If good things come to those who wait, then Traveler in Pain’s new album, Paths of Sorrow, Roads to Pain , is a true testament to Lance Sedillo and the rest of the outfit’s patience.Sedillo, the group’s lead singer and rhythm guitarist, is the quartet’s only remaining original member. He remembers the band’s humble beginning in 1999 when they rushed to record an album just one year after the group’s formation. “I only played guitar on one song,” Sedillo laments, citing a lack of cohesion as the primary force that pulled his band apart before its eventual reformation. When it came time to start recording tracks for Paths to Sorrow , the band took its time, working for three years to complete the recording process. “We were real patient in recording the album,” Sedillo, who coproduced the record, says. “When something wasn’t right we tweaked it and changed it and I think we’re releasing it at the right time.” The album, which combines the thick and smooth guitar structures of Black Sabbath with John Lennon-esque melody, was recorded in drummer Todd Wilburn’s home studio. Wilburn was the record’s primary producer, which, Sedillo says, definitely paid off both musically and financially. “When the producer is actually in the band, he puts more love and ownership into what he’s making,” Sedillo says. “It’s also nice that we didn’t have to pay someone $40 or $50 an hour to help make the album.” Paths to Sorrow has the feel of a hard-edged ocean liner of rock, with constant echo and harmony effects on the vocals and enough guitar squawks to give it a youthful crispness while still staying true to the old school (à la the aforementioned Sabbath).Perhaps the album’s most powerful effect is that it showcases 11 tracks and almost an hour of original music from a band that, Sedillo says, sometimes gets falsely labeled as a cover band. “I think a lot of bands that play bars as much as we do sometimes get a cover band stigma attached to them,” Sedillo says. “When we play non-bar shows, we’re playing about an hour-and-a-half of original stuff and we’ve heard people call out the names of our original songs instead of covers. It’s an honor to play for people but it’s an even bigger honor to play your own stuff and have people appreciate it. That’s where I think we’re at now.”
Traveler in Pain will celebrate the release of their new CD at the Launchpad on Friday, Aug. 11, with special guests Deceiver, Left to Rot and Unusual Content. The show is 21-and-over. Preview TIP online at www.travelerinpain.com or myspace.com/travelerinpain.
