{"id":31595,"date":"2015-06-05T00:00:39","date_gmt":"2015-06-05T00:00:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/?p=31595"},"modified":"2015-06-18T14:47:42","modified_gmt":"2015-06-18T14:47:42","slug":"album-review-trixter-human-era","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/album-review-trixter-human-era\/","title":{"rendered":"TRIXTER – Human Era (2015) | Album \/ EP Reviews @ Metal Forces Magazine"},"content":{"rendered":"

TRIXTER
Human Era<\/strong><\/span>
\n\"\"
\nFrontiers (2015)<\/span>
Rating: 7.5\/10<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\n\n\n
<\/td>\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n
\n
<\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n
\n
<\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n

I recall picking up Trixter\u2019s 1990 self-titled debut on cassette, much to the derision of my metalhead friends who though that as we were \u201cthrashers\u201d that surely \u201cthose sort of purchases are surely behind us\u201d. Of course, I scoffed at their dismissive attitude ad I\u2019d always having a penchant for American hard rock. However, I was baffled as to why it had taken Trixter so long to put out their debut; after all, they had formed in 1983.<\/p>\n

Anyway, I always enjoyed that debut Trixter album, even if it came too late; especially when one considers that a couple of years later metal was pretty much dead on its feet with the arrival of not just grunge but acts like Faith No More, having already injected a wild dose of \u201calternative\u201d colour into the genre.<\/p>\n

As Beatle George Harrison once said mind, \u201cAll things must pass\u201d<\/em>, although he should\u2019ve added that \u201csuch things tend to come around again too\u201d<\/em>. And so we come to Trixter\u2019s new album, their fourth full-length overall and the band\u2019s second of their \u201cnew era\u201d since reforming in 2007; following on from 2012\u2019s New Audio Machine.<\/p>\n

Trixter consists of Peter Loran (lead vocals \/ rhythm guitar), Steve Brown (lead guitar \/ backing vocals), P. J. Farley (bass \/ backing vocals) and Mark \u201cGus\u201d Scott (drums \/ backing vocals), and Human Era<\/em> is another good ol\u2019 slab of melodic rockin\u2019 music; the band still able to coat our ears with a style of rock that brings to mind the more accessible climes of Def Leppard, Van Halen and at times tinged with a 70s rock feel. There\u2019s nothing more to it, and we wouldn\u2019t want it any other way, but Trixter has always known that in spite of their success, it takes good solid writing and musicianship to create decent albums. While they always remained on the cusp, so to speak, back in their heyday, the fact they\u2019ve re-emerged from the shadows and once again grabbed the bull by the horns is testament to their talent.<\/p>\n

Human Era<\/em> comes armed with 11 tracks that boast enough power, passion and persuasion to match their early records, which at the time enabled the New Jersey band to share the stage with such esteemed bands as Kiss, Cinderella, Poison, Dokken and Scorpions. However, this time round Trixter has upped the ante; recording this album as if it were their last few days on Earth, and it has given me the same excited tingles I first experienced on that debut tape all those years ago.<\/p>\n

The band has always had that ability to cavort with the glammier side of the genre as well as fleck their sound with effective keyboards, but what people need to know is that Trixter has always had the ability to rock too and this record features some excellent riffs and solos, killer percussion and of course Peter Loran\u2019s bright, breezy and powerful vocal melodies. These positives most certainly come to the fore with the likes of \u2018Midnight In Your Eyes\u2019, which has that hint of Def Leppard in its vocal style and yet there\u2019s a sizzling solo, a catchy weighty riff and that ability to simmer initially before coming out with all guns blazing and taking the track up a notch.<\/p>\n

As with most Trixter material, these sort of tracks are instant on the ears \u2013 opener \u2018Rockin\u2019 To The Edge Of The Night\u2019 makes a bold statement with its hard-hitting drums and sassy riff which transports us back to that late 80s pomp. Okay, so lyrically there\u2019s always been that layer of cheese as Loran delivers, \u201cHere comes the weekend, I\u2019m all worked up and ready to go\u201d<\/em>, but hell, we might as well go along for the ride, and when we open the door to Human Era<\/em> we are blessed with a mighty fine menu of tracks, some of which have an AC\/DC styled strut musically while at more subtle climes there\u2019s that fluent Bon Jovi air of bubble-gum rock.<\/p>\n

This is music we don\u2019t necessarily have to take too serious; it\u2019s hard rock music to blow our troubles away and get us nodding, and the slices of cherry pie charm just keep on comin\u2019. \u2018Crash That Party\u2019 is another ballsy rocker featuring a killer riff and driving drum and certainly one of Loran\u2019s best vocal performances. It\u2019s a straight up rocker full of clich\u00e9 lyrically, but we knew what we were in for anyway, although this sort of edgy drama is contradicted by the fluffier side of the band. \u2018Not Like All The Rest\u2019 is a tad too corny and, dare I say it, \u201cmodern pop\u201d by design. Indeed, it may be the sort of accidental hit Trixter needs, but for me it doesn\u2019t paint a true picture of the band.<\/p>\n

Thankfully though, these dips are not that frequent; \u2018For You\u2019, \u2018Every Second Counts\u2019 \u2013 with its nicely threaded bass \u2013 \u2018Beats Me Up\u2019 \u2013 a breezy semi-ballad \u2013 and \u2018Soul Of A Lovin\u2019 Man\u2019 all showcase the variety Trixter can express within their standard framework. The latter is a fiery rocker, again featuring a devilish, worming bass, but for me it\u2019s the closing title track which sums up that nifty, airy Trixter sound because it\u2019s a rather low-key but soulful croon, although I thought the guys might have rounded the album off with something a touch edgier.<\/p>\n

Still, there\u2019s not much to criticize within Trixter\u2019s latest, but it is a record very much fitting in with the times rather than being all too eager to soak up days gone by. And so Trixter are adapting well, and acting more like the controlled adult at the party rather than the bratty teenager. Trixter have always been a band able to offer more than what just appears on the surface however, and with Human Era<\/em> there\u2019s enough meat and melody to please the old fans and newcomers alike.<\/p>\n

Neil Arnold<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

TRIXTERHuman Era Frontiers (2015)Rating: 7.5\/10 I recall picking up Trixter\u2019s 1990 self-titled debut on cassette, much to the derision of my metalhead friends who though that as we were \u201cthrashers\u201d that surely \u201cthose sort of purchases are surely behind us\u201d. Of course, I scoffed at their dismissive attitude ad I\u2019d always having a penchant for […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,2236],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-31595","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-album-ep-reviews","category-trixter"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31595","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31595"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31595\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":31600,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31595\/revisions\/31600"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31595"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31595"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31595"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}