Trampled Underfoot were founded in Charlotte, NC - USA back in 1995, by Kyle Harrison. He obviously took the name from the Led Zeppelin song. Members have come and gone, and the band have so far only recorded 1 album. Their music is neo-classical melodic heavy metal.
TRAMPLED UNDERFOOT (1998) PONY CANYON
(Japanese version)
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Line-up: Kyle Harrison - Guitars Tim Vaughn - Bass Kevin Haverlah - Drums (not on the album) Guests: Shawn Pelata - Vocals on 3, 5, 7 Randii Meers - Drums Kit Allen - Keyboards Rod Hendrix - Vocals on 1, 2, 6, 9 |
Trampled Underfoot are one of those bands you wonder why didn't really make it as big as they should have. Their self-titled debut album is a stunning piece of metal craftsmanship. From the beautiful opening track, with it's excellent acoustic intro, these guys have me hooked. The music is stellar melodic power/prog metal. I love the way the songs can go from somber and acoustic, to full throttle heavy metal, and then back again. It reminds me of a blend between Savatage and Axel Rudi Pell! Kyle Harrison is one overlooked guitarist, as he continues to impress me throughout this album. Very seldom do such a talented player do anything more than copy Malmsteen, Blackmore etc. But Kyle is different. He has his own style, and it sounds great. Just check out the solos in "Merchants Of Death" for example. Another thing that makes this band sound different is the use of 2 lead singers. I know that this was not intentional, but I do think it adds depth to the songs. Rod sings on most of the songs, and he has a killer voice that somewhat reminds me of Pasi Rantanen (Thunderstone) and Johnny Gioeli (Axel Rudi Pell, Hardline). The other singer is non other than Shawn Pelata of Oracle and K-Octave fame! He actually recorded vocals for all of the tracks, but for some reason Kyle later brought in Rod to record vocals for some of the track too. Thus the album ended up with 2 singers. The only downside to this album are the 2 instrumentals. I've never been a huge fan of these kind of things, and I can't say they those present here do much for me either. But other than that, 'Trampled Underfoot' is a gem in the metal world.
Killer tracks: Homeward Bound (No Life Found), Pride Takes The Fall, Higher, Into The Night
TRAMPLED UNDERFOOT (1998) PONY CANYON (CDR,
with demo version)
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Line-up: Kyle Harrison - Guitars Tim Vaughn - Bass Kevin Haverlah - Drums (not on the album) Guests: Shawn Pelata - Vocals on 3, 5, 7, 10, 11, 12, 13 Randii Meers - Drums Kit Allen - Keyboards Rod Hendrix - Vocals on 1, 2, 6, 9 |
I was lucky enough to get a CDR of this album, long before I got the Japanese original version. I still keep it though, as it also includes all the tracks Shawn Pelata recorded. Even the ones that didn't end up on the album.
TRAMPLED
UNDERFOOT (1998, 2003) STEELHEART
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Line-up: Kyle Harrison - Guitars Tim Vaughn - Bass Shawn Pelata - Vocals on 1, 4, 7 Randii Meers - Drums Kit Allen - Keyboards Guest: Rod Hendrix - Vocals on 2, 5, 6, 9 |
Kyle Harrison himself happened to stumble across my website, and was kind enough to send me the 2003 reissue of this album. Several changes have been made. The cover art is different (which is no surprise, as the original artwork didn't exactly look all that well), the track list have been altered, and the list of members is way shorter. In fact, Shawn Pelata is now listed as the singer, while in fact he only sings on 3 of the tracks. Oh well, this is still a stellar album every metalhead should check out! Here is what Kyle Harrison had to say about this page:
"Dear Sir.I can not express enough gratitude and appreciation for your kind words. I would like to mail you a real copy of the cd.
Sincerely, Kyle"
Shawn Pelata guest appearances:
Liberty N' Justice - 'Independence Day'
Related artists: