For fifteen years now the German metalcore band Tenside have brought their spin on the genre to the world. Having garnished a following across the globe, supporting the likes of Killswitch Engage, Trivium, As I Lay Dying and Bad Wolves as well as playing Waken Open Air, Hills of Rock in Bulgaria and Midi Festival in China, Tenside have also headlined their shows throughout Europe.
The 2020 release of Glamour & Gloom saw the band achieve their best success entering the German Top 100 at an impressive 45 and the album seeing over 10 million global streams. So, does Come Alive Dying help to push the band to that next level?
The 12-track album spans approximately 50 minutes and bursts into live with the album’s title track. Boasting a chugging, heavy riff before we first experience the cleaner side of the vocal, frontman Daniel Kuhlemann is on fine form from the get-go. The drums explode under the control of Johannes Jörg and the guitars just punch you in the gut as Michael Klingenberg warms up the fretboard. None of this would be possible without some impressive bass work by Joan Hölscher. What a way to open an album!
This stunning start certainly gets the momentum going and don’t expect it to slow down.
As the album progresses, this blistering form of Metalcore is what it should be about. The huge strings, meet powerfully devastating drums and then a vocal that one second you are singing along with at the top of your voice, and the next you are screaming until your lungs are ready to bleed. It is an emotional release and I can’t help but imagine the crowds at the gigs. The pit is going to go off!
It’s fair to say that there are some softer songs on the album, but they will still tear you a new arsehole, whilst the heavier ones will blow you to pieces.
Yes, there is heavier music out there if you want all-out pummelling, however, that is not what Metalcore is about and for me, Tenside have the balance spot on. The softer aspects are matched with sheer rage and that is what sets this music apart, it is more like real life, with ups and downs and emotional rollercoasters to match.
What a start to 2024!
Come Alive Dying will be released Friday 19th January 2024 via Ivorytower Records.
Ed Ford
Tracklist
- Come Alive Dying
2. Shadow to Shine
3. Pitch and Gold
4. Darkness to Blight
5. Impending Doom
6. Aim for Paradise
7. Deadweight
8. Pretty Lonesome
9. Silence is Betrayal
10. Transcend
11. Vengeance
12. Dust of the Bereaved
Online
https://www.facebook.com/TENSIDE/?locale=en_GB
https://twitter.com/tensidemusic?
https://www.instagram.com/tensidemusic/?hl=en-gb