Cryoshell (album)

Cryoshell
Studio album by Cryoshell
Released	June 7, 2010
Recorded	2008-2010 Hansen Studios - Ribe, Denmark
Genre	Alternative rock hard rock symphonic rock
Length	40:34
Label	Cryoshell I/S Voices Music & Entertainment
Producer	Jacob Hansen
Cryoshell chronology
Creeping in My Soul (2010) Cryoshell (2010)
Singles from Cryoshell
"Bye Bye Babylon" Released: July 27, 2009 "Creeping in My Soul" Released: December 1, 2009 "Breakout" Released: December 9, 2012

Cryoshell is the self-titled debut studio album by Danish rock band Cryoshell, released June 7, 2010 by Voices Music & Entertainment.

A reissue of the album featuring two bonus songs is set for an early 2014 release - both of which feature fellow Danish singer Tine Midtgaard in place of lead singer Christine Lorentzen, who was on maternity leave during the time of recording - under the band's new label The Leaders.

Background and release

Cryoshell announced plans to record a full-length album in October 2008, set for a release before the end of the year. The first confirmed tracks were remixes of songs previously released as soundtracks to Lego Bionicle toy waves that included "Creeping in My Soul", "Closer to the Truth", "Face Me" and "Gravity Hurts" (the latter two of which were originally sung by fellow Danish singer Niels Brinck instead of Lorentzen) but by late 2008, dropped plans to re-record the former two.

By early 2009, no such album had been released, while the band spent the majority of the year recording new material. Cryoshell later announced that the album's release had been postponed to the fall of 2009 at the least, with no guarantee an official release date. This was later pushed back to January 30, 2010, but when that date past, was pushed back further.

Cryoshell later confirmed a release date for the album as June 7, 2010 for Scandinavia, but due to the difficulties of securing a worldwide release, it was published in different territories over a time period of nearly two years, making physical copies of the album hard to come by.

The entire album was produced and mixed by Jacob Hansen, head of Hansen Studios where the band recorded in Ribe, a small town in North Denmark. Cryoshell recorded and published the album under their own label Cryoshell I/S in conjunction with the Norwegian label Voices Music & Entertainment.

The band recorded two new songs with Hansen in late 2011. The songs - "Breakout" and "Gravity Hurts" - feature fellow Danish singer Tine Midtgaard on vocals standing in for Lorentzen while she took maternity leave from the group. The songs were later confirmed to be included as bonus tracks on a reissue of the album after Cryoshell secured a deal with Greek label The Leaders and set an early 2014 worldwide release for.

Singles

In advance to plans to record a full-length album, an earlier take of the track "Closer to the Truth" - used as the soundtrack to the Bionicle Mistika toy wave - was released as a free download from the official Bionicle website on October 1, 2008. A music video followed its release one week later on October 8.

The album's official lead single "Bye Bye Babylon" was released July 27, 2009, its music video premiered on Cryoshell's official website the following August. Another version featuring a lyric-tweak was used as the soundtrack to the film Bionicle: The Legend Reborn as well as the Glatorian and Glatorian Legends toy sets released by Bionicle that year. That version, released August 27, 2009, also features a music video; released the following August 31.

"Creeping in My Soul" was released as the second single on December 1, 2009, its music video premiered on Cryoshell's official YouTube channel on April 19, 2010. An earlier take on the song was used as the soundtrack to the Bionicle Barraki toy wave of early 2007. Released as a free downloadable MP3 from the official Bionicle website, it became a popular hit on the Lego website.

The third single "Breakout" - released December 9, 2012 - features vocals from fellow Danish singer Tine Midtgaard who stood in for Lorentzen while she took maternity leave from the band. It will be included as a bonus track on the reissue of the album.

Reception

The album has been met with positive reviews from music critics. Sputnikmusic gave the album 4 out of 5 stars and compared Cryoshell's sound to bands such as Evanescence, Within Temptation and Linkin Park. They praised lead singer Christine Lorentzen on her vocal talents "[soaring] above the instrument mixes, especially in the tracks "Trigger" and "Falling", and how the band "has bigger things in mind than mere promotional songs" and that "String synthesizers, broken chords played on the piano, and driving background electric guitars set an eerie yet powerful mood throughout the album." But felt that the group lacked lyrically, saying "They range from weak attempts at poetry to straightforward and radio-ready." ^[1]

Greek Rebels also praised Lorentzen's vocals and how the songs "stick in the mind with catchy melodies". On the re-issue, they described the bonus songs as "slightly more diversified and dynamic" and making the listener to replay them again and again, giving the album a ranking of 7.5 out of 10 as a whole,^[2] while RockHard as well praised Lorenzen's voice as a "very beautiful complexion" with "incredible dynamics" and the reason why the band does not go completely unnoticed.^[3] RavenHeart Music gave the album a score of 10/10, calling it "one of the best debuts for years" and that Cryoshell "have the songs, the sound and the look and could make the USA their own with this record alone" while also praising Lorenzten's vocals as "magnificent" with contrasts to Cristina Scabbia and Shania Twain.

Track listing

Notes

• Tracks 1, 2, 5, 6 and 9 also appear on the extended play Creeping in My Soul.
• "Creeping in My Soul", "Bye Bye Babylon" and "Closer to the Truth" are re-recorded songs that's original counterparts were used as soundtracks to toy waves of Lego Bionicle released between 2007-2009 and the film Bionicle: The Legend Reborn respectively.
• "Bye Bye Babylon" is 3:41 long on its singular release.

Credits

Release history

References