Traveler is a band I've been following closely the past couple of years from their split with Finland's Coronary to their appearance on the awesome Trapped Under Ice compilation to their self-titled debut album last year. The band has been consistently improving what was already an impressive sound from the beginning and now have their second album, Termination Shock. In the old days, a band would release an awesome debut with songs they'd honed over years of playing live, then struggle with the follow-up because they put all their best material on the first album. Not so with Traveler. Somehow, these guys have put out another album of varied, well written and expertly performed heavy metal. Overall, their music hearkens to a time before genres became so well defined and any band could play fast and dirty then slow and epic on the same album. Traveler go for the throat with in-your-face numbers like "Termination Shock," "STK" and "Deepspace" but also slow the pace and open things up with thought-provoking cuts like "Diary of a Maiden" and "After the Future." Regardless of the style, every song on Termination Shock kicks ass and the album covers a multitude of early '80s ground from bold and gritty US Metal to direct and anthemic NWOBHM. If this were the '80s and I had Termination Shock on cassette, I would be flipping it from side A to side B and back to side A continuously. If you have even the slightest amount of metal running in your veins, this is one you need to own.
