EMPTY TREMOR

One of my fav musicians from prog metal zone ever are for sure the italians from Empty Tremor. the first two albums released by this band are excellentm being among the best in this genre, at least for me. The first album was released in 1997 and is named Apocolokyntosys. Well, this is in same league with the best of the 90s prog metal, and I mean Images and words, Carved in stone by Shadow Gallery and so on, the influences are also present on this album but is no clone for sure. What impress me every time I am listning to this first offer is how strong musicianship is, the keys and guitars are very well melted together, nice complicated shift, moods, lots of tempo changes, as might be a prog metal album. Also the singer is great, even has that LaBrie tone, Giovanni De Luigi knows very well to sing, from mellow sections to much more rockier, a good singer. The first piece is for sure my fav - The eyes of universe - is simply killer, one of the best I have ever heared in prog metal, great ideas and top notch musicianship + a great vocal passages all over. The rest of the pieces are aswell strong with no weak moments. All in all a not so well known band and album in prog metal field and is a damn shame, but belive me this guys knows bussines, specially the first two albums (this one and Eros & Thanatos) are excellent and recommended albums to all prog metal listners, worth every second. For me an easy 4 stars, nothing compares to old prog metal, the one made in the 90s.

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

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.

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.

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!

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)

Oh,my God!13 years already in 2010 since this album has been released and not a single trace of dust on it!That's for sure the sign of timeless value!I remember with emotion when I discovered this album,it was,of course,in the period when DREAM THEATER prog metal influence was present to no matter what new band in the genre was trying to made it's first steps!The comparation with the American idols comes imediatelly in my mind,it's undoubtedly,but I cannot say that APOCOLOKYNTOSIS is a clone of IMAGES AND WORDS,even the simililar musical ideas are dominating on this album!Well,just look at the age of the musicians in the band,they were extremelly young and ambitious,and the fruit of their work-regarding their age-is simply stunning!We have also here a very solid prove thet a huge talent can produce a good album,even if the main ideas are not too original,but the fact that they have such notorious models like DREAM THEATER ,is noble for them!DE LIUGI hs a warm and very pleasant voice and the ferocious playing of the long instrtumentel portions of the song are proving the great ambition of this very talented musicians!The compositions are well structured and the production is excellent,the opening THE EYES OF UNIVERSE is very spectacular and has all the ingredients of a good prog metal song-brilliant musicianship,wonderful melodic line and great rhythm changes-a trully inspired choice!The title track is a blastering instrumental composition,where there are many moments of musical wizzardry comparable with the 2;-43'' minutes that changed the prog metal music-I speak here about the instrumental portion from the masterpiece called METROPOLIS-DREAM THEATER!!! Oh yes,it's important to mention the impressive technical aspect of EMPTY TREMOR trully outstanding from the very beginning!I think that now in 2010 this band doesn't exist anymore ,because Liverani is seriously involved in other projects like TWINSPIRITS-his top priority for the moment and KHYMERA.Anyway,this album is an excellent one,an album considered by many the perfect DREAM THEATER-IMAGES AND WORDS clone.But I like it!!! 4.5 STARS for an outstanding debut!

Their third album so far named Alien inside from 2004 and their final one ( I doubt it that will come with another release) is again a good progressive metal album, but not as good as the predecesor from 2000 Eros and Thanatos. They have on this album a new vocalist, Oliver Hartmann - who has agood voice but don't shine as the previous one Giovanni De Luigi. The music has real good instrumental parts, but sometimes is lacking in originality, the Dream Theater influencea are all over, even more than on previuoses albums, well this is not a bad thing to be influenced by a band or other, but sometimes needs more ideas of your own to come with something excellent. So the music is good, some very fine moments made by the twin guitarists Christian Tombetti and Marco Guerrini, the drums sound solid with great chops and very intristing beats, but again lacking in real intristing arrangements, only good parts and nothing more. No matter what others said about this album to me the best piece is the opening track named The Alien Inside and maybe Who You Really Are, the rest are just ok, not bad, but not something special either. Finaly this is a worthy album, a good one, but don't expect to some real treat from Alien inside, just a progressive metal, nothing more, 3 stars, weaker than the predecesor in every way.

3.5 stars actually...

It's the year 2000 and after a three-years absence EMPTY TREMOR return with their sophomore effort ''Eros and Thanatos'',which the greek translation of ''Love and death''.In their first album the band delivers some decent progressive metal in the vein of DREAM THEATER and what we should expect in their second album could be a more mature band and a more original sound.

Well,the truth is that the band matured indeed in these 3 years of absence but not in the expexted range.There are two faces of the band that we meet here.The first one is that of the DT clone and that comes in he more bombastic complex tracks of the album like ''The future needs...'', ''Outside'' or ''Y2K''.To my ears this kind of tracks sound just like a DT tribute and nothing more...But there are also some trully excellent music in the rest of the tracks with a more personal style of progressive metal,based mainly on atmosphere and the vocal lines.And Giovanni De Luigi's voice is one of the aces of this band.Tracks like ''Lost in the past'',''Star'' or ''Just for today'' deliver excellent lyrical,atmospheric and most important PERSONAL progressive metal of the highest expectations.These tracks are simply stunning and you should buy this album only for them.As for the epic of the album,the 17 min. ''Timeless night'' contains also a lot of DT good prog metal along with EMPTY TREMOR personal touches and it is split in two parts of about 11 and 5 min. each and one minute of silence between them.

I admit that EMPTY TREMOR's second effort is one of the most decent and strong prog metal releases I've heard in a lot of time.My true rating is on the top of the review but anyone who doesn't mind the strong DT influences should add a half star more...

I'm tired to hear and read that almost every band that emerge after Images and words and Awake, sound like DT. Of course DT influence hundreds of bands from today, but not every band are a copy of DT. I find Empty Tremor super band, who knows how to play, and above all not a copy of any band, in my opinion. Some influences are here and there, but not in a major cantity to become a copy/paste band. Talking about the album, Eros and Thanatos is well played, every instrument is at the highest level, so my rate is 4 stars. I recommend this album because is one of the best from Italy, and not only. Similar bands Madsword, Time Machine, Lemur Voice, Ivory Tower. 4 stars and Highly recommended for prog metal listners.