Search - Passenger :: Passenger

A Surprise Success

purerockfury | Chicago, IL | 09/17/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I have grown quite fond of In Flames in the past year or so. I always get a little skeptical of side projects though because they are always hit or miss, more often a big miss. Sometimes they are barely a hit. It's not very often that one comes along that smacks of originality and fervor. Passenger can be looked at as me being completely committed to spending money the day I saw it because otherwise, I would have left the store with it sitting on the shelf.But, I am glad I didn't leave it there. After getting into my brother's car, we put the disc in and immediately, I felt a little uneasy. I suppose I was hoping for a side project that sounded like In Flames (which would have completely defeated the purpose) but the initial Slipknot-sounding distortion and near nu-metal rhythms gave me that "OH NO" look. But, most good albums take time to filter in and Passenger took it's time and lured me in and now I'm a convert. Passenger; in a sense, bears some of the traits of In Flames more recent material but it's sleuced through a grater that is comprised of a heavy Depeche Mode influence with a strong nod towards the Deftones. Sound weird? Actually, it all comes together very nicely. The songs are heavy at times but the weaving of melody and synths without going too far in any one direction help everything move along at a good pace. One of my favorite aspects of In Flames is the well-sung vocals and Passenger embellishes on them very nicely. Though In Flames is the selling point of this CD, the other members are comprised of members of Gardenian and others that slip my mind at the moment but I look forward to investigating them as well.To those who were expecting a full-on metal assault, you will most likely be disappointed. Passenger has some metallic tendencies peppered throughout but they are; more or less, afterthoughts to the music as a whole. Those whose influences or tastes expand beyond just metal will do themselves well by at least trying Passenger on for size. There's a lot of good things to be found under the hood."

Great CD for all types of rock listeners

Richard Lorenz | Los Angeles | 06/22/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I first listened to Passenger after someone recommended that I listen to them because I liked In Flames and the like.Although different, the hard baseline still gives it that hard rock feel, with a very slight touch of nu-metal.When I saw that Anders Friden was the vocals, I expected In Flames type singing, but, instead, I was suprised by Anders'... better? voice. He definitely worked on it, and the outcome sounds very good in this album. He does practically all the singing.Overall, if you are any type of rock listener, this CD will get you interested. I suggest you give it a try. One of their songs, "In Reverse" is on CenturyMedia.com, their recording label. (...)
This, however, is not the best song on the album. In my opinion, "In My Head", "Just The Same", "Carnival Diaries", and "I Die Slowly" are all equal or better than "In Reverse"."

A Metal Alliance like no Other Before it

C. M. Gillum | Michigan | 12/27/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Passenger's roots extend back to 1995, when Niclas Engelin and Patrik Sten decided to form a side project a shade different from the thrash/death styles that the two were playing. With their respective work in Gardenian and Transport League requiring attention, the project was shelved for a time, but revived a few laters, fleshed out by fellow Gardenian Håkan Skoger and In Flames vocalist Anders Fridén, and by 2000 the first demo was recorded, eventually followed by the self-titled debut album in 2003. True to their early vision, Passenger retains some of the aggression, and at least some of the styles, of the members' main bands, but also injects melody and a fair degree of accessibility. Others have labelled the album as nu-metal, melodic death, or alternative metal, and it is really none of the three, but perhaps a mixture of the three. In Flames fans who weren't pleased with some of the modern touches on Reroute To Remain probably won't be happy with this album, as at times it sounds like some of those influences have been heightened and further developed on Passenger. But this is a well-thought-out album, and there is clearly an audience for this.



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Guitar: Niclas Engelin

Vocals: Anders Fridén

Bass: Håkan Skoger

Drums: Patrik Sten



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Origin: Sweden

Status: Active

Label: Century Media

Released: 2003



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