T R Y S T E – To Rise You Seek The End (2025)
Both professionals in the realms of creative expression, producer John O’Kelly and graphic designer Gabriel Gaba, blend their production, visual and musical stylings as T R Y S T E. Finding the line between shoegaze, post-rock, metal, grunge, and folk, the duo’s sound is eclectic and original in melody; but it is also always heavily emotional leaning into that part of your brain where only music and emotions make sense. The latest addition to their discography is the EP, To Rise You Seek The End.
Following their well-received singles ‘Pipe Dream’ and ‘Vessel’ – both included on To Rise You Seek The End – T R Y S T E take listeners on a rollercoaster ride of metal, shoegaze, folk-rock, alternative rock, and post-punk in this debut EP. Produced by John O’Kelly, with mastering by Brad Boatright, To Rise You Seek The End offers sophisticated arrangements highlighting the producers’ maturity and skill. Yet, in the same breath, each of the tracks linger with fragility, vulnerability, and an intricate cocktail celebrating tragedy, triumph and the core of human essence.
Opening with the 8-minute track, ‘The Long Journey’, T R Y S T E immediately send you wandering through a darkened forest of forceful guitars, skipping synths, a pulsating bass and Nikola Dusmanic’s bold drums. Interestingly, while there is a hazy wistfulness floating across the forest floor, Gabriel Gaba’s vocals oscillate between metal screams and rich rock-inspired sincerity. For me, the shift between delicate ambience and brutal wails is not only a bit of a shake-up, but bleeds with avant-garde sentimentality, preparing you for the rest of the EP.
Following ‘The Long Journey’, T R Y S T E brings its focus track, ‘Abandon’. Not much of a change from ‘The Long Journey’, we continue wandering amidst an ambient soundscape interspersed by hard-hitting crashes, seeking refuge in the desperate musical mire. A shimmering light shines in the distance as we approach the third track, ‘Pipe Dream’.
Like the eye in a storm, ‘Pipe Dream’ changes pace with a piano-led introduction, clips of more synths, and an almost folk-like sheen; then things return to harder, heavier alternative rock and melodic metal in ‘Analysis / Paralysis’ and ‘Vessel’. Bold and confident, but with a desperate emotional leaning that grabs your heart and leaves you breathless, To Rise You Seek The End offers sincerity within a mish-mash of crashing sounds.
Find out more about T R Y S T E on their Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Bandcamp and Spotify.
This artist was sent to us by Old Crows Promotions.
