With more than five years having passed since they dropped their last full-length album "Motherless" in 2017, TRIAL (SWE) is back with "Feed The Fire" released September 2, 2022.
Formed in 2007 from Trollhattan, Sweden, a country that has given the metal scene MESSHUGGAH, CANDLEMASS, OPETH, IN FLAMES, and SABATON. Their latest effort re-introduces new lead vocalist Arthur W. Andersson after a quick taste on the 2021 EP "Sisters of the Moon". Having started writing for the new albums prior to Andersson joining the band, those songs were all discarded, and they started fresh. The band added the country tag (SWE) to their name in 2017 to distinguish them from the many other bands going under the same name. Boosting twin guitars, romping rhythms, towering vocals, and distinctive melodies, whilst proclaiming "heavy metal is alive and well' in the hands of TRIAL (SWE). "Discovering Jim Morrison from The DOORS opened up a whole new world in my writing of lyrics" admits lead guitarist/songwriter Alexander Ellstrom, an interesting twist for a heavy metal band, so let's dig into this album and see if it "Lights my Fire".

After a mood setting, soothing instrumental opening, complete with flutes caught me off guard on "Tria Prima", I knew that was just a tease, because now we're cooking, "Sulphery" enters with thundering metal riffs blending with dual guitar shredding, showcasing the powerful vocals of Andersson. Following the template of the previous song on "In the Highest" with high energy pounding riffs and solos paired with aggressive, extreme vocal laying with a shrieking intense vibe. A grandeur beginning to "Snare the Fowler" with an elegant, soft guitar before taking off on a muscular journey of biting vocals capped with a whipping dual guitar shoot out and, for good measures, a little vocal growling tossed in from guest vocalist Tomas Lindberg of AT THE GATES. The title track "Feed the Fire" is aggressive, saturating riff with searing dual guitar battles. "Quadrivium" opens with relentless guitars slamming in an up-tempo fury of harmonies all nicely wrapped together by euphonious vocals and intense backing drum beats.

No magic or mystery with TRIAL (SWE), a straight forward, textbook metal band. No need to look under the hood, everything works just fine. The strength of the material is consistent throughout the entire album, impressive dual guitar work, precise backing rhythm section, enthralling lyrics, and majestic vocals that play nicely with the guitar, neither overpowering each other. An interesting quote from the band on recording this album "We focused more on playing with feel, rather than perfection". Andersson does sound remarkably like one of my favorite singers, John Arch from FATES WARNING, There is a lot to like on this album, it's a throwback to NWOBHM.