The best kind of tension any one can experience
Even though former Gold Coast (Queensland)/current Melbourne based four piece act Tension have attained a certain amount of local success over the last five years (Particularly following the release of their self titled five track E.P. in 2002), it's only been through the recent success of fellow Melbourne act Five Star Prison Cell (Of which drummer Marc Whitworth is a member) and their debut The Complete First Season (Released in 2005) that awareness and the overall public profile of the band was raised once again. In between commitments with Five Star Prison Cell, Whitworth, alongside vocalist/guitarist Lucas Stone, guitarist Naithan Mendoza and bassist Shannon Friedrich, decided to reactivate Tension once again in the studio sense (With noted producer Forrester Savell in tow), and after a three-year gap, they have finally emerged with their debut full-length effort The Blind Leading The Deaf Following The Dumb.
In a lot of ways, this album is very much a new beginning for Tension, as the nine tracks featured here on their debut sound far more advanced and mature than anything that featured on their E.P. The lead off track The Unlikely Timing Of A Life Induced Death begins with a strange mix of huge grooves and melodic vocals before twisting mid way through with a full on speed assault. For the remainder of the track, the aggression is kept up throughout, all the while maintaining the hypnotic melodic theme. Once again, the follow up tracks Coma and Hate Addict utilise the same tactics of the opener with the band using unlikely huge riff structures in tandem with equally impressive hook laden choruses, while the dramatic Bullet (And Big Dirty Cross to a certain extent) is a stunning show of Stone's ability on vocals on top of slow building soundscapes.
Twin, Destroyed and Snow are blasts of manic energy combined with sprawling rhythms and memorable melodies, while the final track New Fold (Recorded live in the studio) is a slight change in sound, but not too different to fit within the context of the rest of the album. The secret behind finding the rewards in Tension's The Blind Leading The Deaf Following The Dumb is to allow the album to slowly unveil the solid choruses in amongst the band's non-conventional approach to metal (Alternative in other words).
There are few that Tension can honestly be compared to in regards to style without giving the wrong impression, but given that music is so prepacked and easily categorised these days, it actually manages to work in the bands favour. Suffice as to say that The Blind Leading The Deaf Following The Dumb is heavy, full of riffs and melodic, making it a winner for Tension in every possible way.
(Faultline Records/The Record Company/Shock Records Distribution)
