I regularly take the piss out of modern hard rock and for good reason. Modern hard rock hasn’t been modern for 25 years. Its just been a sea of plaid clad post-grunge yarl-ers leeching off the bloated corpse of Kurt Cobain, with the occasional Ozzfest rap metallers tossed in to give middle America the illusion of heaviness. And I’m sure you’re all aware of your local iHeartRadio backed “active rock” stations who keep this drivel alive. As banal as the format it is, every now and then a band slips through the cracks with a trait the others lack: unadulterated talent. One such band is Four Trips Ahead.
The dudes in Four Trips Ahead describe themselves as “progressive power rock”, which is a new phrase to me. Taking that into account, don’t expect the lengthy opuses of Yes and Kansas. The proginess lies within their riffs, which range from heavy and hooky to hyper and hypnotic. These are just a few of the descriptors that came to mind when listening to their new EP, Remnants. Although it’s only 5 songs and a little over 20 minutes in length, Remnants boasts a full length’s worth of musical wtf moments.
The EP opens with its rhythmic and riff centric title track. Although it’s the most cliché modern rock song on this outing, “Remnants” stands ahead of the pack with its progressive aura and the husky vocals of frontman Peter Wilson. These vocals become more pronounced as the EP goes along, sounding like a cross between Mountain’s Leslie West and Clutch’s Neil Fallon. By the time “I’m Alright” rolled around, I figured out which band Four Trips Ahead is closest related to musically: King’s X. This soulful, melodic, and powerful hard rocker sounds straight from the songbook of Pinnick, Tabor, and Gaskill, and it rules. The band adds some sweet vocal harmonies and mesmerizing guitars to add extra depth.
The lead riff and verses of “Higher” have that anthemic swagger reminiscent of old school arena rock, warming you up for the metallic breakdown that hits near the end. However, nothing can warm the listener up for the proggiest song on the EP, “I’m Calling”. What on earth is going here? There’s dissonant prog riffs, power pop melodies, and a hard rock chorus. Somehow, Four Trips Ahead puts it all together seamlessly, before treating us with their nod to 80s AOR, “Follow Me”. Granted, “Follow Me” has the same modern rock tinges as the rest of the songs, but everything about this song, from the chord progression to the lyrics, is rooted in the 80s.
Remnants is old school enough for the old schoolers, yet modern enough to break into the active rock radio machine. Four Trips Ahead really could be the band who bridges the gap between yesterday and today, ushering in a new era of mainstream rock n’ roll where originality is put first. Only time will tell what the future holds for this powerhouse of a band.
6 out of 10
Label: Dr. Music Records
Genre: Hard Rock
For fans of: King’s X, Rush, Alter Bridge