From the very beginning, I wanted to like this album. A familiar label for my taste, some interesting cover artwork, a smart name, brand new 'undamaged' musicians; time for some pure audition. A handful of repeated spins later, I cannot judge JET TRAIL's hard 'n' hevy sound as bad, but it seems not being what I asked for. Even if the band's proposal is interesting enough, at times...
Carolina Lindwall is leading the band, with her clear majestic voice on top. She sings honestly, not exaggerating and seems to be a dynamic lady in general. She does not try operatic vocals, but focuses more on an Ann Wilson-meets-Lana Lane-meets-Candice Knight style. She is backed by a set of excellent players, with down-to-earth instrumentation and clean sound. The band's style can be described as 'melodic', but do not expect to hear AOR sounds or Hair Metal frenzy. JET TRAIL tends more to the romantic, po(m)p or moody side of music.
Metalheads may not find interest in this album (omit the ACCEPT-driven pace of Dark Knight and Never Say Never) but guitar-driven melodic Hard Rock followers will applaud tunes like War Zone and Can You Hear Me Calling . In other songs, like Gorham's Cave, you'll confirm the relation to BLACKMORE'S NIGHT, plus tunes like Kiling Ghosts, The Unknown or Holy Ground show a tendency for the band to write/perform something more modern-sounding (check the UK 'side' of today's music taste).
The good thing for JET TRAIL is that they do not look like ready to play on the safe side. I can foresee their songwriting mode and I should note down it's an interesting and rather fresh approach their up to. Even if the songs themselves lack potential or consistency (there are three or four styles floating around in Edge Of Existence), they show uniqueness and/or character and that's a rare thing someone can expect in today's music.