Search - Trail of Tears :: Profoundemonium

YES!

Brent P. Frey | Prairie Village, KS USA | 04/12/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"It may seem somewhat trendy, but I really dig this "goth metal" genre. I love the blending of the ambient keyboards with the heavy guitars. I also dig the combination of deathy vocal growls and operatic female vocals. One reason I find myself being drawn to this style, is that the music produced by such bands is very dramatic, passionate and melodic. Norway's Trail of Tears is no exception. They fuse dark melodies and morbid ambience with metallic intensity.The male vocalist has a deep, guttural delivery akin to Opeth's Mikael Akerfeldt. His growls are ominous, yet clear and decipherable at the same time. The beautiful soprano and adds a layer of chilling beauty to the music. The remaining band members cannot be divided or singled out in any way. They each use their instruments as part of the entire presentation, with no special attention given to guitar or keyboard solos, drum pyrotechnics, or vain, overindulgent playing.The focus of Profoundemonium is, without a doubt, placed squarely on the songs themselves. The music here treads ground somewhere between Opeth and Theatre of Tragedy. Melancholic melodies, sweeping synth textures, and emotional vocals all built upon a solid metal foundation. "Driven Through the Ruins" begins as a powerful, symphonic metal epic before dropping in Thorsen's rich growl. Michaelsen's haunting voice is showcased in the breakdown, which is stripped down to a piano, her voice, and a desolate synth texture. When the songs kicks back in, another verse takes us to some great vocal layering. Thorsen delivers his lines, while Michaelsen offers a stunning countermelody, all underscored by a choir. "Sign of the Shameless" has a melodic guitar theme on the intro, which is played almost like a violin part - smooth and flowing, reminding me of Saviour Machine. The clean guitar breakdown once again highlights Michealsen's excellent voice. "In Frustration's Web" begins in bombastic fashion with some good double kick drum work by Perez, accented by F. Hagen's dramatic synths before sneaking in a little distorted bass run, then dives into a tight metal groove. This song's prelude, "In Frustration's Preludium", is a short little instrumental consisting of a piano/synth melody colored by a little bit of accordion, then slithers into a bleak atmosphere accented by what sounds like plucking violin strings. The moods and textures created by the band are quite moving. This is an album to listen to through headphones, in bed, with the lights out. Lyrically, the band weaves somewhat poetic tales of loss, tragedy and desperation.Without going into detail about each and every song, overall I can say I am really pleased with Profoundemonium. Those enamoured with the genre would be doing themselves a huge favor by purchasing this record."

Very good

opy666 | Salt Lake City, UT | 05/11/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I found this on amazon while looking for new music. I pretty much only listen to Tool and Opeth, so am always looking for something else as I'm so picky. The music is great, and I love the mix of death and operatic vocals. I must add, however, that the person who likened the vocals here to Opeth's is way off. The death vocals here do not even come close to the raw power of Akerfeldt's (nobody can touch his death vocals...he is the supreme master of that genre), but they are decent enough. But in this case it is the power of the music that attracted me, not the vocals."

Trail of Tears on the same pedestal than Tristania and TSOTB

VEZINA JEROME | CHICOUTIMI, QUEBEC Canada | 01/13/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Profoundemonium follow the tendance to put choirs on the songs with Grunts vocals and opera female singer. If you ever listen the first one this one is heavier than Disclosure in RED, you could feel it in the songs beats,riffs of guitars and bass. The sound is better too(high quality) it's seems to be Tristania, but they're not, there is some differences like the way the opera female singer( she sings more at all the level, less as a soprano) sing and it's maybe more heavier than Beyond the veil of Tristania. You will enjoy this one it makes 2 months i got it and listened 3 or 5 times a week"