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Trapt
Profile of
Trapt
Type(s) of Music: Hard rock
Names of Members of Group:
Chris Brown (vocals, guitar)
Peter Charell (bass)
Aaron Montgomery (drums)
Robb Torres (lead guitar)
Place of Origin: Los Gatos, California
Year the Act Began: 1997
Musical Influences:
Biography/History of
Trapt
With Only Through The Pain, the third and most ambitious album yet from
Platinum rockers Trapt, the band have not only returned to form but
shattered expectations of what a rock disc can be. The L.A. based group
returned to Co-Producer Gggarth Richardson's Vancouver studio to
rekindle the magic that helped propel its 2002 eponymous debut past two
million in sales. The comfort of reconvening with Richardson has allowed
the men of Trapt to excel both creatively and spiritually on an album
that is not only a staggering representation of the growth the band has
made, but a kick-ass jolt of hard rock to boot .
From the riff-roaring, high energy anthem "Wasteland" to the deeply
moving finale "The Last Tear," the follow up to Trapt's 2005's
gold-certified Someone In Control again finds frontman, guitarist and
principal songwriter Chris Taylor Brown going deep. "I've come to a
point where I've discovered the positives and negatives of pain," the
vocalist explains. "I really believe that the bad times in life really
help to contribute to the good times in life and these lyrics embrace
that. I much prefer to allow myself to feel everything as it comes, as
opposed to maybe numbing yourself so that you can avoid feeling
anything."
Drawing lyrically on the kind of personal experiences that earned the
band modern and mainstream rock smashes like "Headstrong", "Still Frame"
and "Stand Up", Only Through The Pain affirms Trapt has turned out its
strongest song-cycle yet.
On their third studio album platinum rockers Trapt have not only
returned to form but shattered expectations of what a rock disc can be.
With Only Through The Pain, the Northern California-reared, L.A. based
band returned to Co-Producer Gggarth Richardson's Vancouver studio to
rekindle the magic that helped propel its 2002 eponymous debut past two
million in sales. The end result is a disc that's as heartfelt and
ingenious as it is diverse and seamlessly rewarding.
From the riff-roaring, high energy anthem "Wasteland" to the deeply
moving finale "The Last Tear," the eleven-song follow up to Trapt's
2005's gold-certified Someone In Control again finds frontman, guitarist
and principal songwriter Chris Taylor Brown going deep. Drawing
lyrically on the kind of personal experiences that earned the band
modern and mainstream rock smashes like "Headstrong", "Still Frame" and
"Stand Up", Only Through The Pain affirms Trapt -- which also includes
co-founding bassist Pete Charell, longtime drummer Aaron "Monty"
Montgomery and newly-minted guitarist Robb Torres -- has turned out its
strongest song-cycle yet.
"I've come to a point where I've discovered the positives and negatives
of pain," the vocalist explains. "I really believe that the bad times in
life really help to contribute to the good times in life and these
lyrics embrace that. I much prefer to allow myself to feel everything as
it comes, as opposed to maybe numbing yourself so that you can avoid
feeling anything."
Informed by Brown's past relationships, the emotionally-charged first
single, "Who's Going Home With You Tonight?," chronicles how mistrust
can ruin a relationship. Driven by an infectious chorus, a persevering
guitar line and a crunching rhythm, Chris says the song personifies what
Trapt does best. "I love big choruses and well written songs," Brown
asserts.
"Contagious" -- a look at the positive side of life -- asserts that
notion with its big swooning chorus, crunching, undeniable guitars and,
uh, downright contagious delivery. Elsewhere the alluring, melodic
ballad "Black Rose" stems from hurt and loss while the pop-inflected
"Ready When You Are" deserves to be a crossover smash.
When asked if Trapt has a secret desire to have a bona fide pop smash,
Aaron cites the success of "Headstrong," which reached #5 on the U.S.
pop survey and remarks, "There's always been that sort of element to our
band, even though it's been hard rock at the very core. I think the
songs that have done well for us have backed that up. If it were to do
well that would be a good problem to have." To which Pete adds, "I'm not
opposed to any style of music as long as it's good."
