Trail of Tears fans got a bit of a shock in the 3 years between this, their 4th album, and their previous album “A New Dimension of Might”. Having been a Beauty and the Beast style Gothic Metal band for their first 3 albums, Trail of Tears parted company with their female singer Catherine Paulsen (herself a replacement for previous female singer the Helena Iren Michaelsen), and announced that her replacement was to be a male singer (Kjetil Nordhus from the Progressive Metal band Green Carnation). No more Female vocals, previously one of the cornerstones of their sound. What on earth would the new Trail of Tears sound like?

I am happy to report that the new Trail of Tears sounds fantastic. As someone who is known for being enthusiastic about female vocals in Metal, I could have been expected to be among the malcontents, but on the contrary once I had heard this album I became very enthusiastic about the new direction. Of course it does help that I am a huge Green Carnation fan as well. Ktejil is a great singer and the interplay between his clean vocals and Ronny Thorsen’s extreme vocals work very well. This is not the first Trail of Tears album to feature Ktejil - he was a guest vocalist on “A New Dimension of Might” as well. The loss of the female vocals does change the atmosphere though, and the combination between the clean and extreme male vocals reminds me a little of bands like Opeth and Orphaned Land.

Musically, this album continues the evolution that all Trail of Tears albums have - each being a little more extreme than the previous one. The main musical elements of “A New Dimension of Might” are all still there (except for the female vocals of course), but with the extreme parts are a little bit more “extreme” than before. It isn’t quite as catchy as “A New Dimension of Might”, but is well worth those extra listens that it may need to sink in.

Indeed, this is an album that may even appeal to fans of bands like Dimmu Borgir. Some people have complained that they have now fallen between 2 stools - and are now somewhere between the Gothic Metal sound that they no longer do, and the Symphonic Black Metal sound that they are still a bit too melodic to really be a part of. I don’t care about any of that and just think that this is great music. There are so many bands that fit a bit too “neatly” into their genre classifications - having a few that don’t fit won’t hurt anyone.

Standout Tracks:  Architect of My Downfall, Joyless Trance of Winter.

Overall Score:   9 /10

The loss of their female singer seems to have inspired TOT to move in a new direction, breaking away from the staple "Beauty & the Beast" gothic metal style of their previous albums and towards a more "death metal" sound.

They have distanced themselves from the sometimes overblown "fake orchestra" effect found on many a goth metal album, in favour of a more focused and heavier sound, in which the guitars are MUCH more prominent & the drumming, has at times, an almost "black metal" speed and intensity. The band have lost nothing with the absense of the female vocals, instead the new combination of clean and harsh male vocals better compliments a more brutal sounding album. An excellent step in a new direction.

Overall Score:   7 /10