Album Notes

CD review by audiocrib's Dan Cong, September 3, 2005:

"Named for the smash radio single it contains, the long-awaited and critically anticipated full-length Trip Device effort "Inside I Feel" and its title cut are taking radio by storm. In just six short weeks, the band rocketed up the Bay Area sales charts at a breakneck pace, topping old records and crafting new ones in its wake.

Those new to Trip Device will soon discover the reason for such popularity: soaring melodic vocals, sledge-hammer guitars, thunderous drumming and bass work, all supported by a solid silicon backbone of electronics that thrum, snap and fire like severed nerve endings into the musical bloodstream of the band.

The trademark Trip Device sound is explosive, vital, delicate, and raging... the heartbreaking sound of a band tearing away from long-held preconceptions of what "alternative" means. The ever-evolving Trip Device machine--especially in this release--effortlessly blends influences ranging from metal to trance, from spoken word to pure electronica with lyrical imagery of the personal, the political, the powerful.

With three songs on this disc produced by multi-platinum producer Sylvia Massy Shivy [Tool, System of a Down, Love and Rockets, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Smashing Pumpkins) its ten songs are broken into two main acts: The Sylvia Massy Shivy Sessions, and the Trident Sessions, each with it's own ebb and flow that contrbutes something different to the overall experience.

"Angry" kicks off the music, and indeed kicks DOWN the door with battering ram force to reveal a driving, churning melodic powerhouse with hook-laden Top 10 aspirations of its own. And the journey continues, drawing listeners into the vast audio spaces the recordings create.

From the industrial-tinged down-tempo "Control of a Nation" to the musical fury and firestorm lyrics of "Victim," the band pauses for breath to reflect on the trials of personal commitment in the eminently memorable "Silence" only to sweep us forward once again into the emphatic punctuation mark of the last note of "Worth It," (a first-person account of the mental ravages of war).

Bryan Wright's complex tapestry of vocal textures ranges from soothing to snarl, and his melodies are strong, singable, and powerfully delivered over the band's precision musical structure. Steve Slater's rhythm section hits hard with deep groove, and deftly keeps things interesting with the occasional unexpected bob and weave to make sure you're paying attention.

And in the end, attention is ultimately what this band demands, from the strength of their songs to the energy of their unique onstage delivery at venues across the nation on their most recent tour, Trip Device has indeed (as their management stated in the band bio) arrived.

This is a potent muscal experience I highly recommend for anyone's CD collection... even those who may not normally listen to so-called "alternative" music. With Trip Device at the helm, you may find a fresh take on the genre and revitalize your faith in the lost art of musical craftsmanship.

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TRIP DEVICE - VITAL STATISTICS

Bryan Wright - Lead vocals, guitars, programming
Steve Slater - Drums and Nerve Center
Steve Ratcliff - Bass and backing vocals

Trip Device
268 Bush St. #3346
San Francisco, CA 94104

Booking: booking@thetripdevice.com
Media Inquiries: info@thetripdevice.com

Management: Broken Ocean Entertainment (www.brokenocean.com)
Legal representation: Lee Rudnicki, Esq. (www.drumlaw80.com)