A special release to celebrate the 30th year of existence for this German Dark Electro project – but the same time also a kind of requiem. Consisting of Torsten Schröder (vocals) and Erick Miotke (machines), Trial have been one of the „big numbers“ in the German dark scene started back in 1991 and have been influential to the then just upcoming so-called „second wave“ of mostly young German Dark Electro music projects in the early 90s. You know, just the music sound created after the well recognized EBM movement of some prominent Belgian pioneers.

Trial as a music project and especially their very first years between 1991 to 1994 can be named in the same row with Placebo Effect, Mortal Constraint, Evils Toy and/or yelworC as being part of the true inventors of this German Dark Electro music phenomenon. Sure, it has been quite helpful for them and their first steps to be right in time and place and to get special support by people like Matthias Rewig (music / studio production) and Kai Lotze (Project Management) and so being in area of the up and coming rise of Project Pitchfork. This fact including the consequently fast signing to the south German label Hypnobeat Records and so the same label of the early Pitchfork years has helped too – but yes, no one would come up to deny the talent of the both protagonists. Being the support act for Project Pitchfork for a Germany tour in 1992 and being under the hood of Kai Lotze regarding management issues has been another advantage for them. Have you ever seen Torsten and his ecstatic movements on stage and his interactions with his audience? Also check with their first press photos taken on a graveyard with their grim faces and Torsten's mohawk haircut.... duuh, what a spooky band project... they MUST be cool... ;-)

This also brings back some remembrances to the days when I discovered them for the first time. Their demo tape „Conflict“ with their first recorded 8 tracks (and yes, „Blut und Eisen“ in a very early version was already included...) has still its place in my collection and I am quite sure that I purchased this goody from the Hannover-based tape label Tecdance. It might be possible that this happened nearly to the same time, when Trial released their 4-track debut EP „Blut und Eisen“ (this one features the brilliant Dark Electro hymn „Circles“ - a must-listen-to-track...!!!) on Hypnobeat. The overall dark and mystic sound design out of Erick's pulsating synthesizer park accompanied with Torsten's out-of-the-grave-Like vocal performance has left an impact not only on me.

„Zero Feeling“ was their debut full-length album out on Hypnobeat in autumn 1992 and this one can be seen as a true classic and groundbreaking album for them. „Blut und Eisen“, often and misleadingly named as their only „one-hit-wonder“ track, has been available in its most matured version, while I find especially with the title track or the slow „Diabolic“ my favorites. This album was like an earthquake and with some well-placed compilation appearances of non-album tracks like the brilliant „Too Late“ on the Hypnobeat label compilation „Hy! ...To Hypersonic (The Hyperium Compilation - Part II)“ or „Force“ on the Gothic Arts Records label compilation „Art & Dance (Volume II)“ they made their way into the home entertainments and collections.

Further gigs with among others like Oomph!, Evils Toy or Endraum made it happen that Trial were about to support Front Line Assembly on a European tour in 1993 – we all know, that this tour never happened after cancellation from the sides of the main act. 1994 then saw the suspiciously witnessed label change from Hypnobeat to Electric Blue / Ausfahrt Musikverlag and the release of their second full-length album „Secret Pain“. This was actually an album I wasn't too much impressed with to that time. Somehow I always had the impression that this album was created with lesser dedication into the production as well as the cover art compared to „Zero Feeling“, it also somehow felt unfinished. Sure, it brought another well recognized club hit with „Is It Worth It?“ but actually this album could never fulfill the expectations of the audience after the brilliant debut. If I look back today on this album I actually ask myself if it was a mistake that this album stood so much in the shadow of the mass of releases back in the days. Nowadays and with a lot of distance I find here pretty good and thoughtful produced Trial tracks with „Hunter“, “Sin”, „Fear“ or „Quid Pro Quo“ so that I tend to say that this is one of the most underrated albums in my collection.

Also pretty much contra-productive for their mutual music career was their break shortly afterwards. Both protagonists have chosen different career paths and gradually drifted apart – we shouldn't forget in this context that Trial was still nothing else than a time-stealing hobby and no one was able to make a life out of it. Erick studied Arts and English, while Torsten decided to become a barber. In 1997 they reunited for a short time to record the never released „No Fate“ EP which was about to include 9 different versions of the title track. Unfortunately their label didn't accept their efforts as being „not commercial-oriented enough“ and so Trial were subsequently dropped off the roster. Trial was nearly down and buried but both protagonists united again to perform at the famous WGT festival in 2001 and delivered an unforgettable live-show. This was a quite important gig since the following years after the turn of the millennium brought not really news out of the Trial HQ.

