A DROP OF LIGHT

In recent years Prog Rock has been dominated by countless Swedish bands that seem to have mastered the genre in new and cunning ways. Bands like The Flower Kings, Introitus, Beardfish, and Moon Safari continues the legacy of bands of old with new and exciting feats, while bands like Opeth, Edge of Sanity, Pan.Thy.Monium, and Seventh Wonder brings down awesome heavy metal styles of Prog to really get the blood pumping. There are a ton of great bands that came out in Sweden, some of which have become some of the biggest names in the Progressive world. With how expansive the world is now, the idea of new bands coming out of the woodwork has become a lot more widespread. Back in the late 1900s, it wasn't rare to have a band get big, but it wasn't common either. Now with the internet, people are now discovering the joys of newer bands a lot more often. One of those bands that caught the eyes of many Prog fans is All Traps on Earth. They are loved pretty highly among many Prog fans, both young and old, and that already got me interested in seeing how they live up to the greats in their area, or if they bring out a different flavor of Prog that I haven't heard before.

Let's start with the first track, which is All Traps On Earth, the band title track for the album. It is a 18 plus minute epic that is actually very interesting at the beginning, starting off very quietly with an organ and a flute, creating a nice atmosphere to really set the mood. Afterwards it then evolves into this Avant jazzy type melody with some great horn work that just melts together with the drumming of Erik Hammarström and the vocals of Miranda Brand. Immediately it took me back to when I first listened to Lizard by King Crimson and I immediately got pumped for some amazing and gothic sorta sounding Prog. As the song progresses, it gets weirder and creepier, with my favorite part being near the middle going a bit playful sounding with the clarinets and flute as it slowly gets more and more sinister with the use of guitar and choir vocals. It admittedly gave me the best kind of goosebumps. This song also knows how to relax a bit with a piano piece immediately afterwards to try to cool down a bit and add more to the already chilling atmosphere. Already I am awestruck by how well they managed to create such a foreboding feel with this album, and we're only at the tip of the iceberg. Those stunning operatic vocals of Miranda, those amazing horns, the amazing drumming of Erik, and those great keys of Johan Brand and Thomas Johnson all come together to create an already fantastic experience.

The next song is another epic. A 16 minute piece called Magmatic Warning. Continuing off the heels and atmosphere of the last song, we get another impressive force of dark and gothic sounding symphonies that really hammer in your skull the power this band can pull. It goes from wild and crazy to more angelic and soft at a blink's notice, and it's so good hearing how it twists and changes from those great jazzy segments to those more desolate, almost folk styled playing. I was thinking on what comparisons to put them at, and the only result was Wobbler, but not by much. Wobbler is a bit more cheery, still a little gothic but they clearly focus more on a cheery and lighthearted vibe with more cohesive playing than this album's creepy and eerie vibes and styles. It really stands out from the crowds and just makes something very unique. Also how this song ends is super amazing. Very cinematic sounding with the vocals and instrumentation going ham with each other and giving it their absolute all. It's just super epic and definitely the strongest bit of music I have heard in a good while.

Next up is Omen. A 12 minute song that showcases a lot more of the vibes the band has deployed, however it focuses a bit more on its more folk like side for a bit before evolving to a more symphonic playing, and then focusing on all their aspects as one, with some jazz sprinkled in. It just flows so well, no filler whatsoever with this song. This is another thing the band does really well, and that is their flow and progression. No song has any filler at all, resulting in this nice consistent package of creepy chaos that just bleeds out into your ears. They really knew how to make a damn great first impression after three songs, and I feel no signs of wavering here.

Next is First Step, the shortest song on the album being a mere 2 minutes. This is a piano and choir piece that is a lot more pretty than gothic and spooky. It still sets the vibes, but it is quite effective at giving a small break from those intense horns and jammy passages the last three songs gave us. It serves its purpose, and it serves it well, and despite it being pretty short, I think it is still as good as the tunes and melodies that came before. You know a band is great when even the smaller songs are just as good as their big and sweeping epics.

Lastly is Bortglöma Gårdar, a 14 minute song that takes you back to the past where those gothic sounds originated from. This song clearly has a ton of inspiration based on those old medieval tunes in Western Europe while it evolves into that signature style, while also showcasing their adaptive nature on combining the two styles to create something even better. It works tremendously well here and I am just blown away by it. However I do have to critique it where it is due, and that has to come from the singing. Now Jonan Brand is not a half bad singer. He has some good moments on this song, but man do I wish Miranda sang here instead. She has proven herself throughout the album that she can pull off some very angelic sounding vocals that are very operatic to where I was pretty stoked to hear if she might sing full on verses and choruses on one of the songs since the first epic creeped its way into my ears, however sadly that never came true. A small nitpick really, but I do hope Miranda does get her time to shine on a hopefully second album someday. Despite this, it leaves off with a high note with a beautiful piano melody to close out an amazing album.

I am very blown away by this. It is rare for a band to come out of the woodwork this strongly with an album that creates an amazing atmosphere. No wonder this band is highly regarded, because they are wonderful. If you haven't checked them out yet then I highly recommend it, cause right now they are very promising for the future of modern day Prog rock, and I bet they'll deliver more in spades in the near future.