The calibre of personnel within the ranks of Sweden’s Trident amount to something of an underground super group to some extent boasting members or ex-members of acts such as Dissection, Lord Belial and Altar Of Sacrifice to name a few you will almost certainly recognise. However I’m sure it is the fact that a certain Johan Norman (former Dissection guitarist) that will really catch your attention predominantly and throughout this album you can hear the distant echoes of Dissection ringing through the riffs at various junctures on this formidable sophomore.
Everything about ‘North’ is epic, from the grandiose blackened death arrangements to the sweeping majestic violence, this album is a multi-layered experience covered within nine expansive compositions that begins with the intro piece ‘Enter’. The eerily presented sequence is embellished with choral vocals creating a cinematic poise along with the dramatic percussion that leads succinctly into ‘Death’ with its sublime acoustic guitar that Dissection fans will immediately latch onto. The surging guitar work is melodic as the songs serrated guitar tone really augments the overall abrasiveness. That acoustic guitar hook permeates the song superbly as the songs detonating blast assaults are vitriolic but bolstered by the fluidise tempo dynamics that thread throughout the song and the album generally.
I especially liked ‘Imperium Romanum’ with its deathly posturing and crushing double kick infusions that see the song escalate in power tremendously paving the way for the blasted segment. Vocally the band typically utilises the harsh acidic style but tempers the tone with deeper intonations for added texture as the songs alternating blast waves with crunching deathliness inject massive amounts of momentum. However it is the way the band completely inverts the mood of the song that captures your attention as the song reins in the speed to unveil a far more epic and blanketing aura complete with a change in vocal style that is monastic like in the background. As I’ve said the band has tendrils of Dissection flowing through the icy veins of this album and none more so than the opening to ‘Summoning’. There is an underlying melancholy to this track underpinned by the guitar riffing and distraught vocals though the track still inexorably fast at times. Blending acoustic guitar with an ominous sorrowful riff is beautifully executed as the song produces a suspenseful drum beat that is quite hypnotic, allowing the mood of the track to intensify creating a wonderful build up towards the inevitable riff change though the pace is highly restrained and better for it.
As I’ve mentioned this album is about epic song structuring and the closing doublet of this album epitomise how this can be achieved with breath taking results. The atmospheric opening to the title track is built upon the isolated guitar riff that breathes a glacial wave across before the song ramps up the power with the other instrumentation. The abrupt but smoothly executed switch to the blast almost comes unexpected but nestles into the song comfortably, especially when the song has a colossal and abyssal plunge in mood towards its finale as a fine lead break ensues making the song grandiose and highly opulent.
Closing the album is the 11 minutes of ‘Schaman’ which has a fine dramatic start with a slight classical approach channelling slowly like an intro before the song completely switches riff style. Again there are Dissection subtleties ingrained into the fabric of the song as it unfurls a warp speed blast section that is demented at times. However it is the way the song turns on its head, swapping out the speed for a slower more moody section that really makes this closer so appealing. The fabulous addition of haunting female vocals adds huge depth when the song serenely pauses for pure acoustic guitar work. The playing has a Spanish flavour to it, dripping in sorrow the segment adds cawing crows for atmosphere before the song reasserts itself with how it started and I couldn’t help thinking about Nile during this part as the track dissolves to leave atmospherics at its conclusion.
Possessing an obsidian elegance this album oozes majestic class where every track is a certifiable epic in its own right on an album that is bold, ambitious and hugely enthralling.
(9/10 Martin Harris)
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