On disc: TNT

 
My Religion
 
- Sandra Bucher -
 
 


 
The New Territory
 
- Victor Kzyto -
 
 


 
 Atlantis
 
- Claudia Ehrhardt -
 
 


 
 A Farewell To Arms
 
- Claudia Ehrhardt -
 
 


 
 XIII
 
- Claudia Ehrhardt -
 
 

XIII

(Frontiers Records - 2018)



 
 

 

You guess it, this is TNT's 13th album and it's the first with singer Baol Bardot Bulsara. The band started back in 1982 and with drummer Diesel Dahl and guitarist Ronni Le Treko there are 2 original members in the band.



The Norwegian-Spanish quartet kicks off with We're Gonna Make It. The tune starts with spoken words and a bombastic instrumentation, but then becomes a heavy melodic rocker. Just to slow down again. They switch back and forth. The song has a Journey vibe...



 
 


With Not Feeling Anything they take us back to the 80's, it sounds a bit like some movie soundtrack... Big hooks, sharp riffs and 80's elements. After the dark Fair Warning they present It's Electric, based on a nice groove. This one is based in AOR and Baol Bardot Bulsara sings in a higher register. The following songs are also on the softer side of hard rock, tending more to AOR. Not exactly what I expected, but still good.



Back to the heavier side with Get Ready For Some Hard Rock! Again the tune offers an 80's feeling, but with the following People, Come Together they back to melodic metal! A heavy rocker is 17th Of May, but while Tears In My Eyes is a typical TNT tune, this one has a more modern feeling. The closer is a ballad called Sunshine.



Perhaps this isn't what you expect from TNT, but it's a decent album. Just different. A line-up change often means a musical change, too. If TNT will go for more AOR-ish sounds, only time will tell. Meanwhile check out XIII!
    





 
 










Claudia Ehrhardt


  
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A Farewell To Arms

(Metal Heaven - 2011)



 
 

 

With A Farewell To Arms the band wants to return to their roots - and partly they succeed.

Quite heavy TNT kick off A Farewell To Arms with the track Engine. A heavy rocker with a modern touch - especially Ronni Le Tekrø's guitar has a modern sound - and a poppy vocal line. The refrain is a bit repetitive... Tony Mills vocals at Refugee are catchy and crown this heavy rocker. Again Le Tekrø is showing off his skills in a short solo in the songs mid-section. Ship In The Night is a guitar-driven melodic rocker with a catchy hook. A track which would have fit into Tell No Tells, long time fans should dig it. A heavy up-tempo tune is Take It Like A Man - Woman is easy to get in, but not really memorable. While Come isn't offering something different, so Barracuda sticks out - even if it isn't that different, but somehow is infectious! One of my faves on A Farewell To Arms. It's followed by the short instrumental Signature On A Demon's Self Portrait which in my opinion disturbs the flow of the album. With Don't Misunderstand Me they offer a pop rock tune - and it sounds familiar, but I can't fathom it... Heavy riffs lead you into the title track, another cool track to enjoy.

With Someone Else they recorded a tune for a commercial, but it won't be the next Bacardi theme, even if it's a happy tune. Acoustic guitar leads you into the tune God Natt, Marie which shows TNT quite differently - the opening part reminds me somehow of The Carpenters... This isn't something I expect from TNT and if the closer (in Europe) wouldn't be the English version of Harley Davidson, then I would have skipped it. Fans of the early days might remember this tune which was on their debut album, back then their songs were in Norwegian! Unfortunately I lost my vinyl in a fire years ago, so I can't compare. Perhaps not a really strong tune, but it's a travel back in time.

Resume: A Farewell To Arms has some cool rockers, but also some so-so tunes plus 2 I wouldn't have missed. Anyway, most of the album is enjoyable and you can always skip to the next song.

 
 










Claudia Ehrhardt


  
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Atlantis

(Metal Heaven - 2008)



 
 

 

The Norwegian band TNT had ups and downs in their career and quite some line-up changes. With singer Tony Mills they a new album, the second with ex-Shy singer Mills. The album is called Atlantis and the test of time will show, if it will sink and be forgotten or stays alive in the memory of mankind.

