TRIVIUM - review added 9th October 2008
Album Review: Shogun (2008)
For fans of: thrash... and the young'uns showing the old'uns a thing or three
Ah, Trivium, bless them. With a combined age of just over forty, Matt Heafy, Corey Beaulieu, Paolo Gregoletto, and Travis Smith are the perpetually young metal band who never seem to match the sum of their parts. They have the right look, good catchy well crafted songs, expensively produced videos and more press than a trouser factory, yet whenever you hear one of their records it always sounds slightly empty and lacking in character.
But something has changed. With the release of Shogun, this bunch of pre-pubescent (actually early/mid twenties, but who's counting) musicians have suddenly discovered how to make a metal record blow the cobwebs out of your ears.
Matt Heafy, always strong of voice but lacking that last ten percent of character, has clearly been bartering parts of his soul to a certain Mr Satan. His voice has gained several shades of evil; imagine listening to Beelzebub shouting at his children and you'll get the right idea. I actually had to check the video to 'Down From The Sky' to make sure it was his growling you could hear.
Then there's the guitars. They used to be loud, fast and technically awesome, but again there was little in the way of absolute ball crushing heaviness to, er, crush your balls with. However on Shogun it's all change with a real mix of speed, aggression, and riffs so heavy you may find your ear drums prolapsing. Medina Lake fans are not going to like this but, for those of us who still count head banging as good exercise, this is the dog's parts.
Even the rhythm section has been fully evilised, with huge thunderous bass montages flooding your senses as monstrous double kick drums batter you from all sides. If there is a better metal drummer out there at the moment... called Travis Smith... I have yet to find him.
The whole album gels brilliantly. The slower more melodic pieces flow into the insanely thrashy parts, and the balls out heavy riffs blend seamlessly into the operatic solos. Even with all the heaviness going on, the album remains a good listen; it's accessible, musical and characterful all the way through. In fact the only low point is the end. It's not THE best metal album ever, but at least Trivium are now as good as the hype suggests. Hoorah!
Check out... 'Kirsute Gomen' ain't the worst...
Track List:
1. Kirisute Gomen
2. Torn Between Scylla And Charybdis
3. Down From The Sky
4. Into The Mouth Of Hell We March
5. Throes Of Perdition
6. Insurrection
7. Calamity
8. He Who Spawned The Furies
9. Of Prometheus And The Crucifix
10. Like Callisto To A Star In Heaven
11. Shogun
Label: Roadrunner Records
Band websites: Trivium , MySpace
