Recenzija albuma od BB Loknera / Album review by BB Lokner (in Serbian)
Recenzija BB Loknera:
Novosadski sastav Tona aktivan je na domaćoj sceni od 2005-e godine. Sećam se da sam imao priliku dva puta da ih gledam uživo, gde i pored ubedljivog nastupa, nije mi bilo bas najjasnije o čemu se sve tu radi kada je reč o muzici i pristupu kojeg su kao bend nudili. Ali, album u potpunosti razotkriva i pojašnjava stvari, definišući jasno adute koje bend sa svojom porukom nosi.
Tona su originalan akt, a njihov pristup na moderan način povezuje rock, metal i punk idiome. Ima tu i grunge, pomalo stoner detalja i svega izmedju, ali jedan originalan stil je evidentan, i iznad svega odnos prema aranžmanima, produkciji i samoj izvođačkoj postavci je takav, da itekako koincidira sa standardima modernog vremena. Veci deo materijala bend peva na engleskom jeziku, dve numere na maternjem, a svaki song predstavlja priču za sebe i na odredjeni način njihov album nijednog momenta nije jednoličan za slušanje. Novosadski kvintet predstavlja sigurno buducnost ovdasnje rock scene i preporučujem svim dobronamernim posmatračima i analitičarima domaćih dešavanja da obrate pažnju na njihove buduće aktivnosti.
"Band Tona from Novi Sad, Serbia, has released its first album called «1000». It is a complete and diverse debut. In fact, this diversity is its greatest strength. It is based on relatively simple American boogie-rock topped by a layer of pure rock'n'roll, couple of jazzy tunes, a bit of skate-punk and a lot of progressive metal. Five band members combine this sound throughout eleven songs lasting 43:56 minutes. Two of the songs, «Grafit» and «Oreol», are sung in Serbian language, the others in English, and in a very good English I might say. George Almosthole has a very good and charismatic vocal, and I am sure he sounds even better live. However, you will hear many ''live sounding'' moments on «1000». The production is a bit raw, although without the distinctive smell of garage, which you will not miss at all. Even though the guys from the band are relatively young, they are all accomplished musicians who know how they want to sound and this is another Tona's distinctive feature.
The two guitarists, Boris Radin and Filip Radovanov, set the musical base for Tona and help out George with singing. That is a big plus. Not only do they sing in different voices, but they also bring new depth to the vocals, which is one more Tona's characteristic. I also have to give credit to the solid rhythm combo with Bojan Kumovic on the bass and Vladimir Ivancev Vova on drums. Both of these guys know their instruments. The song «Pieces» is full of different parts, followed by the fantastic, laid-back ballad «Box» filled with jazzy influences I just can not get enough. «Go Slow» is a mid-tempo ballad with lots of progressive tunes and marvellous guitars which turn even hotter in «Down To Play», a song full of unexpected changes of pace.
I hope that I and couple of my friends will not be the only people outside Serbia who realise how good Tona is. These guys may be young and coming from Serbia, but that does not stop them from being a very good band, which, with the right feedback, could become as big as the next one. The band will be loved by many for its musical broadness. I certainly hope they will retain the diverse approach which only adds to their value.
I simply like album «1000» very much and I think it is one of this year's best debuts. Unfortunately, you can not buy it here, but if you drop me a line, I will help you contact the band. "
"This is an absolute beast. TONA arrive in style with their first proper album, the accomplished production shifting it up a gear from their previous recordings. It's quite clearly one of those that fits into the category of music that has to be played FUCKING LOUD to be properly appreciated. Just as Johann Cruyff pioneered the concept of total football, TONA are exponents of total rock. Every instrument attacks, with George's vocals used rhythmically to intensify the hit. From the outset there's a claustrophobic, machine-like quality to the music, making you feel you're locked in for the duration. The opener "Red Cylinder" is a choking, Motorhead-inspired anthem, and the frantic pace continues with the bluesy, ZZ Top-esque "Pieces". Some temporary relief comes in the first half of the slower, mournful sounding "Box", still my favourite tune, before that too gives way to fist-smashing, Bitch Magnet style riffs.
Even when it slows down, however, such as in "Go Slow", there's no letup in the monstrous heaviness of the impact, in fact the effect is even heightened by the knowledge that another crushing blow is about to be delivered. You can tense yourself in anticipation, but you can't escape from its relentlessly pounding, superhuman power. Elsewhere "Grafit" benefits from being sung in Serbian, possessing a greater ferocity than the previous English version, before the appropriately fluid dirge "Through Water" closes, perhaps mercifully devoid of the brute force of the rest of the album, reflecting the listener's own feelings of being utterly drained from the experience, a soothing and strangely uplifting bandage on the wound. Nonetheless, by that time you've been well and truly battered.