The opener Hello, Hello is quite 60's / 70's rock and obviously influenced by the Beatles. A happy pop rock tune - which isn't too bad, but this isn't what you expect from TNT! With heavy riffs they lead into Peter Seller Blues, the beginning is AOR-ish, but then they head back to the 60's sound. Okay, the lyrics are funny... When they add a jazzy passage they push it too far. I like some jazz and a jazzy passage isn't scaring me off, but TNT always been a hard rock band! I expect this stuff in prog rock / metal. At Baby's Got Rhythm you get a heavy pop tune... Almost disco stuff... And the vocals sound like the Bee Gees joined in! Heavy riffs open up Tango Girl and it feels like you got into a rock musical about tango... There is heaviness in the riffs, but the keyboard and multi layered vocals add a pop touch and it's hard to stand for me. At the ballad Me And Dad I still feel like listening to some rock musical... Towards the end you find a nice guitar part, but this isn't enough to make it a good song. With the title track they seem to head back to their past...But will Atlantis stay this way? Well, again heavy guitar riffs, but also back to the poppy vocals. And the song - like the others - lack depth... This is elevator music, not bad during a short ride, but the moment you step out of the elevator you don't remember a thing! At The Taste Of Honey it seems that they combined hard riffs with the California sound - and some symphonic elements. The symphonic touch isn't bad, but the vocal line is ruin it in my opinion. I won't add anything about the rest of the album, coz it wouldn't change a thing. The last track is called Had It, Lost It, Found It - well, TNT had it, they lost it and with this album they haven't found it!

Well, everybody who loved TNT in the past, should listen first! This isn't what you expect! I can understand that musicians change their sound, want to do something different, but please use a different moniker! Atlantis isn't what you expect from TNT. It's almost like you get a wrong labeled disc! If this would be a release of a new band (different name) and aimed at the pop rock fans, then the album would get a better rating. Even if it isn't a highlight in pop rock, too.
 
 










Claudia Ehrhardt


  
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The New Territory

(Point Music - 2007)



 
 

 

Well, this is the first album from the-now Norway-English band since the departure of the original voice Tony Harnell. And with Tony Mills (ex-Shy) TNT is back with The New Territory, an album that is good, but weak. Great rock and roll songs, but with lack of power. Power they put into their last two albums My Religion and All The Way To The Sun. A Constitute opens this album, a slow song, and the same goes for the next two A Substitute and Are You Blind?. And it goes through the entire album. It's a shame, because they find a good singer who can bill Harnell's absence, but its Le Tekro's guitar master sound that's missing, you can recognize him only for the solos. Only after some listening you can start enjoying this album. Shame, but only Golden Opportunity and 2 Seconds Away could put my body in motion. Milestone River is a great ballad, but reality is that this is an album that is short of what TNT can do.
 
 










Victor Kzyto


  
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My Religion

(MTM Music - 2004)



 
 

 

I wasn't sure what I should expect from the new TNT album My Religion, coz before they took a 3 year long break the last releases haven't been convincing. The 80's releases are what made them legendary. Now they are back with the original line-up. In 2003 they released the EP Give Me A Sign, which was better then the last albums, but far from the class of releases like Tell No Tales. With My Religion the Norwegian-American band released an album which is in their own tradition and so there are reminiscences to all former releases except Firefly and Transistor. Producer Tommy Hansen made this album sound powerful, even the EP tracks Give Me A Sign and Live Today sound better now, but are still the weakest tracks of My Religion. The unique guitar play of Ronny LeTreko and the voice of Tony Harnell are the essentials of the TNT sound. Songs like the groovy Invisible Noise and the powerful She Needs Me are good tracks to check out. If you want to know, if they can still write ballads, then listen to Perfectly. One of the best melodic rock albums of 2004! Listen to it!
 
 










Sandra Bucher

(translation: Claudia Ehrhardt)


  
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