The Kiss, The Hope
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| The Kiss, The Hope | |||||
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| Studio album by Lengsel | |||||
| Released | 2006 | ||||
| Genre | Progressive Metal | ||||
| Length | 46:33 | ||||
| Label | Whirlwind Records | ||||
| Professional reviews | |||||
| Lengsel chronology | |||||
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The Kiss, The Hope is the second full length album by the Norwegian metal band Lengsel, released on Whirlwind Records in December 2006. The album was a major stylistical change on the band's musical direction, as it contains elements of garage rock, hardcore punk, progressive metal, art rock, noise, experimental rock, and even post-punk.
[edit] Recording
After the release of Extol's The Blueprint Dives and the following tour, Ole Halvard Sveen, Tor Magne S. Glidje and John Robert Mjåland returned to their Lengsel project 6 years after Solace and began work for this album. During 2006, the band set up a MySpace profile where they hinted that they would take a more garage rock and hardcore punk oriented direction while keeping some elements of their black metal roots. Announcing an initial working title of Hell Calls Hell, The band released studiovideos and sound samples, one accompanied by a short, bizarre video for "Angels in America" with footage of a haunting old photograph. With a release date set for December 2006, the band announced the official title The Kiss, The Hope, signed to German based Whirlwind Records, and shortly after published a trailer for the upcoming music video for "The Pale People" which was released few months later. Some thime before the album's release date, the band published a review of the song. The album's booklet contains very few information on the recording, no lyrics, and mostly bizarre artwork with cryptic texts.
Musically, the album represents varied song material. While mostly containing a hybrid combination of furious, chaotic hardcore punk and garage rock with an art rock feel such as on "Hell Calls Hell,"(featuring Ilkka of Benea Reach) "Eternal Seven," and "A Little Less to Heal," the album manages to remain some of the band's black metal elements, mostly heard on the guitar work and the oppressive atmosphere. The first song "An Anonymous Phone-call And a Dead Line" is a progressive metal song with a doomy atmosphere somewhat reminiscent of later Enslaved material. "Ändenod - The Easy Kill" consists of industrial noise sounds, "Tales of Lost Love" is a calm, pure jazz song with dark and deep vocals, and "The Warm Water Chaseway" is an experimental, atmospheric and guitar-driven song with dark vocal samples. "The Pale People" is a pure gothic rock or post-punk song reminiscent of The Cure with Robert Smith type vocals and echoed, dark guitars. The music video made for it contains dark, haunting, and twisted footage of the band members in white face paints doing peculiar, disturbing art performances. The outro "Avec Toi" begins with a melancholic melody played with accordion, and progresses to a chaotic piece.
The album received mixed reviews and alienated some former fans. However critics such as Stefan Lang of PowerMetal.de gave it favorable reviews and called the album innovative.
[edit] Track listing
- "An Anonymous Phone-call And a Dead Line" - 8:03
- "Hell Calls Hell" - 3:53
- "Miss S.C." - 3:49
- "Ådendød - The Easy Kill" - 1:55
- "Tales of Lost Love" - 5:29
- "A Little Less To Heal" - 4:51
- "Eternal Seven" - 2:26
- "The Warm Water Chaseway" - 3:23
- "Angels in America" - 3:01
- "The Pale People" - 6:04
- "Avec Toi" - 3:31
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