“With Trivium we always write songs the same, we let the song write itself. I never really go into it thinking a specific way of thinking the way a song should be. It’s always been a natural process and it’s still in the same way. The same way we’ve always done it.”
— Trivium vocalist/lead guitarist Matt Heafy
It’s rare to see a young band burst onto the national scene with such a force as Florida’s Trivium did. The band was relatively unheard of when Roadrunner released “Ascendancy” in 2005. The group did have an earlier album, “Embers to Inferno,” out on Lifeforce in 2003. Said album was a surprise to say the least — a glimpse of a band finding its footing in the metal community. The album wasn’t trying to reinvent the wheel, it was a homage of sorts to the days of metal-gone-by, a nod to Iron Maiden and Judas Priest and Metallica and all those bands that made the ’80s and ’90s so much fun. But it wasn’t a straight-forward homage; the band puts its own spin on the proceedings to spice it up, adding newer elements (like a hardcore edge to the vocals) and a more intricate song structure (for a European metal feel). And while all of that really describes “Ascendancy,” my pick as a new classic, the infancy could be seen on “Embers.” And the talent as well (hence the resulting record deal).
Since the release of “Ascendancy,” the band has hit the tour circuit plenty of times, with everyone from In Flames and Machine Head to Iced Earth and Killswitch Engage. Whether it was a festival, death metal show or stadium, the band continued(s) to win over new fans time and time again.
Trivium
Ascendancy
Roadrunner Records
“The last album (Embers to Inferno), it’s a personal statement about the band implying that the ember was attributed to our lives that it was such a small insignificant little piece of our lives and it eventually became this big fire in our live. It’s totally engulfed us and everything. ‘Ascendancy’ is also a personal statement about the band, having to gradually ascend in the scene, in the music scene in general, and in our lives; it became a bigger thing, a bigger entity.”
— Trivium vocalist/lead guitarist Matt Heafy
“On ‘Ascendancy,’ we had a little more time to focus on the songs. We actually had a chance to do pre-production, which is something we’ve never been able to do before. So we kind of got to sit on the songs a little bit, and kind of figure out how we wanted to cut pieces out, add certain pieces and fix the songs up entirely. We really had the chance to critique them for once. I think that really helped making the songs that much better than the ones on appeared our debut album ‘Ember To Inferno.'”
— Trivium drummer Travis Smith
“Ascendancy” is filled with plenty of trademark metal moments: The one-two attack of dueling guitar from lead vocalist Matt Heafy and guitarist Corey Beaulieu; the stutter-stop drumming from Travis Smith; the heavy groove and occasional solo from bassist Paolo Gregoletto. Heafy and Beaulieu sprinkle a fair amount of riffs and hard-hitting solos throughout all the tracks, giving the whole ordeal an old-school metal flavor (especially on the track “Like Light to the Flies”). Smith and Gregoletto, work well off each other and lay down some truly destructive beats that take center stage at times (especially in a bludgeoning, pit-inducing bridge towards the end of “Rain” that you can’t help but bob your head to) and outshine the rest of the band’s sound.
Even the opening (brief) instrumental (featuring acoustic guitar and piano) “The End of Everything” has a subtle feel of building rage. The song gives way to the chunky riffs and machine-gun beats of “Rain.” Heafy’s growls lead the charge, alternating between guttural hardcore-influenced screams, throaty melody with more “clean” backing vocals.
There’s plenty of metallic depth to this release — a track like “A Gunshot to the Head of Trepidation” turns on a dime from an metal juggernaut to a time-capsule from the 80s; “Dying in Your Arms” features an out-of-left-field hook that makes the song bizarrely melodic; “Suffocating Sight” is almost choking with its thunderous assault.
To top it all off, the production is spot on with each part of the band melding perfectly into a crushing machine: thunderous beats, riff-heavy guitar work and the interplay of melodic and scratchy vocals. In short, there not much to not love on this album.
As a straight-forward metal release, “Ascendancy” fits the bill to a T. The disc incorporates a slew of contemporary metal elements in its sound, but maintains a classic metal feel with an occasional nod to the European metal scene (like the track “Suffocating Sight”). Everything from “Pull Harder on the Strings of Your Martyr” (with its crushing pre-chorus) to the urgent nature of the title-track feels like a hit.
The band is currently working on its follow-up. An updated release of “Ascendancy” will hit shelves any day with a couple of new tracks including a cover of Metallica’s “Master of Puppets” (a nod to its influences, perhaps?). When a band that’s so young puts out such a strong album, it’s almost a double-edged sword. On the one hand, there’s so much room to grow and improve and plenty of time for more, better albums. On the other, sometimes the inevitable growth pushes members apart and prevents future endeavors from every succeeding (or getting off the drawing board for that matter).
I have yet to hear about any bad blood within the Trivium camp. The four seem like a tight musical unit out to take the metal scene by storm. It will be interesting to see where they’re headed …
To steal from a review I wrote of the album after its initial release: “Buy ‘Ascendancy’ for the sheer metal bliss; overdose on the amazing guitar work throughout the album, feast on the spot-on vocals and bang your head to the sick beats overflowing in every track. This is an album not to be missed.”
Trivium is another one of those bands I stumbled across by pure chance (way before the group blew up in the fall of ’05 (if memory serves)). At the time I thought the group was the perfect breath of fresh air to the metal scene, which started to get overrun with Killswitch Engage emulators and hardcore acts. Maybe the band was quite as unique as I once thought, but that doesn’t take away from the bludgeoning assault that is “Ascendancy.”
I hope for big things from the band in the future … not heavier or softer or anything … just new. While you’re waiting, check out this new classic and enjoy.
And that’s that. Until next time, take it easy. Stay tuned and enjoy the ride …
