Trail of Tears (band)
| Trail of Tears | |
|---|---|
| General information | |
| Genre (s) |
Dark Metal , Gothic Metal (early work) Dark Metal , Symphonic Metal |
| founding | 1994 |
| resolution | 2013 |
| Website | www.trailoftears.no |
| Founding members | |
| Ronny Thorsen | |
singing |
Ales Vik (until 1997) |
| Kjell Rune Hagen (until 2006) | |
| Vidar Uleberg (until 1997) | |
| Michael Krumins (until 1997) | |
guitar |
Terje Heiseldal |
| Last occupation | |
singing |
Ronny Thorsen |
singing |
Cathrine Paulsen (from 2000 to 2003, since 2007) |
guitar |
Pål Olsen |
guitar |
Bjorn Erik Næss |
bass |
Endre Moe |
Drums |
Cato Jensen |
| Frank Roald Hagen (since 1997) | |
| former members | |
singing |
Helena Iren Michaelsen (from 1997 to 2000) |
singing |
Kjetil Nordhus (from 2003 to 2006) |
guitar |
Runar Hansen (from 1997 to 2006) |
Drums |
Jonathan Perez (from 1997 to 2006) |
Trail of Tears was a Norwegian dark metal band formed in 1994 under the name Natt . In 1997 the band changed their name to Trail of Tears due to a major line-up change and the resulting style change.
Band history
In April 1997 the newly renamed band recorded the demo When Silence Cries with three tracks in the Danish Jailhouse Studio , through which they received a contract for two albums with the Dutch label DSFA Records . In November 1998 the debut album Disclosure in Red was released, which included several extensive tours - u. a. a European tour with Tristania , The Sins of Thy Beloved , Siebenbürgen and Antichrisis - followed. After finishing the recordings for the second album Profoundemonium , the singer Helena Iren Michaelsen was replaced by Cathrine Paulsen due to differences. The album was released in 2000 and was distributed in Europe with the exception of the Benelux countries by Napalm Records . In the summer of the same year, the band performed at some festivals such as Wacken Open Air and Dynamo Open Air .
In 2001 the future was fixed at Napalm Records by signing a contract for three albums. The third album was recorded in February 2002. A New Dimension of Might was created under the direction of producer Terje Refsnes (Tristania, Sirenia ) . In 2003 Trail of Tears went on tour outside of Europe for the first time - to Mexico . A new singer has been added with Kjetil Nordhus. Shortly thereafter, Catherine Paulsen had to leave the band and was not replaced. In autumn 2004 Therion and Tristania went on a European tour, with Goran Bomann ( Carpathian Forest ) helping out as a guitarist. In 2005 Free Fall into Fear was released , the heaviest album to date.
During a Mexico tour in November 2006 problems arose, as a result of which four of the members left the band and declared it over. On November 30th, Ronny Thorsen posted a statement on the website that Trail of Tears would continue. Despite everything, the already announced album would be released on time, but the European tour planned for December 2006 had to be canceled.
In January 2007, Existentia, the band's fifth studio album, was released, which received very good reviews from leading fanzines . Then the band played their first North America tour, which took them through the USA and Canada . In the summer of 2008 the band performed at famous festivals such as the Wave Gotik Treffen and the Metal Mania Open Air . In May 2009, Trail of Tears released the album Bloodstained Endurance , on which the new members could be heard for the first time after the band had to reorient themselves three years earlier.
According to the band's homepage, Trail of Tears was dissolved in January 2013, so that Oscillation was the last album. The homepage also states: "There are several reasons that the band broke up."
On January 15, 2013, the following statement by Ronny Thorsen appeared on the band's Facebook page:
“Today we had a great and productive conversation with Massacre Records , who are completely behind me, Endre Moe and Bjørn Dugstad Rønnow. A statement from the record company follows. "Oscillation" will definitely be out on April 26th 2013 and will be the LAST album by Trail of Tears. Take good care of yourself and greetings -Ronny "
style
Trail of Tears played symphonically oriented Dark Metal with influences from Death , Black and Gothic Metal .
