Prototype "Trinity" CD
[Massacre]
Okay, I'm confused about this one. I first heard this band way back when mp3.com was still around and this CD wasn't even out yet, but I was totally into their music and remembered their name. The CD took forever to come out and was finally released in the US in 2003, but I couldn't ever find it anywhere, so eventually I forgot about it. Then, when recently browsing a distro list, I saw that the disc had just recently been issued in Europe on a different label than whoever handled it in America. So even though this material was probably recorded two to four years ago, I'm still reviewing it because I firmly believe that this band should be getting a lot more attention, and with the right opportunity they could drop an amazing record. What you'll get here is basically straight up heavy metal that walks a fine line between traditional metal and thrash with extremely subtle nuances of a more progressive variety. The tempos are generally midpaced with somewhat basic riffing, not technical but not too simple, and the structures are fairly straightforward as far as repeating passages, adding in excellent clean or acoustic breaks, beautiful melodic solo runs, etc. Among the flashier performances is the drumming, which isn't in your face with its complexity, but there's a lot of force and creativity to the drumming that starts to grow more and more obvious with time, notably in some of the fills and excellent cymbal work. The vocals are raspy singing in a middle/upper range that's perfectly tasteful. Aside from a scarce few harmonies that get iffy I actually love the vocals and think their performance would be strengthened only by adding a slight bit more energy on occasion. The brief instrumental "Utopia" messes with lots of effects on the guitars and is among the more progressive leaning moments (as are some of the Cynic-esque riffs in "Shine"), though still very lush and laidback, leading into the impeccable title track which ups the tempo for a hint of added liveliness and one of the most memorable and impressive choruses herein. "Dead of Jericho" is among the more rhythmic tracks in instances, dare I say hinting at a simpler and much more graspable taste of Confessor styled material. The only decidedly minor problem that I have with "Trinity" as a whole comes towards the end of the disc, as some of the tracks start to fall off in quality level or wander a little too far from the otherwise cohesive direction. Truthfully the first four songs on the disc are amazing and from there things never quite reach back up to that level of excellence (but keep in mind none of this stuff is too considerably weak). The acoustic "ballad" of sorts (it actually comes off more like some sort of Alice in Chains-ish track musically), "I Know You", for example, is simply not that strong a track, and even the vocals come off as weaker in such a framework. The last two tracks, "Mind in Motion" and "Relativity", are also a little on the weak side by comparison to the opening set of songs - each having great moments, but still feeling a little dragged out. There are two bonus tracks on this edition as well, which I'm guessing were recorded in the same sessions. "Half Life" is a mixed bag - not the strongest track herein, but certainly home to some creatively melodic chords and winding lead breaks. "Chrysalis" is also not the best, but still not bad either. It's cool that they added the bonus tracks, though honestly they bulk up the total running time a bit much. For what I assume was recorded on a strict budget the production here is quite good. It could be better, but I don't think the band had any backing at the time, so the sound quality is excellent considering. The mix is pretty damn even, lacking only bass guitar prominence, and the tones are fine. The vocal harmonies are perfectly placed, the percussion is surprisingly clear and warm, and the guitar tone is awesome. A little added brightness would be cool, but I love that crunchy warmth so they're sitting pretty in my book. Basically where they are right here needs only minor polishing, but everything is largely intact. Just check out the fluidity of the lead tone, there's no question that's perfect! The design was handled by Travis Smith and looks pretty good. I love the cover because something about its color scheme and delivery really catches the eye, whereas some of the other art isn't as striking, and the actual pages of lyrics can be bland. However, the text is clean and legible, which is more important in some ways. As far as the lyrics go, they're sort of what you would expect from "metal lyrics", in that they're not bad, but a little... well, I don't know, they're not meaningless at all, but they're sort of phrased in a way that you can't really identify with them, but they're not fantasy concepts or anything either. "Indifference over argument, Listen without word, Filter out, subvert, Reaping radiant benefit, Redeem your conscious mind, Impart, retain, subscribe..." All in all this is a damn good record and I have few doubts that under the right circumstances this band could and should become quite popular. This is definitely some of the most promising metal (and I mean metal metal, the good ol' kind) that I've heard in some time. I almost want to give this an 8/10 but I can't quite warrant it since the latter half of the disc isn't as powerful as the former. But I'd be very excited to hear more in the future for sure, so I hope more doors will open for these guys. (7/10)
Running time - 53:32, Tracks: 12
[Notable tracks: Live a Lie, Pure, Trinity, Shine]
Prototype - http://www.prototypeonline.com

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