Based on the work of Pink Floyd and Genesis,
Trinity has left the trail for a band and has developped into a recording
project. Being the work of Rob Davenport and Paul Gath, “The cold light of
darkness” offers a concept piece based on child abuse and neglect but also
on drug abuse which occurred in Rob’s life. Both his niece and nephew
suffered from drug addiction and in a way opened the eyes of Rob who simply
needed to write a concept piece about this. Originally titled “A spoonful
of sugar” as this was the only thing his niece and nephew would sometimes
eat for breakfast, this project kicked of in january 1998 ! Opening track ‘Eyes of a child’ to me sounds
like a cross between early Marillion, early Arena and the commercial side of
Mr. So & So. Especially the chorus is very strong whilst I would have
wanted to hear the synthsolo to be played a little faster, a little more
vibrant than the ‘note per note’ delivery we get here. ‘The mask’
comes close to the kind of music Belgian band Eko was playing years and
years ago, being a polished rock sound surrounded by beautiful guitarlicks
build around a melodic vocal line. The atmosphere of a song like ’Into the
dark’ makes me think of … “The butterfly ball” album as it would fit
in perfectly, except for the lyrics of course. I can easily hear Ronnie
James Dio singing this one. Also holds some truly amazing synthwork which
fits perfectly in the song and alternates wonderfully with the guitar.
‘Which way’ continues in a more commercial vein with a guitar which
sometimes sounds like it’s Mark Knopfler (or that guy from the band
Flasher) who’s guesting. I also love the backing vocals which really lift
this song to another dimension although personally I would have placed these
vocals much thicker in the mix. Towards the end of the song, when the rhythm
dies away, the guitar turns towards David Gilmour whilst in the background
you can here sequencers and loops in the style of early Jean-Michel Jarre.
The end of the song sounds like an alternative version of ‘Shine on your
crazy diamond’ so lovers of that classic track should definitely check out
Trinity ! The four final tracks on this album are grouped
into what’s called ‘The exposure suite’.
As is often the case with concept albums every little detail is
carefully prepared and in the studio extra elements and details are added in
order to enhance the feel of the album. Here in ‘Help me’ we hear the
ticking of a clock as if to stress the fact that time is running out if no
help is given to the fictitious character of Cathy who is trying to take her
own life. Just accompanied by solitary piano ‘Is there a paradise’
delivers a very strong statement although I would have added cello and/or a
small violin section to keep the atmosphere intimate yet more elaborate. The
final song ‘Can’t you see’ opens with synthetic recorder which would
have sounded so much better if the real thing would have been used.
Sometimes these things I simply can’t understand because there’s plenty
of people out there who can play a mean bit of recorder and who would have
jumped at the chance of being on an album like this. I keep on saying this :
look around you and you’d be amazed at how many people know how to play an
instrument. Simply ask them. All they can do is say no or YES ! The song
itself is based on an uplifting rhythm with a great sounding synth in the
intro. It almost has a gospel feel to it as the main theme goes on and on
until the bitter end. To
me this album comes in the same league as the superb “A promise of
peace” by Lee Saunders which also is a truly wonderful album very few
people have ever heard about. I hope the same situation doesn’t happen
with Tr3nity but with a subject which is so much of present interest why
doesn’t the band/project contact the national institution which talks
about drug prevention in schools. Maybe their album can be used as a tool.
You should never focus on the progworld alone my dear friends as this is a
world few people actually visit unless of course you’re a prog addict like
all the lunatics who come and read this review on these pages. If
you want to hear for yourself, then I suggest you surf to the band’s
website where you can find both MP3 and Realaudio files of all the songs on
the album. Enjoy ! Reviewed
by John ‘Bo Bo’ Bollenberg |
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