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Coming together as friends at high school, the four original members, Chris Taylor Brown (vocals), Peter Charell (bass), David Stege (drums) and Simon Ormandy (guitar) shared similar musical tastes, gravitating towards the heavy rock of Korn, Metallica and Soundgarden. Three of the original members have since left the band, with Chris Taylor Brown and Peter Charell being the only original members left. Having recorded their first demo in 1997, the band began playing at gigs in the suburbs of Southern California, rising quickly in the scene to gain support slots for bands like Papa Roach, Dredg and Spike 1000.
Whilst still completing their studies, Trapt released their second recording, "Amalgamation," their first full length album, in 1999, selling over 900 copies by the end of the year due to their popularity in the local Los Gatos, US, area. This was followed by 2000's "Glimpse" which garnered the attention of record label Immortal, however the band were dropped shortly after.
The band then relocated to Los Angeles, with the members dropping out of school to focus on their music career. This would prove to be a good decision, landing a record deal with Warner Bros. in 2001 following a well-delivered show at a 9/11 benefit concert. Their self-titled major label debut was released in 2002. The album's first single, "Headstrong" was a huge success, reaching numbering on the Billboard Rock chart and number 16 on the Billboard Hot 100. Their second single, "Still Frame" also reached the number one spot on the mainstream rock charts.
In 2005, the band returned with "Someone in Control" which produced three singles, with "Stand Up" being the biggest chart success, reaching number three in the mainstream rock charts. A live album soon followed on Nikki Sixx's label, Eleven Seven, releasing two more albums on the label, "Only Through The Pain" (2008) and "No Apologies." Their fifth album, "Reborn" (2013) became their most ambitious release, incorporating synthesisers and sampling into their sound, creating a more eclectic, metallic rock album.
I saw Trapt play a show in California just after their 2002 epynonymous album Trapt was released.
At the time, I was listening to a lot of Soundgarden, Papa Roach, and Spike 1000, which meant that Trapt fit seamlessly into the group. Before I went to the show, the only Trapt song I'd heard was the single and first track on the album, Headstrong, which I enjoyed enough to allow a friend to drag me to the show with him.
The first thing I noticed was that I fit in with the crowd perfectly, because it really was just a hodgepodge of different types of people: punk, hardcore, prep, hipster, you name it.
The second thing that caught my attention was the fact that Chris Taylor (vocals) has an excellent voice. I would contend that he sounds the same live as he does on the album. I didn't know any of the songs, but found that I was really drawn to Stories, which is acoustic and got the crowd singing along, Hollowman, and When All Is Said And Done. There was some moshing, but it wasn't particularly violent.
I was impressed enough to go to the merch table to pick up the album. I haven't listened to any of their newer music, since my tastes have changed, but I still take that album out and play it on repeat a few times a year.
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