Trail_of_Tears

Deceptive Mirrors
My Comfort
Venom inside my Veins
Decadence becomes me
She weaves Shadows
The closing Walls
Empty Room
Poisonous Tongues
As it penetrates
Shades of Yesterday

Ronny Thorsen - vocals
Bjørn Erik Næss - guitars
Pål Olsen - guitars
Endre Moe - bass
Cato Jensen - drums

guest vocalist: Emmanuelle Zoldan

TRAIL OF TEARS: "Existentia" trail of tears

2 reviews: by Salvo Russo and Steve Rautner

Free Fall into Fear

review by Salvo "Lovedeath" Russo____

Valorized by the magniloquence

of the keyboard.

This is the 5th album for this talented band from Norway. The band shows us a maturity that is ready to amaze us through songs that will be the joy of all who feel the lack of those Tristania`s masterpieces that charmed us some years ago.

Trial of Tears gets originality thanks to the great involving melodic approach made by a decaying screaming voice and great arrangements that leave a mark in every song of this album!

The attack is great with “Deceptive Mirrors” that immediately releases a strong impact with a great powerful melodic mood into the intricate metal gothic metal structure that reminds of Sirenia, Tristania and similar…

“My comfort” is another hit that is full of changes…The essence is the melody!!! What a great melody! The band is able to create a great “Theatre song” full of visions and emotions….

“Venom Inside My Veins” is another great hit that puts together Tristania with shadows of Dark Tranquillity (Haven era)….Great work made by the female vocals that are able to arise emotions through different approaches, but this also merit of the whole band able to create great structures in the songs…

The album goes on with another gothic Swedish death vision called “Decadence becomes me” that puts in evidence the experienced style of the band hat can create “gothic death passions” …a box of surprise in which the wildness is mixed with emotional decaying parts….

Personally, I don’t appreciate in the same way the next ”She Weaves Shadows” in which the band doesn't seem to work with the same parsimony concerning the structure, although the song is another fair one.

Between gothic metal and death is the next “The closing walls” that puts in evidence a devastating guitar riff attack and a deep emotional part in which the female vocal of the guest French singer Emmanuelle Zoldan seems to make a rarefied atmosphere!

“Empty room” is a classic gothic metal song without death!!! A very sad song characterized by Emmanuelle`s dreaming voice and indeed, in my opinion, she is a great singer!! I think that the not perfect valorization of the voice, penalized by the low volume assigned in the mixing phase, is a pity…(I notice this aspect in other songs too).

There’s space for another dramatic horror-song like “Poisonous Tongues” in which through death and gothic elements the band is able to create something great !!!Horror atmosphere in which both screaming and heavenly vocals are perfectly crossed!

Good, but not in the same way, the next “As it penetrates” even if I still underline the appreciable work made by the constructions of interesting melodic parts valorized by the good vocals and the great keyboard and piano!

“Shades of Yesterday” closes the album ; another gothic death horror song in which the band still shows the ability to use in a perfect way the electronics parts...unfortunately, the melody is not at the top.

In conclusion, for me, this is a great album in which I admit that the band has found the right path being also very able to create emotions through the mixture of various styles.

I underline the horror approach and the great work made by all members not only for the taste to choose the perfect sound that can remind of Tristania, Sirenia ect…but also for the ability to find the right atmosphere in about almost all passages!

Of course they have not founded a style…but there’s a great personal approach to the music, that is valorized by the magniloquence of the keyboard and by the heavenly great Emanuelle`s voice and the perfect use of electronic.

If you like this style, this is a great cd!

rating: 8.5/10

Salvo Russo 24.09.2007

review by Steve "The Rev. Istvan" Rautner ___

Gothic perfection to say the least

Gothic perfection to say the least would sum up this new CD from Trail of Tears. I remember hearing of the bands song Crashing Down a few years back on a sampler CD and was really impressed. They have only gotten better over time and a couple of albums. It is full of catchy tunes and massive guitar riffs, synth and keyboard, complexly intertwined making a really enjoyable album. The band seems to be having some difficulty at the moment but I think that after the new CD gets some airplay and passed around a bit that their fans will help pull the group back together.

The overall vocals used are both clean and growling with a female voice almost jazz like in its structure, passionate and with purpose. I was surprised to see that no female is listed even though one clearly sings on the album. Emmanuelle Zoldan is the beautiful voice. She can be found on various CDs as a backup singer including Tristania and Turisas (as reviewed by our own Dalia).

It was originally the decision of the band to use choirs but after being introduced to Emmanuelle decided (and with stellar results) to combine her vocal talents to the album. I think that Ronny’s thunderous growls really meld well with her vast range of clean singing, a harmonic masterpiece. This is a powerful CD that leave nothing lacking in any area, dark, brooding and highly infectious with plenty energy. Heavy and definitely stepping away from the Gothic arena to use and develop other styles, as only an accomplish band can do. Existentia is listed in my top 10 and is definitely one CD that is getting much play since receiving it. It would be difficult to pick just one song to list as my favorite so I will not, but will stress that this is an excellent CD and even if Gothic is not your usual genre maybe this one should be given a thorough listening to. I should also add that I have not come across one negative or mediocre review for this new CD. Trail of Tears fifth album, Existentia, has been released via Napalm Records. The CD was recorded at Soundsuite Studio in Marseille, France with producer Terje Refsnes and includes contributions from French Norwegian keyboard master Bernt Moen.

rating: 9,7/10

Steve Rautner

Trail of Tears first full headlining North American tour. Support comes from Cellador, Echoes of Eternity and Unexpect.

01.15.08: Tremont Music Hall- Charlotte, NC
01.16.08: Jaxx- West Springfield, VA
01.17.08: Webster Theatre- Hartford, CT
01.18.08: The Chance- Poughkeepsie, NY
01.19.08: Mark`s Place- Bedford, NH
01.20.08: BB Kings Blues Club- New York City, NY
01.22.08: Velvet- Quebec City, QUE
01.23.08: FouFounes- Montreal, QUE
01.24.08: The Funhaus- Toronto, ONT
01.25.08: Peabody`s Down Under- Cleveland, OH
01.26.08: The Pearl Room- Mokena, ILL
01.27.08: Station 4- St Paul, MN
01.30.08: El Corazon- Seattle, WA
01.31.08: Roseland Grill- Portland, OR
02.01.08: Oakland Metro- Oakland, CA
02.02.08: Showcase Theatre- Corona, CA
02.03.08: El Jardin del Silencio Extreme Rock Bar- Mexicali, MEX
02.04.08: Whiskey a Go Go- West Hollywood, CA
02.06.08: Bluebird Theather- Denver, CO
02.07.08: Launch Pad- Albuquerque, NM
02.08.08: White Rabbit- San Antonio, TX
02.09.08: Ridglea Theater- Ft Worth, TX
02.10.08: Meridian, Houston, TX

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