodic doom/death metal with female vocals, "beauty and the beast"
Primary Emotions/Themes: loss, sorrow, the dramatic and dynamic role that death plays in life
Thoughts: Well now, this was a surprise. I got this album on CD when it first released, it was then misplaced or stolen or given away to someone. I honestly don't remember, but when I wanted to listen to it one day it was gone... and that was my last memory of Tristania's debut album for nearly two decades.
When I saw the album at one of my go to distributors/storefronts I grabbed it without a second thought. I remembered the album having a lot of great moments with the last few songs being true stand outs. Now having listened a few times I can confirm that those memories were correct.
Firstly, the guitar tone is quite unique on this record. It sounds like a light buzzing, almost like a bee's wings fluttering mixed with a typical guitar distortion. It's still very much a metal tone, but I found it to be quite unique and fitting for the overall tone of the album. A lighter more mellow tone to a brutal genre.
The vocals are the real stand out here though. The male vocals play the lead for most of the album, either clean sung or growled. Both are well executed, and drive the album forward in a reasonable fashion. Where the album really shines though is the accented female vocals. They are not the primary focus by any means, but they are the real star of the show.
They are used in a lead capacity from time to time, however when they are used in a choir format in combination of the male vocals is when the band is truly at their best. Keyboards, a lead guitar, a male grunting vocalist complimented with a chorus of female vocals... that's the albums absolute strength and they know it. It's utilized time after time to excellent effect.
That's not the only tricks that Tristania has up their sleeve though. They have employed the services of Pete Johansen - a violinist. He is used sparingly throughout the album, but when he is used the music is elevated even higher.
Fittingly the last two real songs on the album are the highlight for me. My Lost Lenore has a timeless melody and utilizes the violin to the maximum capacity. Wasteland's Caress take everything that the band has built over the course of the album and works it into an epic closing track.
Widow's Weeds is an album that I lament that I lost track of. That said, I finally have it in my collection again and I am able to enjoy Tristania's debut once again. This version in particular comes with nearly twenty minutes of bonus tracks to boot. One of those albums I didn't know I needed in my collection but I'm glad that I was reminded of its existence.
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