Triosphere - The Heart Of The Matter

These cats from Norway know how to make good metal. They even have a bitchin' album cover.Norwegian metallers Triosphere are going like gangbusters these days, due in no small part to the vocals of bassist/frontwoman Ida Haukland. Which is not at all to say that the rest of the gang on their third album The Heart Of The Matter isn't holding up its end of things. Oh no, the musicianship of this quartet is fucking stellar, featuring a fantastic blend of melodic, progressive and power metal with enough energy to power a small town through the winter.

And it's not all breakneck speed either. Too many metal bands tend to go full throttle at all times, forsaking the magic of a balanced effort, allowing space for the music. Check out the solo section of Breathless (around 3:15) and its sweet grooving for an example of this band's understanding of such dynamics. Following that track, Departure engages in some sweet Dream Theater/Rush style rhythmic crunching before its very tasteful solo. These guys are just making some great rock and roll here, folks. Haukland's voice is more on the Cristina Scabbia (Lacuna Coil) side of female vocals; not bad-ass rocker chick like Nina Osegueda (A Sound Of Thunder) and not a classically trained opera singer like Tarja Turunen (Within Temptation). This works out great since it allows the music to share the soundscape without competing with what is often considered the novelty of female vocals.

The Bottom Line: Triosphere is some damn fine metal for fans of classic melodic/hard rock and power metal with a touch of the progressive thrown in for some flavor. Even if you're not a fan of female vocals (and why wouldn't you be?) you can't deny that the music here is really really good.

- Genghis would love to catch these cats in a club some time soon...