The band is still far more aggressive than your average growl/scream/ female vocal combo, but lacking some of the cyber blasts and progressive black metal tones, the band appears far more average than I remember, and in fact, I’m having a hard time coming up with any sort of descriptive terms for the album other than just “OK”.

Still, the less artistic, less avant-garde, more straight forward dualistic Goth tones are par for the course, and not completely dreary or mopey as their more emotional peers. However, the last portion of the album, starting with ballad “Empty Rooms” and “Poisonous Tongues” does start headed that direction with a rather listless last four tracks, that sort of cement the albums overall lack of bite. Even up to that point though, the prior 6 tracks just don’t do anything for me; Operatic opener “Deceptive Mirrors”, chunky “My Comfort” and the album most aggressive track “Venom Inside My Veins” start with promise, but the material is just ‘there’ and never comes remotely close to Free Fall Into Fear.

Earlier this year rumors circled of the band breaking up after this release, but lone member Ronny Thorsen came out and said Trail of Tears will continue despite the mass exodus of members. But I think it might be time for Thorsen to lay this project to bed and focus on Blood Red Throne and Tristania.

After the artful lurch of the opener “Joyless Trance of Winter,” ToT deliver a sweeping dual vocal laden blast beat of “Carrier of the Scars of Life,” the album’s first “whew” moment that’s not content to sit on its sweeping pace but morph into a menacing down-tuned, violin laced monster. “Frail Expectations” starts as another full on slice of black metal, but this time elegantly sheathed in some delicate choral arrangements that resurface throughout the song between its robust gothic/death metal rumble. Rony Thorsen provides ample growls and screams to keep the album in the more extreme side of things and he compliments Nordhus’ eloquent croon as they often play off each other with often breathtaking results. “Cold Hand of Retribution” is essentially the album’s first full on avant-garde foray with angular but heavy riffs and a labyrinthine pacing backed by a varied array of vocal styles including ethereal female vocals.

Basically, every track on the album is a superb example of forward thinking extremity that’s never to full of itself and become too “artsy.” Nordhus and keyboardist Frank Roald Hagen keep the albums progressive gloss, while Thorsen and co. keep the back bone of the music grounded in liberally heavy black/Goth metal. No where is this epitomized more than “The Architect of My Downfall” which starts with a circus-ish Arcturus like lurch, then blazing into a seething ball of blistering yet progressive black metal before revisiting the opening riff once more. “Drink Away the Demons” is another more avant-garde take on their sound, but comes across as dutifully artistic rather than force feeding you their non-linear sound. “Point Zero” could pass as a cyber metal track with its mechanical gait but the vocals remind you that this band is far more than a simple sample laden outfit.

Free Fall into Fear oozes sheer musical class on every level that should satisfy listener of all types from Goth to black to death to cyber, ToT are inclusive by virtue of their ability to shift gears effortlessly both within tracks (“Dry Well of Life”) and from track to track, but still maintain a common thread of superb quality and consistency.

Highly, highly fucking recommended.

Male vocalist Ronny Thorsen has a deep, guttural delivery akin to Opeth’s Mikael Akerfeldt. His growls are ominous, yet clear and decipherable at the same time. Helena Iren Michaelsen has a beautiful soprano and adds a layer of chilling beauty to the music (note: Helena is no longer in the band and has been replaced by Catherine Paulsen). The remaining band members cannot be divided or singled out in any way. They each use their instruments as part of the entire presentation, with no special attention given to guitar or keyboard solos, drum pyrotechnics, or vain, overindulgent playing.

The focus of Profoundemonium is, without a doubt, placed squarely on the songs themselves. Runar Hansen (lead and acoustic guitars), Terje Heiseldal (guitars), Kjell Rune Hagen (bass), Frank Roald Hagen (synths) and Jonathan Perez (drums) all work together as different colors on the same canvas creating a captivating combination of rage and solace, madness and melody, skill and emotion. The music here treads ground somewhere between Opeth and Theatre of Tragedy. Melancholic melodies, sweeping synth textures, and emotional vocals all built upon a solid metal foundation. “Driven Through the Ruins” begins as a powerful, symphonic metal epic before dropping in Thorsen’s rich growl. Michaelsen’s haunting voice is showcased in the breakdown, which is stripped down to a piano, her voice, and a desolate synth texture. When the songs kicks back in, another verse takes us to some great vocal layering. Thorsen delivers his lines, while Michaelsen offers a stunning countermelody, all underscored by a choir.

“Sign of the Shameless” has a melodic guitar theme on the intro, which is played almost like a violin part – smooth and flowing, reminding me of Saviour Machine. The clean guitar breakdown once again highlights Michealsen’s excellent voice. “In Frustration’s Web” begins in bombastic fashion with some good double kick drum work by Perez, accented by F. Hagen’s dramatic synths before sneaking in a little distorted bass run, then dives into a tight metal groove. This song’s prelude, “In Frustration’s Preludium,” is a short little instrumental consisting of a piano/synth melody colored by a little bit of accordion, then slithers into a bleak atmosphere accented by what sounds like plucking violin strings.

The moods and textures created by the band are quite moving. This is an album to listen to through headphones, in bed, with the lights out. Lyrically, the band weaves somewhat poetic tales of loss, tragedy and desperation. Without going into detail about each and every song, overall I can say I am really pleased with Profoundemonium. Those enamoured with the genre would be doing themselves a huge favor by purchasing this record.