THE BEAST

Tiny Tree – XI - Reviewed By zwaremetalen.com ! Check it out here at this link: https://zwaremetalen.com/albumrecensies/tiny-tree-xi

Post-metal duo Tiny Tree from Michigan, USA is back with a successor after the rather strong debut Embolisms. I found on Embolisms that Tiny Tree sounded like a post-metaloer forest where frozen dew had been tackling the needles for months, but where the first spring rays could break through at any moment. Lyrical as I was then, I also noticed the song The Other II as an absolute highlight, but also as a centerpiece in three consecutive songs. The Other II is an absolute whopper and only for that it is worth running Embolisms again.

On XI, the approach with consecutive songs has remained largely the same, but this time the songs stick together even more strongly. What is immediately noticeable about Yuri's Revenge is that the band has become stronger in arranging the parts and that the addition of tasty samples elevates the whole. Furthermore, it is striking that this album sounds a lot more melancholic than its predecessor. Return takes its time to repeat like a post-metal drone and the vocals are very subdued. Idle Eyes also only gets going in the second half, but when it really erupts, the drums seem to stumble over themselves. Unforgivable. The song is further accompanied by one of the ugliest video clips I have ever seen, but I am going to spare you that visual terror.

Paper Boat colors within exactly the same lines as Return, only the vocals in the higher regions are produced a bit sharply and that does not always sound pleasant. On December and Misinformation Effect the heavier guns come to the surface, but the vocals remain largely in the background here. So we don't get solid screams about heavy sludgeriffs and that's a shame. Also the influences, Isis, Tool and Russian Circles seem sublimated on this album because I find almost nothing of it anymore.

XI leaves me half-hearted. You don't get blue balls from it because it wasn't that exciting at all, but it's a pity that the band doesn't know how to exploit the potential that was presented at Embolisms. There is little magic or enthusiasm in it. It's not a bad record, but there's not much good to be noticed. - zwaremetalen.com