My interest is naturally piqued when I hear that a band has been touring with the likes of ARCH ENEMY and KAMELOT.  I can't help it, it just gets my juices going.  Maybe it's a lingering longing for Angela Gossow or the fact that the names of those bands just remind me of simpler times.  SO it is that I have only just come to hear of TRIOSPHERE, it turns out that they have been going strong since 2009 and have made a big name for themselves in their homeland of Norway.

I've made no secret of my feelings on front women in Metal and it is always good to find one that grabs my attention.  Ida Haukland not only has a fantastic voice but is also a pretty mean guitarist and this is a combination rarely seen in the women of Metal.  Perhaps this is why she is so refreshing, she doesn't just flounce around the stage trying to look sexy, gods no, she just fucking rocks out.  This is what is important in a good band, each of the members is engaging and talented and together they sound like an incredibly cohesive unit capable of delivering some serious sound.

Their third studio album "The Heart Of The Matter" opens up with a bit of melodic guitar work that could have been quite at home in a MACHINE HEAD song before kicking into a face blistering series of riffs that is much more synonymous with the ARCH ENEMY sound.  The thing that really differs them from any of these bands is the fact that the vocals sound like they could have been lifted out of a RUSH song.  This brilliant combination of modern musical sounds and classic metal works beautifully and their sound is not only distinct but well-conceived.   I've always wondered what RUSH would have sounded like with a more Metal influence and I guess this is pretty damn close.

The album does have its downsides though and the lyrical content is a little light at points with some fairly un-enthusing lines popping up in the choruses.  I can allow this to slide though as the rest of the music more than makes up for any weaker lyrical sides in the end product.  All in all these guys are a band that are now on my radar and I'm quite sad that I have missed them in previous years.