Trespass
‘Footprints In The Rock’
Mighty Music Records 2018 NWOBHM
The New Wave of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM) era was one of the best times in heavy metal to be in a band, every band suddenly had the dawning that they could very realistically get their record released. But as bands like Diamond Head, Saxon and Iron Maiden began to pull away from the pack, poor deals and bad timing unfortunately left a lot of bands consigned to obscurity and history. Trespass are one of the NWOBHM bands which did not quite hit the heady heights of their peers, but just like many of these bands, Trespass have returned over the last few years and are now releasing material that equals, if not surpasses the work of their youth.
‘Footprints in the Rock’ is the latest album from Trespass and follows on from 2015’s eponymous return being full of the NWOBHM goodness that is expected from the band. Although as an album, ‘Footprints…’ does not have the best production, but this does play directly into the hands of Trespass as it gives the illusion that this album was recorded in a small studio way back in 1981. This production does give the band a relatively live feel and allows the listener to hear the wonderful twin guitar harmony runs, bringing back memories of Iron Maiden’s debut when each guitar could be clearly heard as opposed to a modern indistinguishable production portrayed by many bands.
Age has not dulled the sword of Trespass, the band now sound better than ever, yes, ‘Footprints…’ may be cheesy and at times borders on average with tracks like ‘Little Star’ and ‘Be Brave’ which are not the best, but are certainly not without their charm. However, when ‘Footprints…’ picks up, it is very good; the Greek mythology theme of ‘Prometheus’, the Lindesfarne massacre of ‘Dragon’s in the Mist’, the Anglo-Saxon epic ‘Beowulf and Grendel’ and the excellent descending riff to ‘The Green Man’ are all outstanding examples of the work Trespass have put into this album. Unfortunately, the latter song does manage to compete with Black Sabbath’s ‘War Pigs’ for bad rhyming couplets with ‘he’s making his stand, we don’t understand’.
Trespass have not only outdone themselves with ‘Footprints…’ but they have also exceeded expectations. It is a great album that would appeal to any fans of the NWOBHM movements, particularly that of Satan and Blitzkrieg or the first Demon album. ‘Footprints…’ is guaranteed to be one of the gems of 2018, it will not receive the plaudits and accolades that bigger bands will receive, but it will be treasured by fans of his genre and deserves to be heard.
Rating : 74/100
MHF Magazine/Adam McCann