Which helps explain why the diverse presentation of songs on Only
Through The Pain are still very much representative of Trapt. "We wanted
to try new things and stretch ourselves creatively and approach things
from a totally fresh perspective," Aaron says. "We really had a mindset
that anything goes. And if anybody has a good idea, let's work with it
and not be so narrow in the scope of what we're trying to build. It's
going to sound like Trapt because we're the guys in Trapt, so let's do
what Trapt does and try some new approaches."
That mindset carries over to the reggae-tinged "Forget About The Rain,"
which Charell and Montgomery both cite as their favorite new Trapt tune.
"It's way different from anything that we had ever done before," Pete
explains. "It's a total change for us, but at the same time, there's no
mistaking it's us."
Aside from the comfort level of reconvening with Richardson, the members
of Trapt wanted to work with someone who had a proven track record of
getting the best from the band. "I like having someone like Gggarth
because he'll catch you doing something on a particular instrument that
could have been a little better, or getting you to work a little harder
on a vocal," Chris admits. "With him we can trust that things can be as
best as possible."
Be it the keyboard flourishes on the bridge of the aforementioned "Who's
Going Home With You Tonight" or the lush arrangement of "Ready When You
Are", the subtle elements -- or what Brown calls "cool little bursts" --
add a distinct element to the band's sound. "That's by design," Chris
explains. "Once the hard work is done, writing the music and making the
lyrics the coolest they can be, the best part is when you can just relax
and figure out the cool little things that you can add that will turn
people on after they've heard it for the hundredth time. Music to me
should last for our fans. As I like to say, there's candy in it."
"I think the main thing we wanted to do with this record is grow
artistically and defy what people have come to expect from Trapt while
still remaining true to ourselves," Charell explains. "We let things
flow a lot more naturally and we didn't just discard an idea because it
wasn't our sound. And I hope our fans look at it as a progression for
us. We're continuing to grow and change. We wanted to do things a little
different, so we concentrated on the actual song before we worried about
whether it would fit easily into a certain format."
Aligned with Eleven Seven -- overseen by company President/Mötley Crüe
founder Nikki Sixx -- the members of
Trapt are excited to have the support of a record label that understands
the group. "We've dealt with record executives when we were at Warner
Bros. who never even played in bands," Pete continues. "But Nikki is a
really smart guy. He definitely knows what he's doing and he's got a lot
of tremendous ideas.
That freedom has allowed the men of Trapt to excel both creatively and
spiritually on Only Through The Pain. "Now that we're on a great new
label and there's a lot less red tape than before, we can get our music
to our fans without all of the inner politics coming between us and our
audience," Aaron says. "The apprehensions that we might have once had
are gone. We've learned to trust our intuitions and feel like there's
nothing we can't accomplish. "
"Wasteland" - 3:45
"Who's Going Home with You Tonight?" - 3:35
"Contagious" - 4:23
"Black Rose" - 4:42
"Ready When You Are" - 4:57
"Forget About the Rain" - 3:29
"Cover Up" - 3:45
"Only One in Color" - 4:19
"Wherever She Goes" - 3:43
"Curiosity Kills" - 4:22
"The Last Tear" - 4:15
Trapt
With Only Through The Pain, the third and most ambitious album yet from
Platinum rockers Trapt, the band have not only returned to form but
shattered expectations of what a rock disc can be. The L.A. based group
returned to Co-Producer Gggarth Richardson's Vancouver studio to
rekindle the magic that helped propel its 2002 eponymous debut past two
million in sales. The comfort of reconvening with Richardson has allowed
the men of Trapt to excel both creatively and spiritually on an album
that is not only a staggering representation of the growth the band has
made, but a kick-ass jolt of hard rock to boot .
