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Trident: World destruction

22/04/10 || Lord K Philipson

There’s a bunch of bands named Trident in the world of metal, but this one here is the Swedish legion with their first album released thru the mighty Regain Records. If you really wanna come across as a bad-ass, satanic group of musicians there’s a few ways to go about; name yourself after the Devil’s fave tool – the vicious fork, include some neat references to Papa Evil within your song titles (“Jaws of Satan”, “Luciferian call”, “Mephisto”) and make sure you look tr00, grim and kvlt as shit in the band photos, get some anacondas and inverted crosses into the logo as well, and… what more… Oh, yeah, do not forget the make up. That’s crucial. Trident have succeeded in all areas. But what’s more important is that they have also managed to create a fine death/black album, with emphasis on the blackish atmosphere.

When bassist Alex and vocalist Tobias visited me some weeks ago, while passing thru my town on the way to their releaseparty in Gothenburg, Tobias told me that he had to accept the offer to join this band since he got real nice Morbid Angel vibes from the music. Bassist Alex handed over “World destruction” and asked me to review it, obviously becoz these guys know my honest opinion is pretty much the only one that is valid and means something. I don’t care if I am friends with some of these guys, I don’t review our friendship – I share my thoughts on them as a band with an album out. I can never stress that enough. So, here we are… I have gone thru Trident’s debut quite a few times now and this review is my verdict.

First off, we are dealing with experienced musicians here (ex-members and actual members of bands such as Necrophobic and Dissection) so expect nothing short of quality music. Also, do not expect the remarks Tobias made about Morbid Angel-ish epiphanies within the material being completely up-front either, coz I don’t hear it. Sure, some small sections could pass for being inspired by the overrated death metal giants, but as a whole this is something way different.

Opening up the album with the keyboard-laden intro “The trident” sets the mood for what’s to come when “Jaws of Satan” bursts out of your speakers with furious speed and catchy black metal ridden death metal, or death metal ridden black metal – pick your poison. You won’t be surprised by any of the material here, Trident’s not focusing on the noble art of surprising – they just want to let out their passion for Satan by releasing more music in his honour, hoping to secure their place in hell by doing so. I know some people hope for their eventual afterlife to happen in Hawaii or something (and have Lucifer come by for parties every now and then), but not these guys – nope. Their motto is out of the womb into hell. There, your next album title. After the mentioned opening track you are in for more of the same, obviously…

Choice cuts: I think the mentioned “Jaws of Satan” is the album’s best tune, and there’s a reason for it opening up “World destruction” (not counting the intro now). The title track is another absolute favorite, actually giving “Jaws of Satan” a run for its money. Can’t decide on the better one, dammit. “Black velvet wings” is (for the better part of it) a semi-slow, moody thing that really concentrates on creating black metal atmosphere instead of brutality. “Stockholm bloodbath” is a killer title and another highlight on this recording. “Blackened souls” (+1 for generic song titles, by the way) feels a bit misplaced being pretty much in the middle of the album – I would have chosen for it to end the disc considering it’s an instrumental, and a very good one at that.

There are no weak songs per se on “World destruction”, it’s all a quality effort through and through, much like you’d expect. Trident’s not playing my fave style of music, but I can definitely appreciate it even if I prefer some of the guys’ main bands, such as the brilliant Necrophobic, over Trident.

I’m not too fond of the production here by the way. Sure, it’s clear and all, but it’s lacking power and punch. Also, the sound of them toms irritate me. Yeah, I rather have a production like this to listen to than anything by later Darkthrone (Firefox suggests that Darkthrone should be named Thrownberry by the way, which is a fantastic moniker for a band), but I still think it’s missing some much needed depth (and other things) to really hit home.

On the contrary of what you’d think, Trident doesn’t sound like Necrophobic or Dissection. Sure, the small influences are naturally there, but as a whole – Trident’s actually cooked up their own brand of music, distinctive enough to stand on its own 10 legs instead of relying on the members’ past and present bands.

Last off; the album title is pretty cool hadn’t it been for the fact that God Among Insects released “World Wide Death” in 2004. Think about it – what’s more cool? Just a little destruction or world wide fucken death? Naturally the latter. Trident pisses all over that God Among Insects album music wise though.

7,5

Information
Released: 2010
Label: Regain Records
Website: Trident MySpace
Band
Tobias: vocals
Johan: guitars
Ewo: guitars
Alex: bass
AJonas: drums

Tracklist
01. The Trident
02. Jaws of Satan (Spawns of Hell)
03. Nemesis
04. Black Velvet Wings
05. Stockholm Bloodbath
06. Luciferian Call
07. Blackened Souls
08. Slaves to Anguish
09. World Destruction
10. Mephisto

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