Review TRAVELER ‘Prequel of Madness’

Traveler is a band with a founding date of 2017 and until the pandemic started to put a stop sign on the music industry, the guys were quite productive. The debut album was released in 2019 and the sophomore ‘Termination Shock’ followed a year later.

For obvious reasons, the band took a little longer to come up with their third release, which will hit shelves this February as Traveler finished work on ‘Prequel to Madness’, a nine-song metal treat.

What also also demanded some extra time to complete the new product were line-up changes. Traveler have a new rhythm section in place that makes its debut on the new album. Nolan Benedetti (d) and Jake Axl Wendt (b) join the metal force and provide the heartbeat of the newest effort.

Traveler pick up where they left off on the previous album. Straightforward heavy metal is what fans can expect and what they get on ‘Prequel to Madness’. After an intro called ‘Mayday’ the album starts with ‘Take the Wheel’. It is a fast and NWoBHM inspired song that captures the essence of denim and leather metal. Wild and furious is ‘The Law’, while the previous song, ‘Dark Skull’, shows the band’s ability to write anthemic metal tunes.

The epic moment of the album comes at the end. It is the seven-minute title track, which is the final highlight of the album and acts as a grande finale. Melodic vocal lines, well-done hooks and a higher tempo characterise this metal anthem. Some breaks, like the blistering solo part in the middle, are a well-placed distraction before the shredding twin guitars take over again.

‘Prequel to Madness’ is the long-awaited next step from the North American metal powerhouse. Traveler haven’t lost any of their metallic shine and their new album is a next treat for people who love traditional heavy metal.