Traveler – Prequel To Madness
Origin: Calgary / Canada
Release: 23.02.2024
Label: No Remorse Records
Duration: 38:28
Genre: Heavy Metal
The Canadian ones Traveler with their American singer give us a gift Prequel To Madness a third album. Although all band members are involved in various other bands, they manage to maintain the trademarks of the previous band albums and add a fresh kick.
Traveler With their traditional heavy metal transported into modern times, they fit perfectly into the new and successful series of bands like Riot City, Ambush, Savaged and Enforcer. So if you feel attracted to the bands just mentioned, you can choose the third one without hesitation Traveler Enjoy the album.
But you have to get past the cover first. Although I always try to concentrate on the musical content, there should also be purely visual co-sales for metal fans. That will certainly not be the case here, because Prequel To Madness It has a cover that probably takes some getting used to and doesn’t gain a bit even after looking at it for a long time.
Never pay attention to the outside!
But please don’t be put off by the ugly cover, because the real beauty is only now. At Mayday The band enters the album instrumentally with a lot of alarm and powerfully strumming guitars. What follows is a perfect opener. Take The Wheel opened with from Iron Maiden inspired guitar harmonies. The track is fast and thrilling. The guitar work and the variable vocals of ex-Gatekeeper Frontman JP Abboud not only fuel the opener, but also run through the entire album. The boundaries between heavy and power metal blur due to the speed and musical density presented.
Traveler Don’t rest on your laurels, but keep pushing along Dark Skull and The Law two more quick numbers. All the young bands can play fast, yes JP Abboud makes the difference. Sometimes he sings like a machine gun The Lawthen again he brings in epic moments with long and well-sung passages.
Drawn from full energy
With Rebels Of Earth switch Traveler take a step back and remember those mentioned above Riot Citywhich only come from the great role models like Queensrÿche and Heir Apparent scoop. But what’s the point? Heavy metal is not being reinvented, it is just being lived out again and again with new levels of energy. Like that at Heavy Hearts sounds you can HERE hear.
The eight songs from Prequel To Madness have no weaknesses. The band does surprise No Fate and Vagrants Of Time not anymore, but they are far from the average of other bands. Maybe switching things down towards the back of the album could have added more color or epic influence, but that’s complaining at a high level. Traveler They play their way through the album without ballads and are overflowing with joy.
The final theme song Prequel To Madness brings another seven minutes of energy, but also that little bit of difference that makes it the title song. The guitars fry left and right. The drums and bass are running at full speed. Meanwhile, the frontman impressively switches from head to chest voice. The built-in breaks give us variety and give us the feeling of listening to the top league here.
Conclusion
Traveler transport traditional heavy metal with a powerful burst of energy into the here and now. Prequel To Madness is not only another successful album, but also has that certain something in the form of a great frontman. Traveler are better than ever with their third album! 8,5 / 10
Line Up
JP Abboud – Gesang
Jake Wendt – Bass
Matt Ries – guitar
Toryin Schadlich – guitar
Nolan Benedetti – drums
Tracklist
01. Mayday
02. Take The Wheel
03. Dark Skull
04. The Law
05. Rebels Of Earth
06. Heavy Hearts
07. No Fate
08. Vagrants Of Time
09. Prequel To Madness
Links
Facebook Traveler
Instagram Traveler
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