Trope at the Brighton Music Hall LIVE REVIEW SPECIAL | B2TW Music Community

John Cronin
May 18, 2024
2 min read

Diana Studenberg (Trope) | B2TW Music Community

About: LA-based Trope is an alternative rock band with progressive elements featuring vocalist Diana Studenberg.

In 2016, Diana and guitarist Moonhead formed the band.
They spent the next few years writing and recording demos that later became their debut album, Eleutheromania.
The album saw much success and attention from the industry, including David Bottrill (Tool & Peter Gabriel), who mixed it and provided his creative consultations.
Fast-forward to 2024, and Trope was proud to be welcomed back to Brighton Music Hall for the second time on March 17th to open for Soen.

Meeting Diana: I had the honor of chatting briefly with Diana after the band performed an acoustic set.

I asked the vocalist what she was influenced by, and she replied that she loves reading and is inspired by famous authors like Shakespeare and others. In addition, she writes based on her personal experiences.
I wondered if she was at all inspired by Tool, but she said that while Maynard is an incredible writer, she would not say that he was a direct influence.
- I asked if Maynard inspired her because I was under the impression she was due to the depth and complexity of her lyrics.

The Concert: Progressive rock (and, to an extent, metal) can often be stereotypically misconstrued as overly complex, pretentious, and inaccessible, attracting elitist fans. However, from what I saw at this concert, that couldn't be further from the truth.

Most of the people I spoke to at the concert were friendly.
- The crowd was mixed with young adults but primarily males and a touch of a few older adults.
The music, while loud, had complex melodies and lyrics that avoided giving you a headache and instead made you think.
To me, that's precisely what the progressive genre, in general, is... It makes you question beliefs to make you think.

Trope: Trope music is a wall of sound similar to Tool's, and while their lyrics could be equally compared to Tool's, I strongly advise people not to.

While it is true that Diana's lyrics are complex, they are not as philosophical and political.
I would comfortably classify her lyrics as similar to what Shakespeare would sound like today with hints of Tool.
- Additionally, I like the subtly in the vulnerable lyrics.

Final Thoughts: Before concluding this article, I wanted to emphasize something that stood out when discussing Diana's influences.

There is a strong sense of individuality within the progressive rock and metal genres.
- While it's true that bands in these genres may draw inspiration from Tool, it doesn't define their sound.
I'm not a huge metal and rock fan, but I listen to those genres occasionally.
- Each rock and metal band has its unique style, and the same holds true for progressive rock and metal bands.

Thank you, Trope, for being so nice at the concert and agreeing to this live music review; it meant so much to me. Thank you also for reading this article, and I hope you feel inclined to like, follow, and share the links below. Finally, please share this article with everyone you know. Have a good day or night!