THIS MISERY GARDEN

Originally formed in Geneva in 2005, TMG recorded some demo tracks in 2006 that gained them some attention in the local music scene, and led to them recording this their debut album in 2007. Fast forward to the end of 2009 and the album was reissued through Prog Rock, SPV and Galileo. Now in 2013 they have just released the follow-up, 'Cornerstone', so it seems like a good time to go back and see what the debut gave us. Straight from the off it is obvious that Katatonia have been a major influence on the guys, with a cold bleakness permeating through their riffing guitars. There is plenty of emotion and atmosphere on display, and I initially I was somewhat surprised that it has taken them so long to build on this.

A Perfect Circle is another reference point, as is The Cure, but it is the bleakness of Katatonia that has had a major impact on the band, and given my liking of that group it can't be a bad thing. But, I did find my interest wandering during the fourteen songs and was somewhat surprised to notice that it had finished playing in the background and I hadn't noticed. So I went back through it again, and found that while playing just a few songs was interesting, playing the whole album wasn't so much. Although the style and application is positive, more work is required on the songs. But, this was a debut and it has taken them six years to deliver the follow-up so maybe that new one is better, but while this is okay it is never more than that.

Strong debut album from this Swiss ensemble. There aren't too many bands that manage to explore relatively unexplored territories as far as progressive metal goes, and it is refreshing whenever you encounter an act doing just that.

In this case we're served music by a band that know their grunge, indie rock and their post rock, with riff patterns and wandering guitar themes placed on top of dampened, textured guitar cascades as their speciality. Short compositions featuring rather standard verse, chorus and bridge segments are the vehicles for this stylistic venture, and with catchy choruses and a focus on melody this is also a somewhat mainstream-oriented production.

It's a good album though, and one that should interest fans of sophisticated metal with a distinct mainstream orientation.