Trail Of Tears began as NATT (meaning night in Norwegian) in 1994, but it wasn't until 1997, when the band experienced drastic lineup changes including the replacement of Ales Vik by Helena Iren Michaelsen and drummer Vidar Uleberg by Jonathan Perez, as well as the addition of a permanent keyboard player, Rank Roald Hagen, twin bother of bass player Kjell Rune, which prompted a change in musical style, that the name Trail Of Tears was instituted. Trail Of Tears had been known as a Gothic Metal band of the heavier kind that also included female vocalist Catherine Paulsen. But Catherine left the band and was permanently replaced by Kjetil Nordhus (Green Carnation). At first one might miss the female vocals of the past, but Trail Of Tears are by no means any worse because of that. Trail Of Tears return with an excellent and varied album above and beyond their genre's expectations. Available now in all quality European Metal establishments as a regular jewel case edition and as a limited edition digipack! The U.S. Release Date has been set for 26 April, 2005. Due to these changes, the band's musical direction evolved from the straightforward, somewhat primitive Metal to what is now Trail Of Tears's signature style. Bordering on the avant-garde, Free Fall Into Fear presents a unique, high calibre Dark Metal, in part ala Samael and Arcturus, complimenting ethereal passages with raw riffs. Musically, they have become faster and heavier. The vocals are more varied than ever before: from growls to screams, to clean lines. Female vocals can also be heard, as part of the ethereal atmosphere. Trail Of Tears can no longer be categorized, as their style is way too rich and disparate, yet they manage to bring it all together in a highly interesting and perfectly ending result. Rhythm changes advance the tracks superbly - calm, even melancholic parts linger until the almost doomlike guitars and electronic whispering voices drive them away. All this make the final result rather interesting but quite hard to comprehend and ingest! Top tracks include: Joyless Trance Of Winter, Frail Expectations, The Architect Of My Downfall, Drink Away The Demons and The Face Of Jealousy. In the past they have performed heavy touring with bands in the likes of Tristania, The Sins of Thy Beloved, Siebenbόrgen and Antichrisis. They have also performed live at Dynamo Open Air (Holland), Wacken Open Air (Germany) and Eurorock (Belgium), to name a few. Let's hope that we will see them at some gig near us (or near you), soon!
Tracklist:
Joyless Trance Of Winter Carrier Of The Scars Of Life Frail Expectations Cold Hand Of Retribution Watch You Fall The Architect Of My Downfall Drink Away The Demons Point Zero Dry Well Of Life The Face Of Jealousy