Oscillation (album)

Oscillation is the seventh and final studio album by the Norwegian black / gothic metal band Trail of Tears. It was released on April 26, 2013 under Massacre Records. The album was recorded at Sound Suite Studio in Marseille, France between September and October 2011, in collaboration with producer Terje Refsnes.[1]

This article is about the Trail of Tears album. For other uses, see Oscillation.
Oscillation
Cover art by Jan Yrlund
Studio album by
Trail of Tears
ReleasedApril 26th, 2013
RecordedSound Suite Studio, Marseille. France (September / October 2011)
GenreBlack metal, gothic metal
Length51:30
LabelMassacre
ProducerTerje Refsnes and Trail of Tears
Trail of Tears chronology
Bloodstained Endurance
(2009)		 Oscillation
(2013)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Metal Storm link

Bjørn Dugstad Rønnow is listed as the band's drummer in the booklet, however, guitarist Bjørn Erik Næss is credited with having performed the drums on this album.

Background

Oscillation was composed and recorded in 2011, during a difficult time for the band, with strong personal differences of Ronny Thorsen with Cathrine Paulsen and the guitarist Bjørn Erik Næss, when these had a partner relationship.[2] Consequently, Thorsen took a more secondary role than usual in this album, while Paulsen was involved in virtually all possible areas of production. The album had significant delays in its release date, after recording between September and October of that year.[3] An additional problem was the expiration of Trail of Tears contract with Napalm Records, extended in late 2007.

In January 2012, Trail of Tears announced that long-time drummer Cato Jensen has parted ways with the band.[4] Bjørn Dugstad Rønnow later joined the band as the new drummer. In fact, none of them participated in the recording sessions made little more than two months earlier in Marseille (Næss was the uncredited session drummer). However, Rønnow was included in the album credits and appeared in all the illustrative photos.

On 11 November 2012, the band revealed the cover artwork, made by Finnish artist Jan Yrlund.[5] The striking cover features a rusty steamship aground on a beach. The concept (with the frozen landscape in grayscale) seem reminiscent of Rammstein's Rosenrot (2005). In preparation for the release of Oscillation, the band signed to Massacre Records.[6]

In January 2013, Ronny Thorsen, Endre Moe, and Bjørn Dugstad Rønnow were announced to have left Trail of Tears. Thorsen has been reported as leaving the band, despite being the only constant member of Trail of Tears since its inception. The remaining members were initially reported to be Cathrine Paulsen and Bjørn Erik Næss; both parties split from one another on acrimonious grounds.[7] According to Thorsen's Facebook statements, Massacre Records gave full support to himself, Moe, and Rønnow, while Oscillation is the final Trail of Tears album.[8]

Releases

After long and torturous recording, the album was finally released in Europe on 26 April 2013, almost a year and a half after it was recorded, and with the band already dissolved. In North America, Oscillation was released until 11 June.[9]

The limited edition on digipak includes two bonus tracks: "Sleep Forever" and "Quick Fix of Shame".

About the album title, Thorsen said: "The word oscillation has a wide range of interpretation. For us, we wanted to play around the meaning of duality, balance and contrasts".[10]

Track listing
No.TitleLyricsMusicLength
1."Waves of Existence"C. Paulsen, R. ThorsenE. Moe4:12
2."Scream Out Loud"C. Paulsen, R. ThorsenE. Moe4:36
3."Crimson Leads on the Trail of Tears"C. Paulsen, R. ThorsenE. Moe5:16
4."Oscillation"C. Paulsen, R. ThorsenE. Moe4:27
5."Path of Destruction"C. PaulsenB. Næss6:02
6."Vultures Guard My Shadow"C. Paulsen, R. ThorsenE. Moe4:18
7."The Dawning"C. Paulsen, R. ThorsenE. Moe4:11
8."Room 306"C. Paulsen, R. ThorsenB. Næss4:17
9."Our Grave Philosophy"C. Paulsen, R. ThorsenB. Næss4:52
10."Lost in Life"C. PaulsenE. Moe4:09
11."Eradicate"C. Paulsen, R. ThorsenB. Næss4:09
Total length:51:30
Digipak bonus tracks
No.TitleLyricsMusicLength
12."Sleep Forever"C. Paulsen, R. ThorsenE. Moe4:15
13."Quick Fix of Shame"C. Paulsen, R. ThorsenE. Moe3:53
Total length:59:38

Personnel

Trail of Tears

Additional musicians
  • Audun Grønnestad - additional orchestration, synths and programming

Production
  • Terje Refsnes - producer, engineer, mixing
  • Audun Grønnestad - co-producer
  • Mika Jussila - mastering at Finnvox Studios, Finland, December 2012
  • Jan "Örkki" Yrlund - cover art, design, layout, photography
  • Cathrine Paulsen - design concept [cover concept], typography [Handwritten Lyrics]
  • Audun Grønnestad, Bjørn Erik Næss, Cathrine Paulsen - mixing
  • Mixed At – Mayhem Music Studio in Kristiansand, Norway in 2012

References
  1. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2016-02-15. Retrieved 2016-02-08.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. Viper Solfa - Interview
  3. TRAIL OF TEARS - Drama Within The Band
  4. Trail of Tears Part Ways With Drummer Archived 2012-02-29 at the Wayback Machine drummerszone.com. 27 January 2012. Retrieved on 20 November 2012.
  5. Trail of Tears - New Album Artwork Unveiled bravewords.com. 11 November 2012. Retrieved on 20 November 2012.
  6. Trail of Tears Signs With Massacre Records blabbermouth.net. 23 November 2012. Retrieved on 24 November 2012.
  7. Trail of Tears Implodes Once Again blabbermouth.net. 13 January 2013. Retrieved on 14 January 2013
  8. Trail of Tears Statement facebook.com. 15 January 2013. Retrieved on 18 August 2013.
  9. TRAIL OF TEARS: 'Oscillation' To Receive North American Release In June
  10. Metal Rules interview
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