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From looking at this cover, you'd think this was another screaming Black/Death album, but no. Trinakrius are an Italian NWOBHM/Trad Doom band who have been plugging away for like 15 years. This is not a proper album, but rather a compilation of tracks recorded at different times and with different lineups. In fact a number of songs on here are repeated only with different recordings and musicians.

The first four cuts are all the most recent, including some old songs with the latest lineup and the slickest production, obviously as a kind of sampler for the most recent roster and a chance to hear what the new guys do with old material. If I were a longtime fan of the band this might be more exciting, but the songs are all pretty solid on their own. The riffing is good and heavy and singer Flavio Rezza has a powerful voice. The singing is all in Italian, and it always bothers me a bit when I can't understand lyrics in melodic metal, but if that doesn't bother you then you'll be fine. Overall this reminds me of bands like Dantesco or Mezarkabul, with some really good riffs and melodies backed up by real heaviness and obvious passion.

The rest of the tracks are taken from various demos and rarities in the band's back catalog, featuring old singer Michele Vitrano ( a guy, BTW). These are not quite as well-recorded, which I sort of expected. They are also a bit more epic and unfocused, taking a loooong time to get to any kind of point. Vitrano has a solid voice, even if he does have a tendency to wander off key here and there in his lust for vibrato.

Overall this is a pretty cool compilation, and if you're looking for a broad intro to this band you could do far worse. I think if they have a problem it's that the cover makes this look like a different sort of album entirely, and at over an hour this disc is just a bit too much to take all at once. Still, a solid compilation of a cool band I had never heard of.