IRIDIUM

What A Return!

Released over six years since their previous outing, Italy's Empty Tremor returns with what is possibly the best traditional progressive metal album to come out so far this year. Combining beautiful melodies, heavy riffing, terrific instrumental performances, and a fantastic vocalist to top it all off, you have everything that's essential for a successful modern prog metal release. From the songwriting to the technical prowess and everything in-between, I only have positive things to say about Empty Tremor's Iridium.

Empty Tremor is often lumped into the "Dream Theater clone" pile, but I actually dispute that. Although there is a strong Dream Theater influence in Empty Tremor's music, they definitely have their own sound. Although a few instrumental sections are, admittedly, not the most original thing in the world, they are highly enjoyable nonetheless. The more melodic side of Empty Tremor, in addition to the many vocal harmonies is something Dream Theater rarely does. There is also significantly less soloing on Iridium than most prog metal releases, although (as previously mentioned) there are a few long instrumental runs (that I love). Basically, if you're very strict when it comes to originality, this album may bother you. But for the average prog metal fan, Empty Tremor is the perfect balance between staying true to the genre and creating their own sound.

For an album that's almost 65 minutes long, Iridium is amazingly consistent. On a prog metal album, there are usually a few filler tracks, but every song on Iridium is extremely memorable, yet deep enough to warrant many listens. Part of this is due to the extreme variation on this album. There are the fast-paced, upbeat songs like Breaking the Mirror, there are darker songs like Run and Warm Embrace, there are the (surprisingly awesome) ballads such as Everyday, and of course you have your epic prog metal songs like the title track. The frequent tempo and mood changes keep every song interesting and captivating. These guys are clearly professional songwriters - every song is terrific from a compositional standpoint.

The musicians in Empty Tremor are a joy to listen to. There have been quite a few changes in the lineup since their previous release, but it works very well. The new singer is terrific, the new keyboard player fits the band like a glove, and the drummer is great as well. At its core, Empty Tremor is a fantastic, tight-playing unit who manages to incorporate technicality AND emotion into their music. Far too many prog metal bands are focused on shredding at the speed of light, forgetting about putting feeling into their playing. All of the musicians in Empty Tremor never lose sight of this, while still managing to show their chops. I have a lot of respect for any band that can balance this as perfectly as these guys have done.

The production is very professional and enjoyable. It has a somewhat synthetic sound that may come across as "cheesy" to some people, but I really enjoy it. I'm usually not a fan of synthetic sounding instruments, but it's used in perfect moderation on Iridium. Once again, I have to applaud Empty Tremor for getting something right that most bands fall short on.

Conclusion:

Iridium is a fantastic prog metal album by Empty Tremor, and surely among the best 2010 albums. I can't wait to hear where Empty Tremor goes in the future with this new lineup. If this album is an indication of anything, it shows we're in for a fantastic fifth album from Empty Tremor. As for now, this is one of the best prog metal albums to be released in a long time from a non-high-profile band. 4.5 stars are very well deserved here.

(Originally Posted on SeaofTranquility.org)

IRIDIUM is the great return of one the most talented prog metal Italian bands EMPTY TREMOR!!!It was a long wait for all the fans of this wonderful band,but the too long wait worth plenty!!!The most important news about this superbe album is the return of the initial vocalist GIOVANNI DE LUIGI!Man...and what a sensational voice has this guy!He sings like an angel..sometimes in a heavenly high register and other times in angry tones -each time efficient and inspired-a fabulous voice...a true sensation!Honestly...after the first 2 albums..I didn't realise he's so fantastic!In fact...he is much more mature now and his techical vocal range is stunning!The production is fabulous,each instrument sounds perfect and the whole band has a great cohesion under all aspects!Mature and inspired compositions and fantastic musicianship!!!I I had some emotions thinking that the departure of DANIELE LIVERANI will be a major handicap for EMPTY TREMOR ,but-fortunatelly-I was wrong!The new keyboard player is perfect and all the album sounds so fresh and catchy!The new members in the band are perfectly integrated and the whole band has a scarry technical level,but the melody and composition seems to be the major target,goal,of the band!WARM EMBRACE-the highlight of the album- is one of the most sensitive and touching composition of the band,where Giovanni really shines in a very impressive way!The guitar work is wonderful-technique and melodic in the same time.DARIO CICCIONI from TWINSPIRITS,GENIUS,KHYMERA is long time 'partner in crime" for DANIELE LIVERANI-he is pushing here some impressibe drumming wizardries.Overall a very,very inspired come back album-undoubtedly a highlight in prog metal world for 2010,and the deffinitive prove that EMPTY TREMOR has a huge potential and imense talent and is a sure value in this style-a refference!4.75 stars if I can say-almost perfect!COMPLIMENTI EMPTY TREMOR!

