I presume that the varying music heard here came from the heart(s) of its creator(s) (the band was formed by M. Delastik, but this debut album features 3 other musicians, too). But when lots of diverse musical styles are crammed into one, there's always a possibility of stumbling down with its impossibility. Or then there are styles that aren't dug by a listener, that finds some other incorporated styles interesting.

To me, 'Liberation' sounds paradoxical, no matter if the music was meant to paint landscapes for a listener (as is mentioned in the letter following the promotional copy of the album). It does include cool colours, but also very, very dull tones. Let's start dissecting these bland colours in order they appear on the album:

1) The introduction song 'Eos'. This 2-minute Pink Floyd-ish piece is okay, but I do not hear its point. It builds up nicely, but ends too soon and the following piece isn't similar, music-wise.

2) Post black metal. I've never understood what is good about well-produced, "out of darkness into light" sounding tremolo picking. I do not find it atmospheric at all, it's just annoying modus operandi for my ears. It's good that the band decided to utilize some more effective guitar tones, too.

3) Incorporating that lounge jazz thing into it all. There might be a story, or a journey, happening in the music. Sadly, none of the lyrics are printed or to be found in the net (or then I'm a novice using a search engine). But it starts at the ending of 'Departer', which at first is a far darker trip, but gets a turn into lounge jazz, 'Isolation' continuing it. This jazz thing simply break this album.

4) And because the lyrics aren't printed, this is a pain in the ass to follow. This especially happens with the longest song, the closer. A listener can get lost so easily into its musical maze. At least it's a progressive song, and not droning one (which gladly isn't happening on the album!)...

So, TSP still contain some darkness in them, which is finely illustrated by German melodiousness, somewhat similar to Sun Of The Sleepless for example. 'Whitehaven' shows the band's affection to mid-era Opeth, when them Swedes were still prog metal, not prog rock. However, TSP go into prog rock territory, too, during latter songs. In a sense, 'Whitehaven' is like Opeth's trajectory in a song, basically. Doom metal bits can be heard on the closer, where the band sound a bit like mid-era Tiamat. There's also some eerie piano playing heard. The vocals are varying from agonized black metal screaming to Ihsahn (ex-Emperor) style vocalization, as well as clean vocals; spoken words and anguished singing. Generally this does not get as grim as the debut release 'The Lifeless EP's (2013) song 'Lifeless' is.

It's rather quite easy to point out that TSP wouldn't be a divergent member on Prophecy Records' roster. 'Liberation' showcases an avant-garde post black metal band. It's an interesting journey for most of its duration, but does contain some breaking or unnecessary things. Also the production sounds too sterile, which eats out some of the atmosphere that could have been there otherwise, I bet. Still worth investigating if music released via Prophecy Records is your thing.

Rating: 6 (out of 10) ratings explained

Reviewed by Lane
08/02/2017 19:06