The history of Triosphere begun during the fall of 2004 in Trondheim, Norway, when guitarist Marcus Silver and singer/bassist Ida Haukland left Griffin, and decided to put together a new band. Both Silver and Haukland have more than once experienced the inconvenience of changes in a line-up, so the task of finding the right people to complete the line-up of Triosphere became a thorough and long process. Six months later they recruited drummer Ørjan Jørgensen, and the very first week of rehearsals resulted in a demo that would become the foundation of their following contract with Face Front Records. Continuous live-performances and extensive rehearsing created a need for a fourth member, and after performing live a few times with the band as a session guitarist, Tor Ole Byberg eventually became the fourth and final full member of Triosphere. In June 2006 Triosphere entered TopRoom Studio to record their debut album 'Onwards', while the mixing of the album was done in the legendary Studio Fredman in Gothenburg, Sweden.

ONWARDS (2006) FACEFRONT

Triosphere was started when Ida Haukland was let go from Griffin, as Pete Beck returned to the fold. Marcus Silver then joined Ida, as he wanted to continue the path begun with Ida as a front woman.

Now, to say that Triosphere sounds anything like Griffin is a stretch. And that is probably exactly what Triosphere aimed for anyway. Triosphere plays slightly progressive, but still very catchy heavy metal, or even power metal, if you will. The music is of course build around two things: The guitars, and the vocals. Ida is not your average Lita Ford or Lee Aaron wannabe, nor a copy cat of the Tarja Turunen school of opera metal. Rather she brings something powerful to the mix. Anyone familiar with underground heroines like Barbara Maltese (Malteze) and Leather Leone (Chastain) might know what to expect. Marcus may be one of the most underrated (or should that be unnoticed?) guitarists out there today. He spews riffs, licks, harmonies, leads and solos like there is no tomorrow. And if anything, he might just be a little too much at times! Together they have created a debut album to be proud of. 'Onwards' might not become an immortal classic, but it is a great album for what it is. It balances the progressive or epic stuff perfectly with the more straight ahead metal. I also really love the last part of the "Onwards"-series, which you find at the end of the last song. Here Marcus has put together acoustic bits & pieces from the rest of the album.  I bet you'll find your head nodding along to the music already on the first spin. Songs like "Trinity", "Lament" and "Gunnin' For Glory" will see to that. Triosphere is yet another band to follow closely in the future. Oh, almost forgot; look out for the Disney version of Tarzan on the cover!?!!

Killer tracks: Trinity, Lament, Gunnin' for Glory, Sunriser

THE ROAD LESS TRAVELLED (2010) FACEFRONT

Triosphere's debut album, 'Onwards', was one of the highlights of 2006. Still, the band took its time with the follow up. Finally it is here. And o'boy is 'The Road Less Travelled' worth the wait!

Everything that was good with 'Onwards' is done even better here. After a fantastic intro that builds up expectations, the band throws you into the aptly entitled "Driven". And from there on you better put your seatbelt on, because you are in for quite the ride! This band delivers a rollercoaster ride of intelligent metal. Mind you, this is NOT a Dream Theater worship kind of band, so expect no fluffy instrumental wankery just for the sake of it. These guys, and girl, just happens to be really good with their instruments, and know how to build classy songs with them! Again I must say that it is Marius (more on that later) and Ida who runs the show. Props to the other members also, they are good at what they do, but since Marius writes all the music, and Ida all the lyrics and melody lines, it is evident that they are the key members here. Marius is outdoing himself, and quite frankly, the man plays circles around most other guitar-players out there today! What I like the most about him is that even though he is a word class shredder, he isn't flashy. He plays what is needed in the song, and it is such a pleasure to listen to his magic! I'd rank him alongside the Jørn Viggo Lofstad's (Pagan's Mind) and Jeff Loomis' (Nevermore) of the world, without hesitation. Ida is the one who gives the band it's identity. Her ballsy female vocals is out of this world.

'The Road Less Travelled' (I have no idea if it was the record company or the band who misspelled the title, I'm just quoting the liner notes...) is as close to a flawless album as you can get. The album is so dynamic, without ever really abandoning it's intensity. Each song is seasoned with subtle nuances, keeping the listening flow interesting at all times. I keep finding myself lost in the musical weave that Triosphere have spun. The only downside to the album is that it probably won't reach as many listeners that it ought to. When so many metal bands today get record deals based on the fact they they are riding trends (i.e. the latest thrash metal craze), it is quite sad that Triosphere seem close to ignored. So do yourself a favor and check out one of 2010's best metal albums, and seek out 'The Road Less Travelled'!

Trivia:  The French label, Season of Mist, misspelled Triosphere's primus motor, Marius Silver Bergesen's name as Marcus, all the way back in 2000. This has stuck with him ever since, but on 'The Road Less Travelled' he using his real name for the first time.

Killer tracks: All of them!

Related artists: 

Griffin