Rubicon (Tristania album)

Rubicon
Studio album by Tristania
Released	25 August 2010
Recorded	January–March, 2010 at Tanken Studio, Oslo, K-Lab Studio, Stavanger and Amadeus Studio, Oslo, Norway
Genre	Gothic metal death/doom
Length	47:08
Label	Napalm
Producer	Anders Høyvik Hidle, Ole Vistnes, Waldemar Sorychta
Tristania chronology
Illumination (2007) Rubicon (2010) Darkest White (2013)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
About.com	[1]
Metal Storm	[2]
Stormbringer	[3]

Rubicon is the sixth full-length album by the Norwegian band Tristania. It is the first Tristania album to feature female Italian vocalist Mariangela Demurtas, who replaced former frontwoman Vibeke Stene.

Overview

The album displays a different lineup from the previous album. It is the first Tristania album to feature Mariangela Demurtas on female vocals, Kjetil Nordhus on clean vocals, Gyri Smørdal Losnegaard on guitars, Ole Vistnes on bass, and Tarald Lie Jr. on drums. It's also the first album with harsh vocals that are performed entirely by guitarist Anders Høyvik Hidle. Pete Johansen made a guest appearance on violin after a nearly ten-year absence. Singer Østen Bergøy appeared as a session member, after scaling back to part-time membership in the band due to family commitments.

The first video of the album was for the song "Year of the Rat," released on 12 August 2010.^[4]

Track listing

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Length
1.	"Year of the Rat"	Bergøy	Hidle/Vistnes/Demurtas	4:35
2.	"Protection"	Bergøy	Hidle/Vistnes/Demurtas	4:15
3.	"Patriot Games"	Bergøy	Hidle/Vistnes	3:27
4.	"The Passing"	Lie Jr./Fredrik Sele/Demurtas	Hidle/Vistnes/Demurtas	4:48
5.	"Exile"	Bergøy	Hidle/Vistnes/Demurtas	4:26
6.	"Sirens"	Bergøy	Hidle/Vistnes/Demurtas	4:27
7.	"The Emerald Piper" (Digipak bonus track)	Bergøy	Hidle/Vistnes	3:06
8.	"Vulture"	Hidle/Lie Jr.	Vistnes/Sorychta/Vegge/Nordhus	3:43
9.	"Amnesia"	Vistnes/Lie Jr.	Hidle/Vistnes	4:54
10.	"Magical Fix"	Lie Jr.	Vistnes/Hidle/Lie Jr./Sorychta	4:20
11.	"Illumination"	Bergøy	Moen	8:13
12.	"Caprice" (Japanese bonus track)			3:38

Charts

Chart (2010)	Peak position
Belgian Albums Chart (Wallonia)[5]	74
Swiss Albums Chart[6]	95

Release history

Country	Date
Spain	25 August 2010
Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Benelux, Italy, Sweden	27 August 2010
Rest of Europe	30 August 2010
USA, Canada	31 August 2010

Personnel

Tristania

• Mariangela Demurtas – Vocals
• Kjetil Nordhus – Vocals
• Anders Høyvik Hidle – Guitars & Harsh Vocals
• Ole Vistnes – Bass / Backing Vocals
• Gyri Smørdal Losnegaard – Guitars
• Einar Moen – Synths / Programming
• Tarald Lie Jr. – Drums

Session Members

• Østen Bergøy – clean vocals
• Pete Johansen – violin
• Sigmund Olgart Vegge – additional harsh vocals on "Vulture"

Production

• Drums recorded in Tanken Studio, Oslo by Fredrik Wallumrød, January 2010^[7]
• Guitars, bass and violin recorded in K-Lab Studio, Stavanger by Anders Høyvik Hidle & Ole Vistnes, February 2010^[7]
• Vocals recorded in Amadeus Studio, Oslo by Sigmund Olgart Vegge & Waldemar Sorychta, February & March 2010^[7]
• Mixed by Waldemar Sorychta and Dennis Koehne in Flying Pigs Studio, April 2010^[7]
• Mastered by Svante Forsbäck @ Chartmakers (www.chartmakers.fi), May 2010^[7]
• Produced by Anders Høyvik Hidle & Ole Vistnes^[7]
• Co-produced by Waldemar Sorychta^[7]
• All songs arranged by Waldemar Sorychta and Tristania^[7]
• Published by Sony ATV Publishing © 2010^[7]
• Photos and front cover artwork by angst-im-wald (www.angst-im-wald.com)^[7]
• Booklet design by Tinko Georgiev^[7]

References

1. Rubicon review lAbout.com. Retrieved on 6 June 2013.
2. Rubicon review Metal Storm. Retrieved on 6 June 2013.
3. Rubicon review stormbringer.at. Retrieved on 3 September 2010. (German)
4. Tristania: 'Year Of The Rat' Video Released blabbermouth.net. 12 August 2010. Retrieved on 2 September 2010.
5. http://www.ultratop.be/fr/album/21cf7/Tristania-Rubicon
6. http://hitparade.ch/album/Tristania/Rubicon-138487
7. Rubicon (CD Booklet). Tristania. Eisenerz, Austria: Napalm Records NPR 344. 2010.