'Expectancy'
(Bakerteam/Mazzar records)
MARK: 84/100
Ten songs, of which 8 in English and 2 in Russian about life choices, changes, fights for survival, growth, disappointment on past expectations, memories hard to handle, pain, sorrow, loss of hope in a better life, desperation; I don't know what kind of life you had but these lyrics seem tailored for me or at least they portray me so well that I can mirror myself perfectly and grasp them to the slightest nuance.
Usually the new female vocalist Milana deals with the melodic mid-tempo parts, whereas the fast and aggressive ones are covered by Vlad, but they're not always alternated and sometimes they're twin-singing, and this is immediately clear with "Through the Years", opening with a Thrash/Death style of Swedish school; fast, ruthless and crowned by a stunning axe solo reminding me of the early Megadeth.
"Expectancy Pt. 1 (Desert in my soul)" recurs to a massive use of synths in the beginning, showing the best female vocals of the record, entwined with the guitars in a successful manner before a main groovy riff brings to the end.
Starting acoustically and then using steady hammering, "Echoes of Failures" is on the contrary the composition with the finest male vocals and the greatest refrain, but I find important not to forget o mention tthe wonderful Prog break in the middle, followed by noteworthy licks and solos.
"In Times of Solitude" is the only instrumental track made with just two acoustic guitars, whereas "Nothing (Selfish acts)" borrows something from Arch Enemy's songbook, utilizing a palm-muted riff destined to stick to your mind; the once again brutal, incisive male vocals once even become demonic for a second, while the key praise here goes to the superb mixing performance; the last structure of the song contains synth insertions on Middle-Eastern female vocals.
"Pain That We All Must Go Through" is a mid-tempo song with sublime drumming and the most difficult female vocals among the ten tracks; of the two guitar solos there's one that Judas Priest at the times of "Painkiller" wished they'd composed for another song off that masterpiece!
Fulminous and unstoppable until a break in odd times, "Expectancy Pt.2 (Despair)", is a piece shing thanks to Ignatiev's guitar; whatever note he produces turns to gold.
"Under the Weight of My Sorrow I Crawl" contains constant and lively drumwork with female vocals sporadically reminescent of Lacuna Coil, some whispered, and then interrupting to make way for slow, heartfelt axe solos.
Strangely, "Бей первым! (Спеть для неба…)" is the same song as the opener musically, yet with different lyrics, and not only because it's in Russian but also due to the fact it's about striking first to restore order, while "В моих глазах" is made of stellar drum and bass performances, and one more time excellent enwreathed male and female vocals (this time there are also few clean male vocals, for the record); owing to licks, solos and vocals that give me thrills up my spine, this is decidedly the apex of Tantal's comeback.
Never too repetitive, never boring, and counting on a guitar virtuoso that seems to come from another planet, the Moscovites have nothing less than a professional established band from Scandinavia or the USA, and the only negative aspect I feel I have to note down regards the kick drums sound, in that it should have been fatter, more present in order to give the songs a shattering impact. Besides this minor fault, this five-year wait was well worth the release of this elegant digipack and the classy melodic Death Metal in it recorded.
Line-up on this record:
Milana Solovitskaya - female v.
Dmitry Ignatiev (also in Everlost, Flash Of Aggression, Fatal Band, Rest in Pain (RUS) as Dime Blizzard, ex-Deviant Syndrome (live), ex-Путь Солнца (live) - guitar
Alexander Strelnikov (also in Epoch Crysis, Stentorian Voice, Rosa Infra) - guitar
Vyacheslav Gyrovoy- drums
Michael Krivyletz - bass guitar
Vlad Lobanov - male v.
Contacts:
Pushkino city (Moscow region) - Russia
E-mail: dimeblizzard@gmail.ru
Official sites:
www.tantalweb.ru
http://www.myspace.com/tantalband
http://www.facebook.com/tantalofficial?sk=info
http://www.twitter.com/tantalband
http://vkontakte.ru/club598531
Demo-/Disco-graphy:
-Emotional distress (promo-CD - 2007)
-The Beginning of the End (CD - 2009)
-Nothing (single - 2013)
-Expectancy (CD - 2014)
