Traveling back to the golden years of traditional heavy metal - A review of Traveler's Traveler

Every few years, an energetic group of newcomers comes around with a traditional heavy metal release that sets the underground scene on fire only to end up losing steam and not to be heard of again. At least half of these bands seem to come from Canada where traditional heavy metal, speed metal and thrash metal are still alive and kicking. Traveler is another band of this kind and the quintet in its early twenties hails from Calgary. One could immediately roll its eyes and claim this band is boring but that would be quite unfair. Even though the band doesn't offer anything new, the five young men play with enthusiastic passion that works splendidly as the record progresses and should work even better on stage. Since the band's particular style is all the rage in the metal underground these days, I wouldn't be surprised at all if this album were to become the record of the year on many lists.

The band has several positive elements going for it. The technical execution is very good and especially the guitars find the perfect balance between speedy riffs and melodic solos that don't only honour the British bands of the late seventies and early eighties but surprise with a quality one would normally expect from genre veterans. The vocals are also quite charismatic. They are melodic and at times high-pitched but filled with husky energy and conviction at the same time. The song writing is tight without any lengths and especially the record's second half delivers the goods. ''Fallen Heroes'' might be the greatest track on here as it varies between epic mid-tempo passages and passionate up-tempo sections and comes along with particularly passionate and expressive vocals. ''Mindless Maze'' starts with psychedelic and smooth melodies before it evolves into a steady heavy metal song that represents the spirit of the early eighties best in my opinion as it transmits a melancholy feeling of nostalgia. Album closer ''Speed Queen'' appropriately concludes thirty-eight minutes of energy with pace, melody and ecstasy as it finds the right balance between traditional heavy metal and early speed and thrash metal.

On the negative side, the band's songwriting is obviously quite repetitive, predictable and nostalgic and can't quite reach the pioneer quality of albums released four decades earlier. Instrumental track ''Konamized'' is somewhat useless as it simply sounds like a shorter version of any other song on the record without vocals and one has to wonder what the point of this song might have been. The underground production is something fans of this genre call authentic but I think a more organic sound would have made the album even more energetic.

Traveler's self-titled release is a sympathetic traditional heavy metal record brought to you by five enthusiastic men in their early twenties who know their roots very well. The quintet would be a perfect candidate to open shows for its idols like Diamond Head, Grim Reaper and Judas Priest. If you like similar contemporary bands like Gatekeeper, Striker and Visigoth, you can't go wrong with this album. However, the final result isn't anything to get too excited about as we have heard this type of music over and over again for the past ten years that have marked the renaissance of traditional heavy metal. Traveler leaves a positive impression thanks to its vocals, skills and passion but the band still has a long way to go to develop its own unique approach to the genre in order to assure longevity.

Final rating: 75%