Trial-Vessel

High Roller Records
2015

Featuring two guitarists with ties to Enslaved (Alexander Ellström & Andreas Johnsson) as well as two former members of Abscess Plague in bassist Andréas Olsson and drummer Martin Svensson, with former Immersion front-man Linus Johansson serving as the last missing piece of this latest & greatest Swedish sensation(!), Trial are a five-piece act which is hellbent on reviving the classics. And by "the classics" this time around we mean the sounds of  "Iron Maiden, mid-period Mercyful Fate" along "with a bit of Omen thrown in for good measure". All off that in red bold there is per the promo although color me rather impressed as this time around that's a solid enough tag line to go if one had to sum this lot up ever so briefly. That said, let's expand the picture a wee bit and see what comes into focus shall we? OK then. With a demo release entitled "Demo 2010" (released on the record label The Coffins Slave in 2010 obviously!), one additional full-length album (2011's "The Primordial Temple" which was also released on The Coffins Slave) and two 7" singles to their name (one was titled "Malicious Arts" and it came out on Nuclear Winter Records in 2013 while "Where Man Becomes All" was released last year on High Roller Records) this new album should help Trial stick out somewhat from the pack. And well (frankly speaking and all) we could actually start with the whole "Swedish death metal maniacs form much better secondary heavy metal project" pack and then move on from there as that sums up at least one aspect of the band Trial! Yes, everyone here comes from a death metal background and all, but times change as do people so thanks to the collective efforts of all involved (and whats obviously a love for old school Swedish metal, N.W.O.B.H.M. and U.S.P.M.) we end up with a sophomore release that hits way more high notes than sour ones! On the band’s first full-length album for High Roller Records it's not only all of that jazz posted above in red (Iron Maiden, etc.), but there's some Satan influences to be had as well some Hell and even some Candlemass. OK, a lot of Candlemass. That isn't necessarily a bad thing as it meshes wonderfully well with those other influences especially the Mercyful Fate part. And at the end of the day Trial is more or less striving to do there own thing while paying homage to some old time greats so things generally point more towards originality as apposed to simply serving as the latest copycat band to ride the retro-obsessed train of rock! With plenty of fans and critics alike already hailing Trial as the likely successors to the likes of Portait, In Solitude, RAM and Screamer the sky sure looks as if it is the limit for these Swedish purveyors of all things old school. My best bet would be that full-length album number three for Trail will be the real kicker and (assuming they further forge their own distinct flavor of traditional metal/power metal/doom and tighten everything down) that will be the release that makes everyone stand up and take notice of this talented band.