Yes, of course it's a macho thing (they're Serbian, for fuck's sake!), a slightly masochistic kick for those who love a bit of visceral aural punishment. And what kind of indie-pop wanker doesn't? Highly recommended."
Ashley Davies (Frothing Spleen)
"I had never heard of TONA until they dropped a friend request for me on MySpace. Lots of bands do this, and I always make an effort to check out the band's sound. Tona was no exception, but I actually heard something cohesive in their sound I hadn't heard in most of the other bands. I decided to download many of their tracks off their page and found myself constantly listening to them, especially Go Slow and Red Cylinder.
Well, to my surprise came their debut CD. I was stoked to see this band get their debut, and what an amazing one it is, too! Every one of their songs off this CD has solid riffs that you can get lost in (ESPECIALLY during the jam sessions), and several tracks like Oreol and Bull May hit hard and keep chugging along the way. They do an intricate mix of the melodic and in-your-face thrash, but either way they spell it all out as masterfully as several of the major label bands. I see Tona going places. Keep an eye and an ear out for these guys! They flat out ROCK " (Brian Jackson)
TONA hail from Serbia and claim influences from punk, metal and other sources. The album is released for SKC NS, a regional government sponsored label that aims to promote alternative culture in Serbia. I can hear different musical genres in their sound here and there although it varies. Sometimes the styles are blended and sometimes one will jump out as being more evident than the others. In many ways they remind me of late 80's early 90's hard rock only with a stronger groove and heavier. One thing a lot of hard rock bands lacked back then was a really solid rhythm section that wasn't afraid to be heard. With TONA we get that and the strong rhythm section gives many of their songs a definite backbone to rely on. The vocals are a little hit and miss for me as they fit at times, but were perhaps a little dry and slightly flat on other songs. The guitars were largely where they should be, certainly varied enough although they could have come up in the mix a little at times. However that would be more of a production issue than a performance problem. They do a decent job of mixing up styles and largely keep things fairly interesting with pace changes and having different bits thrown in at unexpected places. I know very little about the music scene in Serbia, but these guys get some gigs because they have the kind of layered sound and enough talent that makes me think they could cut loose live. Overall a decent stab at laying down their influences and expanding on ideas as well. (HM Time Machine)
"This is an absolute beast. TONA arrive in style with their first proper album, the accomplished production shifting it up a gear from their previous recordings. It's quite clearly one of those that fits into the category of music that has to be played FUCKING LOUD to be properly appreciated. Just as Johann Cruyff pioneered the concept of total football, TONA are exponents of total rock. Every instrument attacks, with George's vocals used rhythmically to intensify the hit. From the outset there's a claustrophobic, machine-like quality to the music, making you feel you're locked in for the duration. The opener "Red Cylinder" is a choking, Motorhead-inspired anthem, and the frantic pace continues with the bluesy, ZZ Top-esque "Pieces". Some temporary relief comes in the first half of the slower, mournful sounding "Box", still my favourite tune, before that too gives way to fist-smashing, Bitch Magnet style riffs.
Even when it slows down, however, such as in "Go Slow", there's no letup in the monstrous heaviness of the impact, in fact the effect is even heightened by the knowledge that another crushing blow is about to be delivered. You can tense yourself in anticipation, but you can't escape from its relentlessly pounding, superhuman power. Elsewhere "Grafit" benefits from being sung in Serbian, possessing a greater ferocity than the previous English version, before the appropriately fluid dirge "Through Water" closes, perhaps mercifully devoid of the brute force of the rest of the album, reflecting the listener's own feelings of being utterly drained from the experience, a soothing and strangely uplifting bandage on the wound. Nonetheless, by that time you've been well and truly battered.
Yes, of course it's a macho thing (they're Serbian, for fuck's sake!), a slightly masochistic kick for those who love a bit of visceral aural punishment. And what kind of indie-pop wanker doesn't? Highly recommended." Frothing Spleen
Album out (in Serbia) / Album u prodaji (u Srbiji)
Our Debut album,named 1000, is out and on sale in Serbia. It will take probably two more weeks for CDBaby to start selling, but keep in mind that we live where we live so its just a bit more complicated. Thank you all.
Poštovani Prijatelji, naš prvi album, nazvan 1000, je upravo izašao u dragoj nam zemlji, te ga možete i kupiti ... :) Ukoliko ne živite u Novom Sadu, a većina vas svakako živi negde drugde, procedura je vrlo jednostavna, sve što vam je potrebno je jedna opšta uplatnica i obližnja banka. Kliknite na link ispod za dalje informacije. Da, nije jeftin, ali vredi.
