Trapt - No Apologies

Straight out of Los Gatos, CA hard rockers Trapt are back on the scene with their newest album, No Apologies. The follow up to 2008's Only Through the Pain finds the group strictly adhering to their hard rock formula that helped them burst onto the scene with their 2002 self titled debut, which produced the massive hit "Headstrong". This album shows that the group has matured immensely since then and are still relevant today more than ever.

The album starts off with a bang on the disc's first single, "Sound Off" a loud, crisp rocker that kicks things off with lead vocalist Chris Taylor Brown's powerfully melodic voice emanating strongly from the get go, and adjusts well to the sea of guitars in the process. "Drama Queen" is another fierce rocker that finds slower interludes in between to showcase the group's diverse musical tastes. The disc's highlight, and my personal favorite "End Of My Rope, is a straight forward rocker that features incredibly melodic guitars and Chris's powerful vocals tearing through the walls of the song. The disc's title track slows it down a bit and shows Chris's softer side, which still retains alot of the melodic energy that's left over from the prior tracks, providing for a nice interlude into the latter half of the disc.

The disc's second half starts off much like the first one began with "Stranger In the Mirror", a fierce, intense rocker that builds and builds to the very end with loud, relentless guitars and a strong drum pattern as well. "Are You With Me" follows almost the same pattern, but features alot more melodic guitars and slower interludes and isn't as heavy as the preceding song was. The disc's closing tracks "Overloaded" features a fast paced guitar breakdown that moves at a pretty good clip and is sometimes hard to keep track of at times, but is still a pretty enjoyable listen. "Storyteller" is a toned down rocker that gives the listener a little breather from all the blasting hard rock that we've heard so far and gives time to reflect on the album as a whole. When Trapt first broke onto the scene in 2003, they immediately demonstrated their ability to perform high energy, melodic songs with a dynamic frontman at the helm to make their immediate presence known. This album only furthers their musical quest and shows that Trapt haven't gone away completely, they're just re energized and refocused.

All in all this album was way more than I expected and was an all around great album. Not too often we see bands still able to find that magic in the studio after so many years, but Trapt makes it look easy with a remarkable effort that is definitely worth a listen, you'll be surprised!

                                                                                                                               Album Score: 4.5/5

Track Listing:

1. Sound Off
2. Drama Queen
3. End of My Rope
4. Get Up
5. No Apologies
6. Stranger in the Mirror
7. Beautiful Scar
8. Are You With Me
9. The Wind
10. Overloaded
11. Storyteller