Trace The Follower - Aspects

It's always nice to find an upstart band who seem to be doing things the right way. Trace The Follower hail from Stockholm, Sweden and have just recently released their debut EP Aspects and from the sounds of it the band has made a pretty solid first step in their career.

From the get-go you'll draw pretty heavy similarities to August Burns Red, As I Lay Dying, and a bit of The Devil Wears Prada. The band isn't necessarily carving out a distinct sound for themselves yet when compared with bands like the ones above, but by taking bits of inspiration from those who've succeeded thus far in the genre they can get a solid start and build from there.

The band is not devoid of talent though, what you'll find on Aspects are some pretty solid solos, solid lead work and a ton of chunky riffage. There's plenty of breakdowns for the moshing crowd, but they aren't the focus of the music, and the band seems to enjoy sections with driving riffs that increase in pitch building steam until the break into a crushing breakdown which is pretty awesome.

Vocalist Emil Engvall tends towards higher vocals somewhat similar to Mike Hranica of The Devil Wears Prada, and also like Mike he uses low vocals to put emphasis on certain sections of the song. I wish this happened a bit more though because Emil's low voice is pretty awesome.

'Drag Me Down' starts with a ferocious wall of sound and the EP doesn't really let up from their. Once you start it the band is carrying you to the end. I didn't have the lyrics on hand so I'm not sure the song 'Captain Falcon' actually had anything to do with the video game character, but it's a solid song none-the-less. Emil talked about the song 'Oceans' on the bands facebook and how the lyrics deal with the 'ocean' you can get trapped in if you abuse drugs and how drugs can essentially ruin your life, it's not exactly new ground, but it's a pretty relate-able subject that holds pretty heavy meaning with a lot of people. 'And So Bear Ourselves' is the longest song on the EP clocking in at 4:36 and is one of the best tracks in my opinion because it's probably the best blend everything the band has to offer talent wise, solid drumming with shifting tempos, fast paced riffing, an interesting solo, and solid vocal work. The final track 'H Walks To Zero' is a pretty great way to end off the album, it's not my favorite track but it's does leave a pretty solid impression although the way it ends almost feels like it would be leading into another track. It leaves you wanting more songs, which in one way is a good thing.

Overall for a debut EP Aspects is highly enjoyable and very well done. This band has set the bar pretty high for themselves from the get-go and hopefully they can keep it up on future endeavors. I would like to see them develop their sound a bit more and make it feel more like their own and less inspired by other bands.

Also if you want to hear the band, you can stream their album for free right now on Spotify!

Trace The Follower - Aspects