Unconditional Love

Empty Tremor has caused me to have this for their latest album, Iridium. This is definitely one of my favorite releases of 2010. Empty Tremor uses great vocals to make their songs very solid. That combined with nice heavy riffs and great bass lines really make this a great album.

One of my favorite tracks on the album is the first one, "Breaking the Mirror", because I like Giovanni de Luigi's voice on this one the most. It's very full and solid and when he sings in harmony with the rest of the band it creates a wonderful sound to the ear. Talking about harmonies, the end of the song it totally vocals when the instruments drop out and it is only Giovanni de Luigi being backed up by Marco Scott Gilardi. This is a testament to how good their voices are. That being said their musicianship on this album is also superb. Halfway through the song Marco Guerrini has a great guitar solo that really evens out the track.

Speaking of great guitar work, the bassist, Dennis Randi, does a very good job on the album. This shows in the opening of the song "Run" where he lays down some great riffs. He also has some good background figures in "Warm Embrace", too. Also on this album Empty Tremor's Marco Scott Gilardi does a very nice job playing keyboards which blend nicely with the guitars.

"Warm Embrace" is the epic on the album. It starts off much slower than any other song on the album, but eventually speeds up. This song is a pure example of how Empty tremor can play any way they want to and excel at it. This track uses a great acoustic guitar opening. Giovanni de Luigi also changes his voice style a little to a much softer tone that compliments nicely with the acoustic, keyboards, and backing vocals.

Overall this album is one great prog metal album. Even though some people classify Empty Tremor as a Dream theater clone, they really aren't. They have their own unique sound that I really enjoy. My only beef with this album is that sometimes the songs tend to follow the same lines, and sound kind of similar. But this matters little since Empty Tremor's sound is quite excellent throughout the whole album. They get 4 stars for a delightful masterpiece.

Empty Tremor is back after 6 year gap in prog metal filed. Well, I was looking forward for this new release, because on one hand I like this band how sounds, specialy their best album to date Eros and Thanatos and on other hand the vocalist , Giovanni de Luigi is back afte 10 years outside the band. Some new musicians here, like the drumer from Twinspirits, Genius, etc - Dario Ciccioni is here but also Liverani, who was the head of the band in past years are no more involved in the band today, the keybords are handleed by Marco Scott Gilardi . Now, the new album was released in october 2010 named Iridium and is to me a good album, pleasent most of the time, well played compositions, but, there is a but, not a single piece shines, realy, all are good and nothing more. Even is good and desearves 3 stars is kinda far in arrangements, inventivity with Eros and Thanatos, maybe is on same level with predecesor Alien Inside. The musicianship is ok, they all know bussines, but the pieces suffers in great progressive metal elements. All instruments sounds good, specially the keybords on couple of pieces are great , the guitar aswell, the voice of De Luigi is ok, maybe little to laid back in places, there is no more that vein or balls like in the past albums. So, a good album, but I can't give more then 3 stars , thats a fact, really, is not spectacular is not excellent either, is only good and nothing more, 6 years are kinda too much to release only a good album , for that period was needed the result to be better, maybe in the future. 3 stars.

Empty Tremor returned last year with this album after a long break. The original vocalist has also returned on this album, I believe. This is my first exposure to this band so I do not know.

The music on Iridium is pure melodic heavy metal from the 1980s. No less, no more. References are Conception and dozens of German bands. I do not know if anyone in Empty Tremor uses a box of hairspray a day, but you get my drift.

The music on this album is pretty standard heavy metal with some hints of prog rock. It is based on chugging guitar riffs and a lot of plastic fantastic synths. The vocals are very good. The rest is pretty standard fare. The quality of the songs are pretty decent. My gripes with this album is that it does not bring anything new to the table and is lacking any form of identity and originality. In my case; it brings back really bad memories from a music style I am not fond of at all. A plus for the vocals and the musicianship. But the rest of this album is not my cup of tea at all.

2.5 stars