Band:	Trail Of Tears
Album:	Existentia
Style:	Gothic metal
Release date:	January 29, 2007
A review by:	KwonVerge

01. Deceptive Mirrors
02. My Comfort
03. Venom Inside My Veins
04. Decadence Becomes Me
05. She Weaves Shadows
06. The Closing Walls
07. The Empty Room
08. Poisonous Tongues
09. As It Penetrates
10. Shades Of Yesterday

After the appearance of Theatre Of Tragedy and the impact they had in the atmospheric metal scene, generally speaking, taking into consideration the amount of bands they influenced with the marriage of grunting male vocals and ethereal female ones, two important acts arose from the same country, Tristania and Trail Of Tears, two bands that followed their own course in the fields of gothic metal. Both bands are about to return during 2007 with two brand new albums and i'm here to talk about "Existentia" for now, the new album of Trail Of Tears.

So... "Existentia", what a title, an irony of fate? After the completion of the new album the band went on a tour at the region of Mexico and the big financial loss of this short tour made 4 members of the band decide to leave and a rumour was spread that the band is no more, but despite all these problems that appeared out of sudden(?) Ronny Thorsen, the figure behind Trail Of Tears, assured us all that this is not the end and the band will continue despite all the difficulties. The existence of Trail Of Tears was threatened, but "Existentia" is here to prove that they have a lot to offer and they are still around, ready to proceed to the next step when inspiration calls upon them.

"Existentia" consists of 10 compositions and will accompany you for about 45 minutes, a duration that seems to be the ideal one for the album, since all the ideas, emotions and atmospheres the band wants to emphasize in are being presented in such a magnificent way, leaving not a single chance of tiring the listener. Everything in this album is so beautifully decadent and distressing, the melodies, the atmosphere, the emotions, the groove of the album, everything pours its soul in the overall outcome, offering a continuus storm of intensity, without forgetting to offer moments of melancholic bloom and serenity. The guitar work is powerful and the riffing unfolds in a groovy and devastating way, whereas the more melodic or acoustic moments evoke a sense of caressing bitterness in the overburdened atmosphere. Something that helps a lot in the overall powerful feeling is the fact that both the bass lines and the drumming are vivid through the whole duration of the album and lend their vibrating pulses in the final outcome. The keyboard passages enrich the overburdened atmosphere in a charismatic threatening way, floating like wraiths of forlorn memories in the darkening horizon, evoking beauty and distress, magic and mayhem, adorning the world of Trail Of Tears succesfully. And then comes the part of the album which leaves you speechless, the vocal part, the triarchy of interpretation on "Existentia", Ronny Thorsen on the grunting/growling vocals, Kjetil on the clean ones and Emmanuelle Zolda on the female vocals is the quintessence of the album accompanied by the ensemble of sounds the rest of the band composes. The intensity and extreme passion of Ronny, the warm and heartfelt edge of Kjetil, breathing with moments of overwhelming strength, and the multi-expressive abilities of Emmanuelle who sounds operatic, heart-rending or more ethereal pace together in a flawless manner.

The compositions of "Existentia" are connecting links/acts of a complete theatric play that turns to life in front of your very eyes as its melodies unfold. There are some songs i could hardly choose among others, so i won't do it since this album is flowing as one, like an emotional winter with moments of bloom inbetween, one thing is for sure, if you're a gothic metal adorer then this is an album you should make a part of your life.