Our first album is finished and it will be released for SKCNS by the end of May. It will be on sale in Serbia and internationally, probably through CDBABY, both digitaly and "for real". This means all your fancy ipods, etc etc. It sounds good, there are two songs in Serbian and the rest is in English, videos are in the making. Stay tuned, it will be fun.
Also, we are thrilled to have been chosen as a part of the soundtrack for Canadian mini-series named Zone of Separation, with two songs : Bull May and Graffik. The series should be pretty cool, starring Colm Meaney of Star Trek and Lolita Davidovich.
RecenzijaA.Zikica u Blicu, 12.jul 2007. Nocas tacno u ponoc na Future Shock bini na Exitu nastupice bend koji bi bilo steta propustiti. "Pospana Vojvodina", kako svoj maticni prostor na myspace.com/tonaband naziva novosadski neo hard-rok sastav TONA, samo naizgled deluje mirno: utroba idilicne ravnice daleko je uzburkanija nego sto bi se moglo pretpostaviti. Zato iz nje ne dolaze samo znacajni bendovi, nego i cudna iznenadenja, zahvaljujuci kojima se srpska scena, u potpunosti odbacujuci silom prilika nametnuti koncept majmuna koji radi ono sto vidi, priblizava svetskim uzorima. Tona ocigledno crpi iz istih izvora iz kojih se napajaju svi bendovi zainteresovani za prepoznavanje, pracenje i licni doprinos liniji progresije hard roka, plemenite forme koja talentu i integritetu dodaje skoro euforicno uzbudenje, cime se kompletira potencijalno eksplozivna formula. Tako izgleda idealna varijacija, sa kojom TONA, sudeci po o..trom i atraktivnom 5-track materijalu - na isti nacin kao recimo, Thin White Rope ili Motorhead - ima mnogo zajednickog....
Recenzija Milana B. Popovica
Nedavno ispisana, nenametljivo umeshna smernica, kulturno plasirana preporuka ovdasnjeg uvazenog kolumniste A. Zikica, koja je u svom zaledju prikrivala izvesnu dozu intrige, ispostavila se (i) u ovom slucaju potpuno umesnom i na svom sigurno usidrenom mestu. Petoclani sastav kratkog ali efektnog imena - Tona – startujuci uvodnom kontrolisanom teskom lavinom u vidu naslova Red Cylinder, nenadno menjajuci rimiku, smer i cilj atakovanja, samim tim i tip municije, uspevaju da vas, poput sablasne senke na uglu sporedne ulice, iznenade, da bi vas nanovo vratili u stanje pritajenog ili cak prividnog mirovanja. Numeri Down in the Desert ( koja je sastavni deo internacionalnog Thin White Rope tribute projekta, cijem stvaranju su doprineli i recimo, The Swans ) ovi zagovornici umereno teskih nota, jesu dali licni autorski pecat koji je u njihovom slucaju – a u nepreglednom moru slicnih - odista prepoznatljiv i – unikatan. Opet, ukoliko mi dopustite pa cak i ukoliko ne, svejedno je, li..ni favoriti dole potpisanog su svakako naslov Box i neizostavno sesta numera po redu na ovoj prijemcivo melodicno – distorziranoj disketi. Treba napomenuti i diskografski izlet sa zapisom Bull may, objavljenom za grcku izdavacku kucu Rundevilrun na kompilaciji Little people...big noise. Tona deluju i dolaze iz Novoga Sada ali bi ovako delotvorni mogli i trebalo da bivstvuju na bilo kojoj drugoj, planetarnoj tacki muzickog koordinatnog sistema. Ovaj (sistem) u kome (trenutno) zivimo je pokazao i na njihovom primeru da svoju decu ( koja jesu pomalo na svoju, artisticku ruku ) ume da u narucje primi i da ih iznedri – ali ne i da ih zagrli.
Vasa slusalacko - konzumentska paznja je u njihovom slucaju izuzetno pozeljna. I ponudjenim materijalom zasluzena.
Stand in sand holding hand in hand we..ve found the mud and we..ve found the honey it was good and it was bad reaching his hand but mostly we were just running And it..s all long gone-don..t worry dont worry by looking the sun you go blind the bloom is dead falling is good for falling is good for falling is good for nothing at all.
Box
silence so overwhelming thousand voices just can’t break it but one is more than enough cuts through it relentlessly sharp
merciful oblivion sends the image down the hall say the word, greet the others what could’ve been what should’ve been doesn’t matter anymore
Go Find Jay..s Circle
Hold me down show me your other side streets are full of us lost in this landslide it sounds good you try for real the time has come its cool but i got myself a shitty deal (you)
we go to hide we go to pretend and wait for our lucky day and your luck to extend if you outta return then i owe it to you will i have to break rules will i have to break too