A new Trial release came out in late 2008 with their third album „No Fate“ (2CD), released on their own established label Maxsoniq Recordings. This DCD featured a lot of new recordings and picked up the path left after 1997 but it also several included new remixes of their classic compositions like „Blut und Eisen (Whiper Mix)“, „Too Late (Fools Mix)“, or „Diabolic (Fog Mix)“. Unfortunately also this new DCD set went pretty much under the radar of the audience and didn't receive that much coverage than it should.

2011 then marks the end of Trial as Torsten decided to leave the band and to focus on his career. Trial offered an exclusive track entitled “Brothers in Arms - Old School Mission” to the „bible”, the famous quadruple compilation “Old School Electrology” box-set out in 2011 on Electro Aggression Records and so the last mutual composition of this duo to end their 20-year collaboration.

The story doesn't end here because Erick founded Trilogy to continue his music path together with his new singer / front man Jens Müller. Trilogy is undoubtedly the follow-up project of Trial just with a new name, which can be seen as a direct development. This new duo has released three EP's, created several remixes for foreign bands and participated on a few tribute collections (Depeche Mode / Front 242) so far and during their gigs they also play one or another of the Trial classics. There's something in the pipeline and the future for them looks bright as a new album entitled „Forced Perspective“ is announced to be out at the fall of 2021.

Finally this brings us to this special release and also because I surely rambled fairly enough about things of the past. This beautiful and elaborately designed box set-set in front of me consists of 3 audio CD's and one DVD with the highlights of live clips out their now 30 years longing career. It is meant to cement their status and it collects the last and mostly unreleased tracks in special versions and produced to the final end. The artwork with its 16-pages booklet full of nostalgic photos has been mostly conceived and well worked-out by Tom Grigat (including 3D-modelling) who has also been responsible for this job on the 2008 release “No Fate”. The idea to transform the protagonists into a robot-like steel-outfit isn't that unfamiliar and reminds a bit on some Kraftwerk-ideas.

This box-set itself and its breathtaking packaging is surely kind of a non-plus-ultra and the ideal collector's item (limited to 500 exemplars) – you can't ask for more! Please remember: THIS IS A HARDWARE-ONLY product, although there's available a 4-track teaser downloadable release with the same title which features following tracks: “Für Zwei (Montana Mix)“, „Alles“, „Für Zwei (Extended Singlemix)“, „Deeper (Under Zero Mix)“. Just the ideal download-able energizer to purchase the physical product.

Somehow the concept behind especially the first CD “Für Zwei” is relatively comparable to their 2008 release “No Fate”. You'll get mostly revamped versions of the tracks composed during the years in between and here and there some alternative versions of classics. It's also a learning effect not only for me, that Trial during the last 20 years have developed a lot in their style and musically expression compared to their early years. You will hardly find any slower and more ominous sounding “Diabolic”-like tunes on here, they rather move forward to more energetic and faster-driven tunes. More tempo of the tracks and also the integration of some Tribal-like rhythm and percussion elements can be noticed too. Also the beloved deep growling voice of Torsten has changed to a more angry timbre mostly provided in a higher register than before. The raging and pounding title track “Für Zwei” with German lyrics is available in three different versions, from which the Extended Single Mix with its nasty bass-lines does it the best for me. Additionally worth a mention is the new remix of the already mentioned OSE exclusive track “Brothers in Arms” in the new “Check Up Remix”, the “Shifter Mix” of “No Fate” and the ominous sounding “Feels Like” with its tricky drum programming.

Not too happy I am with the renewal of the classics “Blut und Eisen (Torfeuer Mix)” and “Sleeping Dogs (Fury Pack Mix”. I generally accept the need of dedusting 30 years old compositions even if it comes that these classics play a valid role in the repertoire of the follow-up project Trilogy during gigs, but on the other hand it annoys me to hear how much density of the haunting original compositions can be removed or ruined in this process. What was, was great – and to transform these pearls into the current times is an experiment which seldom ends in good results.
Additionally and to complete the Trial phase, two foreign band remixes in renewed versions can be found with Grandchaos' “God Is Dead” and Brain Leisure's “Defect” on here too. Both these remix contributions have been available in its original recording on the respectively releases of both band around 2006 – 2007.

