siLLy puPPy One of California’s many underground progressive extreme metal bands, TRIALS AND MEMORIES formed in the Central Valley city of Manteca sometime around 2010 with the lineup of Mike Boyd (vocals), Jeremy Brown (guitar, piano, keyboards), Mikey Perez (guitar) and Tristen Costa (drums). Technically no bassist but Ryan Price sits in as a guest. While supposedly still active, this quartet has so far only released a single EP titled INTO THE NIGHT which came out in 2011.

While only a mere EP with only four tracks, every single one is over 7 minutes in playing time making the overall run of just under 31 minutes. These guys deliver a powerful sound on a seasoned professional level, a true surprise for a band that has emerged from such a far flung place as Manteca usually only known for its water slide park. There is not a lot of info about the band itself so with nothing to go on it’s just the listening experience that will draw you in upon a single listening session.

These guys are truly masters of constructing an excellent mix of epic power metal and progressive metal with both elements of death metal and symphonic metal. Likewise this little gem of an EP with four compelling tracks and excellent mixing made all the richer by the additional programming and orchestration of Cameron Bashaw. In many ways TRIALS AND MEMORIES comes across as a typical progressive power metal band in the vein of Pagan’s Mind, Wuthering Heights or Adramelch but exhibits a heavier aggressive approach more in the vein of bands like the progressive death metal band Augury and similarly minded extremists like Beyond Creation or even Obscura.

INTO THE NIGHT does indeed come off as epic with two extremely proficient vocal roles played by the incredible Mike Boyd. Not only can Boyd sing like a mutha fucker in the clean vocal department with an operatic proficiency of some of the greatest in the power metal world but also nails the extreme guttural grows that bring the deathened elements to the mix however it’s the clean vocals that dominate this release and therefore the entire show comes off as a very aggressive progressive metal album with fast tempos, aggressive guitar riffs and bombastic bass and drum parts. The symphonic elements add a bit of contrapuntal smoothness to the mix but are fairly low in the mix.

This is truly an amazing little gem here and from a city i never would’ve expected. Manteca is one of those drive through places on the way to Yosemite from the Bay Area! The band currently is based in the larger city of Modesto though. For those who love extremely proficient technical wizardry in the vein of Watchtower, Spiral Architect, Psychotic Waltz or even Fates Warning at its most aggressive then this band will appeal to you big time. I have no idea why these guys never released anything else beyond this EP. Sadly it seems this band never released anything else due to the untimely death of singer extraordinaire Mike Boyd, a talent who was obviously impossible to replace.