The Road Less Travelled is the second studio album by Norwegian heavy metal band

Triosphere Triosphere is a Norwegian heavy metal band from Trondheim, created in 2004 by singer and bassist Ida Haukland, and guitarist Marius Silver Bergesen. They are defined by their heavy metal sound emphasising their power metal-like melodies and chorus ...

. It was released in 2010 by AFM Records. It is the first album to including new guitarist Tor Ole Byberg, with the band expanding into a quartet. The album's style is different from its predecessor, '' Onwards'', as it has a more melodic sound. "Echoes" is an all-

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

and

cello The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a Bow (music), bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), t ...

instrumental medley of the tracks 2 to 10. The Japanese edition also includes "Lawless", in tribute to

Blackie Lawless Steven Edward Duren (born September 4, 1956), better known by his stage name Blackie Lawless, is an American singer, songwriter and musician, best known as the lead singer and rhythm guitarist (formerly bassist) for heavy metal band W.A.S.P.B ...

, and a cover of the

Guns N' Roses Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 1985. When they signed to Geffen Records in 1986, the band comprised vocalist Axl Rose, lead guitarist Slash, rhythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin, bassist Duff McKa ...

's song "

Welcome to the Jungle "Welcome to the Jungle" is a song by American rock band Guns N' Roses, featured on their debut album, ''Appetite for Destruction'' (1987). It was released as the album's second single initially in the UK in September 1987 then again in October ...

". Guitarist Marius Silver Bergensenn wrote all instrumental parts, with vocal melodies and lyrics by singer and bassist Ida Haukland.

Production

In July 2010, Ida Haukland said the new album "...is about daring to choose a path that, even though it might be unconventional or more challenging, nevertheless leads you towards your goal and ambitions." The Road Less Travelled is produced by Silver and Haukland, making it the first disc of the band to be only produced by the band itself. This time, Silver is not credited for any lyrics, and Haukland for any music (except for all the vocal melodies). The album thanks includes the bands W.A.S.P.,

Arch Enemy Arch Enemy is a Swedish melodic death metal band, originally a supergroup from Halmstad, formed in 1995. Its members were in bands such as Carcass, Armageddon, Carnage, Mercyful Fate, Spiritual Beggars, The Agonist, Nevermore, and Eucharist. ...

and

Kamelot Kamelot is an American power metal band from Tampa, Florida, formed by Thomas Youngblood, in 1987. The Norwegian vocalist Roy Khan joined for the album ''Siége Perilous'', and shared songwriting credit with Youngblood until his departure in Apr ...

and the singer

Jørn Lande Jørn Marumsrud Lande (born May 31, 1968) is a Norwegian hard rock and heavy metal singer and songwriter. He is known for his work with the bands Ark, Beyond Twilight, Millenium, Vagabond, The Snakes, and most notably with power metal band Ma ...

Track listing

¹Bergensenn is credited solely for composing the music, but Haukland is credited for "lyrics and vocals melodies", meaning that she acted as composer for the vocals parts.

Reception

Since its release, ''The Road Less Travelled'' has received very favourable reviews. Blistering.com gave the album a good review staging Triosphere were a "''Smart, savvy, free-of-pretense progressive metal''". The review went on to conclude "''we’re looking at the future of power/progressive metal right in front of our faces''". ''Dangerdog Music Reviews'' stated the three ingredients of the album were "''bulletproof chops, songwriting skill, and imagination''" and "beyond recommended" the album, giving it the maximum rating. ''The Road Less Travelled'' was later choose as one of the fifteen ''Albums of the Year'', with the site making it at the top of the internet page with the words "Complete and utter perfection. What more is there to say?".

Personnel

Triosphere

* Ida Haukland -

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

and bass * Marius Silver Bergesen -

lead Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cu ...

and

rhythm guitar In music performances, rhythm guitar is a technique and role that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with other instruments from the rhythm section (e.g., drum kit, bass guitar ...

* Tor Ole Byberg - rhythm guitar * Ørjan Aare Jørgensen -

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

Additional personnel

* Espen Godø -

keyboards Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

and

mellotron The Mellotron is an electro-mechanical musical instrument developed in Birmingham, England, in 1963. It is played by pressing its keys, each of which pushes a length of magnetic tape against a capstan, which pulls it across a playback head. A ...

* Kjell Magne Robak -

on (4, 7, 8 and 12) * Arild Følstad -

(on 12) * Erling Malm -

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are use ...

(on 5 and 6) * Alessandro Elide -

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...

(on 2 and 10)

Production

* Marius Silver Bergesen, Ida Haukland -

production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stati ...

* Tommy Hansen - mixing

References

External links

Official Triosphere website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Road Less Travelled, The Triosphere albums 2010 albums