The second „Live CD” is what it is. You'll get a well-sorted and well-recorded album with their best live gig moments recorded at their Hannover, Leipzig, Cologne und Magdeburg shows in between 2006 – 2009. I am highly impressed with the really good sound quality of the live recordings and I guess it has been a terrible and time-robbing job to polish and re-arrange them and to master them perfectly to be pressed on this CD format. Kindly note, that the track list and some of the recordings differ to the content of the DVD included into this box-set. However, simply to consume this audio CD of Trial live on stage means purest entertainment. The energy and power they provide here makes it impossible not to take part on any of their upcoming shows – this is the ideal audio set of perfectly worked-out EBM power full of sweat and action from stage.

The third CD brings us the so-called „Classic Anthology“ in so lots of the content I've rambled far too much about in this review above. This CD recovers the years 1991 to 1995 and mainly the albums „Zero Feeling“, „Secret Pain“ and additionally the „Blut und Eisen“ CDEP. 18 tracks in all give the neutral listener a quite good overview on the early years of Trial but unfortunately there's actually no surprising content for the experts which are pretty familiar with the Trial discography. The exception of this are the last two tracks, „Suicide“ and „Fly My Soul“, which both have been released originally on the „Conflict“ demo tape. Both later got re-recorded and added to the re-release of „Zero Feeling“ by Hypnobeat in 1997 – so also in this case no special goody for their die-hard fans. That's a pity because to leave out those rare compilation appearances like the above mentioned „Too Late“ or „Force“ in their respective original version available only on long-out-of-print-releases would have been a great deal. I find it relatively unnecessary to include all main tracks of the both mentioned albums but to leave out the few limited pearls of the manageable discography of Trial.

Part 4 of this box-set then brings us the visual content, a nicely filled DVD with the best of the best of their energetic live performances. Kindly note that the track list differs to the audio content available of CD2 out of this box-set so this DVD isn't at all a simple repetition, although for most of the clips could have been recorded during the same shows. Once again I am highly impressed with the performance of the both artists and how they are able to banish their audience. If you haven't had the chance to see their live action, I strongly recommend to check here with this item out of this beautiful designed quadruple release.

Yes, this release is surely a nice-to-have-item, kind of luxurious too and not a cheap one. The featured content itself asides the beautiful packaging legitimates for sure a higher purchasing price. Also be kindly be reminded that only 500 exemplars of this treasure will be available. When they are gone, they are gone!

Tracklist:

CD1: FÜR ZWEI
Für Zwei (Extended Single Mix)
Alles
Brothers In Arms (Check Up Mix)
Feels Like
God Is Dead (Extended Rework)
Deeper (Under Zero Mix)
War Bitter (Synthetic Mix)
Defect (Rework)
Für Zwei (Montana Mix)
Blut Und Eisen (Torfeuer Mix)
Beat Back
Für Zwei (Styler Mix)
Living The Dream
I Speak To You (Finished Mix)
You Want It
Sleeping Dogs (Fury Pack Mix)

CD2: LIVE
Don't You
Für Zwei (Bunker Mix)
Is It Worth It
Obey
Brothers In Arms
Dreamstalker
No Fate
Deeper (Under Zero Mix)
Feels Like
Blut Und Eisen
Snow
Prisoner
Drumsection
Aids
Too Late

CD3 CLASSIC ANTHOLOGY
Zero
Strange II
No More
Diabolic
Blut Und Eisen
Aids
Prisoner (Edit)
Star
Circles
Sin
Hunter
Secret Pain
Is It Worth It
Obey
Fear
Sleeping dogs
Suicide 2

DVD
No Fate
Is It Worth It
Prisoner
Dreamstalker
Hunter
Sin
Diabolic
Secret Pain
Fear
Snow
Für Zwei
War Bitter
Deeper
Don´t You
Obey
Brothers In Arms
Feels Like
Blut Und Eisen