Black Trip
Shadowline
SPV/Steamhammer
2015
Black Trip is a band originally started by bassist Peter Stjärnvind (most famously in Krux) and drummer Daniel Bergkvist (Wolf), who was later substituted by Enforcer’s Jonas Wikstrand before the band actually debuted. They also seem to enlist Joseph Tholl also from Enforcer on their line up, but not as an instrumentalist, but a singer instead, as well as a couple of more guys with links to Exhumed, Necrophobic, and Nifelheim not to mention Amon Amarth, on guitars and bass, following Peter’s switch from bass to guitar...
I remember hearing about them and how it was a bitch to get their album originally, since then they have graduated the band and joined SPV, so that takes care of that. They do seem to be indulging in some 70s flavored hard rock with very strong Thin Lizzy inspired hooks and an early 80s Britishness about them…
They are another retro attempting band that however doesn’t feel to be as bad, as many others tend to. Firstly, thankfully despite sharing two members with Enforcer, they don’t sound like them… I suppose the thing is the seem to share Enforcer’s true and low profile dedication to their craft, that’s almost where all comparisons end. Also they don’t really have to go ripping old-school riffs up, like a lot of retro bands do, or even if they do, they must be so obscure that are untraceable! Haha…
I suppose “Die With Me” is quite proto metal and has a couple of Sabbathy licks and a general 70s atmosphere that’s quite authentic, all in all, it doesn’t sound half as bad…ye know!?
Much better however is the seriously more “Lizzy”-esque, “Danger” that sounds like a turbo charged version of that band around “Jailbreak” but with an added edge, they would not really manifest until a little later…
“Shadowline” keeps the Lizzy-influences flowing and while one of the bass riffs as well as the whole rhythm in the second verse, brings to mind something distantly Riot-esque, it’s still a pretty damn good effort.
“Berlin Model 32” is a little funkier and has these leads that would be more identifiable as Maiden-esque than anything else, despite also originally being rooted in the vast Thin Lizzy tradition…
“Over the Wordly Walls” has a nice funky riff that it makes sure to display but it hardly can excel, despite being OK in general…
“Clockworks” has an almost early Maiden vibe, but it’s quite underdeveloped and kinda more melodic than you’d expect, so as to get a little derailed towards the end...
“Rooms” is an atmospheric interlude, an intro to “Subvisual Sleep” a bizarre mix of a Sabbathy riff with some deathrock aesthetics, into a concoction both sickly and intoxicating…
“Sceneries” is quite reminiscent of the more prog moments of early Maiden (often instrumental) but not that good… since Tholl is sort of not the best singer in the world, despite being quite sufficient at what he does...
A shortcoming that manifests itself more in “The Storm”, where JT is torn between a screaming, on the brink delivery and some more tame moments here and there… without it being a bad track, it feels a little uncertain in terms of direction with various shifts in style and mood that are not perfectly aligned with each other…
Lastly, “Coming Home” (a title that I suppose another 3030303030 bands have used previously, mainly German ones) is likewise a little overdramatic, despite being quite passionate…
As it stands, Black Trip, despite doing their retro style justice, could swing either way to becoming a great band, or to remaining a decent tribute to a style probably older than some of the band members… Time will tell…
I remember hearing about them and how it was a bitch to get their album originally, since then they have graduated the band and joined SPV, so that takes care of that. They do seem to be indulging in some 70s flavored hard rock with very strong Thin Lizzy inspired hooks and an early 80s Britishness about them…
They are another retro attempting band that however doesn’t feel to be as bad, as many others tend to. Firstly, thankfully despite sharing two members with Enforcer, they don’t sound like them… I suppose the thing is the seem to share Enforcer’s true and low profile dedication to their craft, that’s almost where all comparisons end. Also they don’t really have to go ripping old-school riffs up, like a lot of retro bands do, or even if they do, they must be so obscure that are untraceable! Haha…
I suppose “Die With Me” is quite proto metal and has a couple of Sabbathy licks and a general 70s atmosphere that’s quite authentic, all in all, it doesn’t sound half as bad…ye know!?
Much better however is the seriously more “Lizzy”-esque, “Danger” that sounds like a turbo charged version of that band around “Jailbreak” but with an added edge, they would not really manifest until a little later…
“Shadowline” keeps the Lizzy-influences flowing and while one of the bass riffs as well as the whole rhythm in the second verse, brings to mind something distantly Riot-esque, it’s still a pretty damn good effort.
“Berlin Model 32” is a little funkier and has these leads that would be more identifiable as Maiden-esque than anything else, despite also originally being rooted in the vast Thin Lizzy tradition…
“Over the Wordly Walls” has a nice funky riff that it makes sure to display but it hardly can excel, despite being OK in general…
“Clockworks” has an almost early Maiden vibe, but it’s quite underdeveloped and kinda more melodic than you’d expect, so as to get a little derailed towards the end...
“Rooms” is an atmospheric interlude, an intro to “Subvisual Sleep” a bizarre mix of a Sabbathy riff with some deathrock aesthetics, into a concoction both sickly and intoxicating…
“Sceneries” is quite reminiscent of the more prog moments of early Maiden (often instrumental) but not that good… since Tholl is sort of not the best singer in the world, despite being quite sufficient at what he does...
A shortcoming that manifests itself more in “The Storm”, where JT is torn between a screaming, on the brink delivery and some more tame moments here and there… without it being a bad track, it feels a little uncertain in terms of direction with various shifts in style and mood that are not perfectly aligned with each other…
Lastly, “Coming Home” (a title that I suppose another 3030303030 bands have used previously, mainly German ones) is likewise a little overdramatic, despite being quite passionate…
As it stands, Black Trip, despite doing their retro style justice, could swing either way to becoming a great band, or to remaining a decent tribute to a style probably older than some of the band members… Time will tell…