Dreaming In Black and White (Deluxe Edition)

Album Review

It was probably inevitable that Trust Company would re-form after their 2005 breakup, given that both of the band's albums had reached the Top 50, suggesting that the musicians were leaving money on the table by splitting. So, six years later, singer/guitarist Kevin Palmer, guitarist James Fukai, and drummer Jason Singleton are back, now with new bassist Wes Cobb, picking up where they left off. That was playing "alternative metal," which in their case means music with metal arrangements for the guitars and drums, but with melodic vocals by Palmer, not an enraged heavy metal howl. In their heyday, Trust Company didn't reach their potential in competition with such peers as System of a Down, Disturbed, and Staind, but that potential remains here, as the band aims at a middle ground that may bring in more mainstream rock fans without alienating metalheads. So, the aggression is there in the music, but above it, Palmer sings earnestly, if through a diffuse sound filter, encouraging his listeners and providing singalong parts. "Tonight, you're not alone," he concludes on "Don't Say Goodbye," the closer, which might serve as the re-formed band's new theme song.