TRAIL OF TEARS Profoundemonium Vinyl LP 2000

Norwegian gothic black metal on picture disc, from a era when that combination still meant something dangerous rather than decorative.

Trail of Tears were operating in the same late-90s/early-2000s space as Theatre of Tragedy and early Cradle of Filth, where gothic atmosphere and black metal hostility were still being negotiated rather than settled. Profoundemonium, released in 2000, sits in that tension well. There's orchestration, there's melody, and then there's the bottom dropping out into something considerably colder. The picture disc format is appropriate, the kind of object that earns shelf space on its own terms. If you came to this sound through Epica or Septicflesh and haven't traced it back this far, this is the record to do it with.

Format: Vinyl LP, Limited Edition Picture Disc. Country of origin: Norway. Genre: Gothic/Black Metal. Year: 2000.

Fans of: THEATRE OF TRAGEDY, SEPTICFLESH, EPICA, COVENANT, ROTTING CHRIST, CRADLE OF FILTH.