TRANCE – Victory [CD reissue remastered]

Cult act and pioneer from the German metal scene, TRANCE are back with a new album 2021 still including original members, and it’s a nice opportunity to feature one of their most celebrated LP’s (requested here some time ago), 1985’s “Victory” in its now out of print CD reissue.
By the mid-80s many traditional metal bands were tempted to add a certain commercialism to their sound at the hopes of reaching mainstream success. Trance is a special case where they did deviate from their original sound, but not in the way one would expect.
“Victory” is much more melodic than Trance’s two previous albums, but still biting, musically powerful, and elaborated in arrangements.

For “Victory”, we have more anthemic material with abundance of melody but not cheesy at all, with surprisingly intricate yet extremely catchy riffs for its entire length.
Older albums such as ”Victory” are either a time capsule into what made ’80s metal amazing, or a traumatic flashback recalling some of the worst aspects from the era. Trance’s work on this LP belongs to the former.

While production could be better, some vocal parts could have been more polished, etc, “Victory” is one of these Eighties metal / hard rock albums with ‘atmosphere’, a vibe so hard to capture again.
For the traditional, old-school, classic metal fan, and even extending towards pleasant riff freaks, Trance’s ”Victory” is a must for their collection.
Bringing the right 35+ minutes of metallic yet captivating melodic riffs, Trance’s ”Victory” is an undiscovered little gem – rough around the edges, yes, but charming.

01 – Night Is On
02 – We Are The Revolution
03 – Back Home
04 – Rien Ne Va Plus
05 – Break The Chains
06 – One Man Fighter
07 – Apocalypse Now
08 – Victory

Lothar Antoni – Vocals, Guitars
Markus Berger – Guitars
Thomas Klein – Bass
Jürgen Baum – Drums

Out of print