Drahk Von Trip - "Heart & Consequence" Review

Artist/ Band: Drahk Von Trip
Title: Heart & Consequences
Label: Transubstans
Year of Release: 2005
Artist/ Band Link (click for details/ ordering)

The Review:

Swedish band, Drahk Von Trip recorded a 4 song demo called “Is Us” back in 2003 that gave a nice glimpse of what was to come. Now in 2005, the band recorded a full length album called Heart & Consequence for the Transubstans Records label. The music, like the demo, combines elements of psychedelic rock with a slight symphonic progressive edge. The band consists of Göran (drums and percussion), Susann (vocals, violin and flute), Mats (guitars), Ralph (bass), Twodox (vintage synthesizers and percussion) and Micke (guitars and theremin).

Transubstans Records seems to be responsible for many new Swedish bands to the scene as well as reissues of lost gems. The music that the bands on this label tend to be rooted in the revival of a style of music that was predominate in the late 60's, early 70's. Drahk Von Trip is one of those bands that rather than becoming yet another retro or reproduction band of that era, they use it as a springboard or framework to create a new era in psychedelic and progressive rock sounds.

There’s also a modern vibe to the music which makes the music appealing to both older and younger audiences alike. On their demo, I compared them sound-wise to Azigza but after hearing Heart & Consequence, I have to say they sound more like a more psychedelic version of The Gathering. One of the reasons for that comparison is that the music has a somewhat gothic darkness to it, especially in the instrumentations of the each songs.

This is one of the more strong debuts I’ve heard in a long while. The strength is that the band has the ability to cross boundaries of genres without taking away from a continuity of the album. That’s a sign of a great album. There’s no real downside to the band or the music. They’re one of those bands who have a great deal of talent and promise. I do believe that Drahk Von Trip will be another name to look out for in the near future. This is going to be one of those hidden gems of 2005, that hopefully won’t go un noticed by the masses of true music fans. Heart & Consequence gets a strong recommendation from me, in fact I would say RUN don't walk to your favorite vendor and order a copy today!

Reviewed by Ron Fuchs on January 17th, 2006

Tracks:

1. One OF A Kind

2. Autumn

3. Anger

4. Ode To A Godess

5. Long Distance Call

6. Gahn

7. Daddy's Dead

8. R.A.M.M. wow, we're really expressing ourself's

9.In A World Of Touble

10. I Want To Tell You