Forming in 2012, Canadian band Trapped in Thought have been through a few hiatuses and lineup changes over the course of their career – recording a couple of EP’s and a single in the process leading up to this latest five-track EP For Those Who Never Came Home. Given the lockdown restrictions, the quartet spent the better part of two years working on material – a lethal combination of intense riffs, vicious screams, slamming grooves, plus the additional clean/emo-oriented melodies that can galvanize the hordes of heavy audiences who live for this brand of metalcore. At the same time, there’s a dynamic twist of atmosphere that takes ahold in surprising ways to differentiate the group from the norm – hopefully becoming a difference-maker in the long run.
Most people will not go from aggression to subdued post-rock and back up again all within the same arrangement – but that’s what you’ll get in the almost six-minute odyssey that is “Exposed”. An array of stunted guitar melodies juts back and forth against natural breakdown combinations for “Brotherhood”, while the calmer strumming allows drummer Stefan Bento to showcase a comfortable, progressive snare template in the early stages of “Still Sleep” before the savage screams of Michael Grint and low-tuned electric proceedings from guitarist Stephan Burnett take center stage. These gentlemen understand how to combine riffs while transitioning in a logical manner, never losing the plot as far as catchy hooks – a task that may prove difficult for others in this genre. The production values rival what you would expect on most major independent labels, and if there’s only one small criticism, it’s in the fact that just as soon as you get into this EP, it’s over in a scant 18 minutes.
Beyond natural abilities, the knowledge base active in the membership allows Trapped in Thought to go far – incorporating more alternative, post-rock, or progressive accents into their metalcore platform. For Those Who Never Came Home should gain traction for these Canadians into landscapes far and wide.