Search - Ana Belen, Victor Manuel :: La Paloma/Luna

Angry and twisted, The Tea Party lets it out.

interzoned | Ontario, Canada | 09/29/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"After the breakout album the Edges of Twilight, and the experimental Alhambra, the talented trio had a lot to live up to. This is considered by many to be the result of Jeff Martin's (vocals and guitar) divorce (expanding on correspondences from EoT), and some problems with their old manager. At the time, I even read and heard the band was close to falling apart. However, in the end, Transmission was born and it's truly something special.1. Temptation (4/5) - "Drowning in a sea of rage / I taste the embrace" - Second single I think? It's angry, gritty, and catchy. This is probably the song that made people who didn't know the band label them as gothic. The video was very cool, and very scary - it was played a lot at the time. Featured in one of EA's NHL games... but I forget which one. If you can, check out the killer remix of this song by Rhys Fulber. It's on the German tour edition of Triptych.2. Army Ants (4/5) - "All that I need / Is a way to deceive / The eyes of the end / I will rise once again" - Cool song, with come awesome drumwork by Jeff Burrows. Apparently it was inspired by a novel about the danger of Totalitarianism. It's a pretty rough track, fast-paced and vicious.3. Psychopomp (5/5) - "And you'll fade away" - Third single, and my favourite song of all time. Psychopomp is a carefully crafted song that starts off slow and melancholy with a haunting 6 note guitar line and some simplistic but very effective pianowork. It builds, and builds, and comes to the climax - where Jeff Martin lets it all out, with raw emotion. Again, if you're lucky enough to have the Special German Tour Edition of Triptych (I do!) you'll get a track of Psychopomp live, which needless to say is freakin awesome. 4. Gyroscope (4/5) - "Lose all your self control / Worlds will collide" - Wow. This is a beast. It's another fast-and-vicious, like Army Ants, with some very cool guitarwork. I'm not sure what else to say about it.5. Alarum (4/5) - "Walls crack under pressure / I think the end is getting near" - Damn this song is raw. The chorus grinds against your ears, it's very evil. I don't know, but I find the bass in this song to be a little annoying at times, but whatever. Though all of the songs on this album are dark, this is like an anthem of the dead.6. Release (5/5) - "I want the world to wake / I want to give you peace / I want to vindicate / You need to be released" - Here's some relief, the utterly beautiful Release. Fourth single, and tied to the White Ribbon Campaign (stopping violence against women). It's minimalistic (even the video is black and white) in the best way possible, and achieves so much with its simple lyrics.7. Transmission (5/5) - "Confused by the weight of our virtue / We follow the paths of the slain" - I take back what I said about Alarum. Transmission is the anthem of the dead. With those Spanish clicky-clacky things (sorry about that lol), the pounding drums, and dark dark dark lyrics, this song is pure evil. Musically it's exceptional. This is probably as evil as the Tea Party gets.8. Babylon (5/5) - "Now that your kingdom of Babylon's fading / Where will you turn when you can't find your soul" - First single... if I'm not mistaken, I'm not a little foggy about the order of the singles. Anyway, unique and very cool. The video was also the same - it was a one-shot video, with all sorts of crazy stuff going on. I'm not sure how to describe Babylon, it's short, sweet, and catchy.9. Pulse (3/5) - "Senseless is pleasure / Nothing's forever" - Probably my least favourite song on album. I mean It's good, but compared to all the other stellar tracks, Pulse seems to be left behind a little.10. Emerald (5/5) - "Be still my emerald / I'll be waiting for you" - Another hauntingly beatiful track, Emerald is soft and sombre. Just listen to it and you'll understand what I mean when I say it makes you feel torn. This is an amazing song. Do not miss it.11. Aftermath (4/5) - "Life in these veins / Godless and stained / Glimpses of hope exist" - A suitable title for the last track of the album, it truly is the aftermath of this very emotional CD. It was all aggression and gloom - but with aftermath, it ends. It's all out. Transmission paved the way to Triptych, which is in many ways the opposite of Transmission - it's a recovered, and happy Tea Party."