Norway’s TRISTANIA is currently writing material for the as-yet-untitled follow-up to 2007’s “Illumination”, tentatively due before the end of the year. Songtitles set to appear on the effort include “Patriot Games”, “Year of the Rat”, “The Emerald Piper” and “Sirens”.
Commented male vocalist Østen Bergøy: “To be main lyricist in TRISTANIA feels like an honor and a curse at the same time.
“I know that most of our fans read our lyrics and some know them by heart. We’ve heard you sing along — I have seen your lips — moving to the melodies at our concerts. That is very touching. Continue doing that. The dark side of the fact that most of you know the words is that we can’t just write some nonsense and expect to get away with it. Not that we WANT to write nonsense, of course. We all want each word to deserve its space and carry poetry and meaning to each song and to the world. And to you guys.
“I have finalized the lyrics for about half the new songs — six or seven of them. So far there are no shubiduas or shalalas or yeahyeahyeahs. And I don’t think that there will be any.
“Mariangela [‘Mary’ Demurtas; female vocals], Ole [Vistnes; bass], Anders [Høyvik Hidle; guitar], Einar [Moen; synthesizer] and myself have all made vocal melodies and this huge variety — this width of ideas — has made the challenge of writing lyrics even more complicated than before. The new songs are all very strong and the words reflect the moods.
“In my best moments, I manage to lift the songs and add flavor and depth and meaning. In my worst moments, the lyrics are shite and needs rewriting and rethinking. I am quite moody when I do this kind of work, and I complain a lot.
Besides the never-irrelevant themes of fucked up relationships, and the feeling that existence lacks meaning, I have tried to imagine myself at another place — a more extreme spot in the world — and tried to understand and recreate what people such places must be going through. I am fascinated by extremism, madness and chaos. I don’t think I want to be more specific than that at this point.”
TRISTANIA in 2007 announced the addition of Italian singer Mariangela “Mary” Demurtas to the group’s ranks.
The band’s latest album, “Illumination”, was released in January 2007 via SPV. The CD was recorded at Woodhouse Studios in Hagen, Germany with producer Waldemar Sorychta (LACUNA COIL, TIAMAT, GRIP INC.).
Source: www.blabbermouth.net