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Trail of Tears - A New Dimension of Might


Trail of Tears -  CD Review
A New Dimension of Might
CD Info
2002
Napalm Records
10 tracks-54:21
Finland-English lyrics

A most appropriate name for an awesome album. Where do I begin? Well, let me say first that, the femme vocals are not as prominent as they use to be as on "Disclosure in Red" or "Profoundemonium". But don't let that sway any of you away from this groundbreaking Gothic/Black/Death metal album. I call it genre bending.

First of all, the voice of Helena Michelson, is gone. Left the band for brighter pastures, I guess. She took up with another band called, Black Horizon ( for future review ). Her mistake, cause in her place is the other side of what used to be a duel female line-up, the other half being Cathrine Paulsen. She doesn't really sing that much, about 20% of the album, but when she does, the music explodes in femme vox ecstacy. Her voice is that beautiful.

The rest of the vocals are by growling Ronny Thorsen, who in his own right is a master of the growl. One of the best voices I've heard of this style. And that’s the biggest thing about this album, the vocals. They are very varied and out of this world. Growl, clean, femme, whichever they are, masterfull! There are even some Black metal style vocals. The music is a mix of Gothic/ Black/Death and Power metal, if you can believe it. Oh! And did I forget, choirs? By Damien Surien and Hubert Piazzola.

This is defiantly massive production, and has to be in the top 5 for 2002. The album starts off with "Ecstatic". A harbinger of whats to come. Followed by "A Fate Sealed in Red". Very heavy openers for an ultra heavy album. Then it all comes "Crashing Down", with its dynamic lead guitar lines and spooky type synth, more appropriate for Goth rock, but its here. On this song, we can really hear the vocal range of Cathrine. This is my favorite track. Great Chorus! And that's where I end, with a track-by-track synopsis.

Take my word for it, the rest of the album is just as good as the first three songs. Anyone who loves music in general will be astounded by this album, its that good. Rest of the album goes like this. "Obedience in the Absence of Logic", "Liquid View", "Denial and Pride", "The Call of Lust", "Slendid Coma Visions", "Bloodred Trance" and the last song, a cover of Faith No More's, "Caffeine". 54 minutes of shear symphonia. Rest of the line-up-Runar Hansen-Lead Guitars, Terje Heiseldal-Guitars, Frank Roland Hagen-Synthesisers, Kjell Rune Hagen-Bass, and Jonathan Alejandro Perez-Drums. Nothing new there, they've all been together since the formation of this outstanding Finnish band. The album was recorded at Sound Suite Studio in France.