TUNNELVISION - WHILE THE WORLD AWAITS - 2000

I was introduced to the music of Tunnelvision whilst writing a review of the sampler CD Progressive DisDURPance vol. 3 a few weeks ago. It featured the Tunnelvision song Reach the Moon which I thought one of the highlights of the album. Now for a look at the boys' debut album While the World Awaits.

Tunnelvision was formed in 1995 and from those earliest days only drummer Mirka Rantanen has been left. The search for a vocalist ended when Timo Kotipelto (Stratovarius) suggested Marko Waara (who has appeared on Stratovarius albums as backing vocalist). Soon after, Kari Tornack joined on keyboards. With a new guitar and bass player Tunnelvision released a three-song demo. But the shakiness of the line-up persisted. Again it was the guitar and bass players who needed to be replaced. Lauri Porra soon provided bass and Juhani Malmberg completed the present line-up on guitar. In the spring of 1999 Tunnelvision could finally start the recording of a debut album.

Before turning to the tracks, let's consider the bandmembers first. Marko Waara has a deep, powerful voice, but he doesn't shy away from the higher notes, though this is where he at times seems a bit pressed. In connection with this stands an at times unfortunate distortion of vocals, that is usually most prominent in the choruses. This effect is also brought on by the use of a sometimes far too overbearing backing choir. Interesting detail is that Timo Kotipelto provides some of the (additional) backing vocals. Juhani Malmberg proves a very accomplished guitar player, with some good solos and powerful riffs. Lauri Porra on bass also fares well, but is often overpowered by guitar and drums kicking up a row. Nevertheless he provides the solid backbone of the band and has some more personal moments, for instant going at it slap-bass in Masquerade.
Mirka Ratanen's drums attain a pounding quality and while there's often not much glory to be gained by drummers in prog metal beyond making a hell of a racket, he succeeds in adding some interesting rhythms to various songs. At times drums do seem a bit overbearing, even more than usual in the genre. But in no way do drums rival keyboards in dominating tracks. Kari Tornack is without a doubt the busiest of this bunch, bringing so many alternating sounds to the fore it's at times hard to keep track of all the simultaneous melodies. It does tend to become a bit much at times, though never to the point of irritation.

As I stated in the earlier referred to review, Reach the Moon is a wonderful song, that may sound commercial because of its catchy melody and chorus, but at the same time it's powerful, with sweeping keyboard passages. Remains a favourite for me. The second track, Rebel, I find dissapointing. It's the kind of heavy metal anthem that's been much better done by other bands (with heavier bass this wouldn't be out of place on a Hammerfall CD). Here for the first time the weird distorted vocals appear and quickly become a blur, notably in the, in my view, rather awful chorus.

The next song, Masquerade, is much better. It has a nice Industrial intro and ending, the afore-mentioned slap-bass, and lots and lots of variation on keyboards, featuring both Hammond organ, high synths and Kevin Moore-ish background pastiches. Another Dream Theater comparison concerns the fast guitar play, that resembles John Petrucci. After the weak vocal performance in track two, Waara seems back on track. Not surprising, this track reminds me a lot of a DT song, namely Just Let Me Breathe. A fast rolling and catching song with a good chorus and some venomous lyrics.

The short instrumental Eternity serves as introduction to the ballad Empress. It's basically a solo performance by Tornack on keyboards. Start with synths, piano is used for the main theme, then high pitched synths return, before a fade out and the start of Empress. Though I called this a ballad, there's a big difference between verse and chorus. The verses are accompanied by sweet piano, while the chorus brings violent drums and guitar. The blurring of vocals in the chorus works better in this setting, but guitar is a too overbearing in these parts. All in all another good outing though. The alternate melody and rhythm of a middle section is very resemblant of Queensrяche, both vocally and instrumental.

Days of Joy and Bliss is one of the three tracks that featured on Tunnelvision's demo release (with Rebel and Dive Down). Synths open, then fast drums and guitar intercept. Keyboards are more in the line of Derek Petrucci here, while the boys deliver another catchy chorus. Fine solo, first on keys, then on guitar. The warbled vocals return in Shapeless Visions, but this time around in the verses. Powerful riffs, but a bit dissapointing guitar solo. After some of the previous tracks Tornack seems a bit tame on keyboards. In the emotional After the Storm the vocals are fortunately especially good, because there's a lot of finely written lyrics. Waara's performance here brings to mind the vocal qualities of Geoff Tate. I've noticed I've been referring to Queensrяche's vocalist quite a lot in recent prog metal reviews. Could this be a new trend where singers try to match Tate's accomplishments, now that the boys from the U.S. seem to have dropped the ball? Then again it may just be a personal thing.

Dive Down is another track with a catchy chorus. In Tears of Goodbye Tornack again puts in a show as he displays lots of different keyboard melodies and sounds, varying from Hammond and piano to high-pitched synths. Malmberg joins in the fun with a fractured solo, that'll have you do the old air-guitar bit. The limited edition bonus track Fractured Dreams is the real ballad on this CD, focusing on Waara's vocals and piano. A very good track, but a bit out of tune with the rest of the album. Not a bad idea to include it as bonus track! This is also the song where Waara gives us the best indication of the quality of his voice.

I find it's the talented keyboard player that sets this band apart from the main. Tornack is a self-proclaimed fan of Rick Wakeman, but his style is really more in line with other prog metal bands, notably the various DT keyboardists. All in all While the World Awaits is a good debut, but it has a few flaws that keep me from given it a solid recommendation. The warbled vocals, the crowded instrumentalisation or overbearing individual performances occur only at times, but do distract from the overall quality. Besides that it's a well produced album (self-produced and mixed by Mikko Karmila, who has also done work on Stratovarius albums) and the CD comes in a original package with fine artwork.
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