HardReviews 5
by Martin Popoff

Tears Of Anger - In The Shadows
(Lion Music)

Really cool mix of signals emanating from this progressive metal act. Led by brothers Benny and Bjorn (!) Jansson, the band is rounded out by Daniel Flores on drums and Johan Niemann on bass, both of Mind's Eye, Johann also part and parcel of Therion. What I'm hearing is a kick-ass recording, both plush and hard-hitting, supporting a unique chemistry that finds prog metal bolstered by the doomy machine gun guitar work of Tad Morose, topped with a singer sonorous, bluesy and visceral, sorta like Jorn Lande meets Graham Bonnet (that would be Bjorn). Seriously, the production on this is fantastic. And necessarily so - Tears Of Anger write so bombastically, you need a big carved-out bowl - preferably of some sort of politically incorrect Asian hardwood - to fit their often challenging ingredients. The end result is a gorgeously varied selection of speeds and melodies and even vocal approaches. Indeed, the band even cop to AOR as part of their sound, but it's so slightly massaged into the majesty, all you feel at the other exhilarating end is a great enjoyment at being rocked so hard yet sweetly.
Rating 9