Review by Adam M on November 19, 2010.

One can sense the progressive ideas and unique thoughts flow through your veins here. The music here is still relatively controlled for a left field experience, however and tries to add an emotional impact to the proceedings. There’s even a folk like presence to be had here. The band recall outfits like Borknagar and Vintersorg, for example. There are some moments where the album is quite enthralling, but also a couple where it bogs down a little bit. I hope the band can make things more consistent in the future because they have a solid palette to work from.

Really the album starts out in a thrilling enough fashion, but it sizzles out towards the end where the work wanders into meandering territories that aren’t always consistently compelling as the first six tracks are. It seems to have a nice consistent mix of Avant-Garde for a little while and eventually give over to unnecessary indulgences that leave something to be desired. A highlight is the cheerful opening song 'Time Master'. Based on the strength of the earlier portions of the disc, the material is elevated from being mediocre to very good. When the band is hitting stride, they are compelling and innovative. There seems to be musical themes running through the disc that give it continuity in its earlier portions. There are constant mentions of “imaginary” items which is a thread that continues through the album.

If the band had expanded upon the ideas they take from the first six songs to the remainder of the work, it would’ve been even better. Still, this material is fairly solid and Tears come with a mild recommendation towards fans of Avant-Garde metal.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 7.5
Atmosphere: 7
Production: 7
Originality: 7.5
Overall: 7.5

Rating:7.3 out of 10