It takes a lot of psychological and mental strength to carry on when everyone who was with you in a band abandons you. Most of us would call it a day and probably begin something new. But when a band is your child, it's difficult to send it to the other world so easily.

Well that's how Ronny Thorsen probably thought when all the other members of TRAIL OF TEARS left the band in 2006, and they even wrote a statement in their official site that the band split up! But he didn't have the same thoughts and he answered with another statement saying that TRAIL OF TEARS will keep going. So with new members and the return of the familiar face of Cathrine Paulsen - she was a member of the band from 2000 until 2004 - they are back and they released their sixth full length album, Bloodstained Endurance a few days ago .

So what about the album itself? Since I was never a big fan of the band, I have to admit that even though I am familiar with their previous releases I'm not that into it, so making any comparisons with the older albums would not be right. So let's see it as a new beginning of the band, without saying many things about their past. The opening track took my attention immediately. Its strong intro and a powerful chorus, where I really liked Cathrine's voice, is warm and challenges you to sing along (not a clone of the well known clean female-growling male vocal bands). As for Ronny's growls, they sound more Death-ish than some others that sing in Death Metal bands. The album is full of nice melodies; the problem with this kinds of bands, though, is that they are moving in narrow waters and after a while the songs in an album sound like one another. But in this album there are parts in almost every song that differentiate them, for example the violin solo in the self titled track. Of course an album of this genre that respects itself has to have a ballad. Here this role is being taken by A Storm At Wilt. A nice ballad that will attract some broken hearted lads (yes, I think metalheads are not like Homo Neanderthal) and the wanna-be gothic Metal ladies. Not a bad one, but it wouldn't bother me if it wasn't there.

Overall, Bloodstained Endurance is a nice comeback album for TRAIL OF TEARS. Nice melodies, the band seems to have its batteries full charged since new blood came in and good compositions like The Feverish Alliance, In The Valley Of Ashes, one of the heavier ones in the album, Take Aim.Reclaim.Prevail and Dead End Gaze that fans of that kind of Metal will love to listen many times.

P.S.: This is becoming irritating for me and for you to read, but please stop putting voice overs in the promo CDs. We want to listen to the music, not someone talking!