Trail of Tears
Oscillation

The Beauty and the Beast singing concepts are relatively common in norwegian bands, this is another one of those. Or is it? There has been some reports stating that the band is no more with Ronny Thorsen, the vocalist and creator of the music leaving the band according to other singer Paulsen who accuses Ronny of this and that. I should honestly say that I could not care less about their internal conflicts, they could go around sword fighting cutting each other’s limbs of for all I care, the album is the main thing for me anyway. The thing is though that I find it strange that the creative force behind the band is said to be working less than the rest of the band who should be out of anything to do if they had no material to work with, but as I said there is probably more to it than I know and for all I know the band is really a North Korean gulag or something. It doesn’t matter, but it could mean that this seventh album of the band with a fantastic looking cover artwork is the swan song. The question then becomes wether they leave a big empty space or if their departure will be unnoticed. I lean towards the latter.

Darkish gothic metal, male and female singer, the male a bit raspy while the female sings in soprano at times and more female metal style at other times. The sound is big with majestic arrangements and a larger than life appearance, and the production is very impressive with the clean majestic sound that would make most bands really envious. I think that Nightwish of later times is a good comparison in the production regard, and also the arrangements are quite similar to said band. The album is both varied and dynamic with a musical span that ranges fairly far without ever falling outside the frame. It plays for near the hour, a little shorter if you discount the bonustracks you get with the limited edition. I think it sounds like a very high quality production.

A good production is not everything though, you also need some tracks that are brilliant to match this production and besides the first bonus track and Crimson Leads on the Trail of Tears this album does not have that. The vocal performance of Paulsen feels both tired and uninspired and Ronny is not really a good singer at all, he writes better than he performs. The fact is however that the album as a whole feels quite long, uninspired and not at all what it promises from the soundscape. I should really like this album as it has all the elements I enjoy, amazing production, dynamic and interesting vocal interactions, grand compositions and an overall feel of quality and skill. But it just does not come together in a good enough way and I am actually a bit disappointed because when I heard it first I came to expect much but when hearing it over and over it just doesn’t fall into place and even now after a dozen plays it just feels like a lacklustre album that I’d rather just look at the artwork than actually play it.

I did even stop playing this album before I started writing the review in English since I was so fed up listening after hearing the album again when writing the Swedish review and it feels great to hear something other than that now. If this album now actually is the swan song of these guys then I have to admit that they will not leave any desire for more behind, I feel like I have had enough of these guys as this album just is a middle of the road album dressed up in a much fancier suit than it deserves. It is kind of like placing the body of a Formula 1 car on a turtle, it looks impressive until you take it for a test drive. This sounds impressive until you actually start listening to the songs.

Trail of Tears possibly vanishes after this album, and they do so with a very average album and will not be sorely missed by me.

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