In particular, the group's early work is said to be similar to the early Gothic Metal releases by Theater of Tragedy , Tristania and The Sins of Thy Beloved . Even later releases of the band are attributed to Gothic Metal by critics, despite clear musical development and a more present musical orientation towards ideas from Black and Death Metal, without directly corresponding stylistically. The band's founder Ronny Thorsen, however, completely negates this assignment. Although the group marketed itself on their records as Dark Gothic Metal , Thorsen described the term as an externally imposed label, which in no way did justice to the style of the group.
“I never saw us as a Gothic Metal band anyway. Only other people put us in this drawer because it was difficult to classify us. Of course we worked with some genre elements, but female vocals and keyboards don't automatically make you a Gothic group. I grew up with death and black metal and it is mainly thanks to Dan Swanö , David Vincent and Glen Benton that I started a band at all. "
According to the site Metalreviews.com, Trail of Tears was able to break away from Gothic Metal as the main influence with their third studio album A New Dimension of Might and as pioneers of modern metal, with an independent mix of styles, which both on the electronic elements of the band The Kovenant as also draws on the aggression of Dimmu Borgir . With the change, comparisons with the metal band Therion also increased. The style that has been cultivated by Trail of Tears since then is described as fast-paced music with precise drumming and groovy guitars , which are contrasted by the variety of the vocals .
The Internet portal Metal.de also emphasizes “a very strong variety” in the singing. The group acted with up to two singers and one female singer. Ronny Thorsen presented guttural vocals from growling and grunts to screams, Kjetil Nordhus , who was already a guest singer on A New Dimension of Might , brought clear vocals up to 2006, while the respective singer, first Helena Iren Michaelsen, later Cathrine Paulsen and in the meantime Emmanuelle Zoldan, acted with an "operatic voice". Reviewers also made a clear difference in the voice of the operatic singer, mostly related to Paulsen, to the more plaintive female voices of Gothic Metal. In describing the electronic and symphonic elements, the term bombast is occasionally used . The guitar playing, on the other hand, is described as a fat , thundering wall of guitars as well as “no frills metal riffs [with] occasional atmospheric guitar solos”. The rhythm is seen as simple but powerful and at the same time as a mostly unobtrusive part of the band's musical concept. The influence of the various designated by Thorsen styles of Extreme Metals accordingly, are blast beats often part of the drumming.
Discography
Albums
- 1998: Disclosure in Red
- 2000: Profoundemonium
- 2002: A New Dimension of Might
- 2005: Free Fall into Fear
- 2007: Existentia
- 2009: Bloodstained Endurance
- 2013: Oscillation
Demos and EPs
- 1996: Natt (demo)
- 1997: When Silence Cries ... (demo)
Web links
- Official website (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Biography of the band on trailoftears.no; Retrieved October 28, 2010
- ↑ Frank Albrecht: Disclosure In Red. Rock Hard, accessed on August 2, 2016 .
- ^ A b Peter Mildner: Trail of Tears: Free Fall into Fear. metal.de, accessed on August 2, 2016 .
- ↑ a b Jan Jaedike: 3 questions for TRAIL OF TEARS singer Ronny Thorsen. Rock Hard, accessed August 2, 2016 .
- Jump up ↑ Jack: Trail of Tears: A New Dimension of Might. Metalreviews.com, accessed August 2, 2016 .
- ↑ bloodchamber.de
- ↑ a b Stephan: Trail of Tears: A New Dimension of Might. metal.de, accessed on August 2, 2016 .
- ↑ Markus Rutten & Alexander Dontscheff: Interview with Ronny Thorsen from TRAIL OF TEARS. Sound3Move, accessed August 2, 2016 .
- ↑ TheBanshee: Trail of Tears: existentia. (No longer available online.) Whiskey Soda, archived from the original on August 2, 2016 ; accessed on August 2, 2016 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Rig: Trail of Tears: existentia. terrorverlag, accessed on August 2, 2016 .
- ↑ Mr. Vandemar: Trail of Tears: existentia. (No longer available online.) Metal-district, archived from the original on August 2, 2016 ; accessed on August 2, 2016 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ^ A b Enrico: Trail of Tears: Bloodstained Endurance. Media converter, accessed August 2, 2016 .
- ↑ Alex Straka: Trail of Tears: Free Fall into Fear. Powermetal, accessed August 2, 2016 .
- ↑ a b Allfredo: Trail of Tears: Bloodstained Endurance. terrorverlag, accessed on August 2, 2016 .
