Florida’s Trivium have been around long enough now to be mainstays in the heavy metal world and are onto their ninth studio album in 2020. Comprising of vocalist/guitarist Matt Heafy, lead guitarist Corey Beaulieu, bassist Paulo Gregoletto and stickman Alex Bent, their lineup has been largely stable over their career. Outside of drummers, but that’s not unusual.
What has kept them relevant for so long, aside from their talent for writing complex and aggressive songs, is that their sound changes, sometimes drastically, album to album. Sometimes it works to critical acclaim (Shogun) and sometimes not (The Crusade). And so here shall the ranking reflect on the level of these successes.
9. Silence in the Snow
This was the first album produced after vocalist Matt Heafy blew his voice (for the second time) and as a result this album moved the metalcore elements to one side in favour of a classic metal approach. Losing a heap of aggression in the process. Whilst this is by no means a bad album, it feels like exactly what is it, a transition in the evolution of the Trivium sound. As a result it just falls a little flat.
8. Vengeance Falls
There is plenty of typical Trivium riffing on this album, and some standout songs. Strife has an epic intro and full of meaty hooks. But there are too many tracks which are not particularly special or memorable. This album was produced by Disturbed frontman David Draiman, can you hear it? I think you can, it definitely smells of Disturbed‘s production style. A little too soft mainstream and leaves it low down this list as a result.
7. Ember to Inferno
Trivium‘s debut album, made when Matt Heafy was just 17. If you didn’t know that, the unrelenting aggression on this album shows it by the bucketload. I could barely play All The Small Things on guitar when I was 17, let alone the speed and complexity shown here. The production quality is what you expect from a debut album released by kids. However listen to the rerecorded versions of these songs that Trivium have done and the songs really shine.
6. The Crusade
I have previously written about how this is a misunderstood album. On their third studio album Trivium took a sharp swift from metalcore to thrash metal, and as such got unfairly labelled with trying to rip off Metallica. However what you have here is a really good throwback thrash album. What harms it is that lead single Anthem (we Are The Fire) is a singalong Glam track totally ill fitting on this album. However just listen to opening track Ignition above and you get a better picture of this album.
5. The Sin and the Sentence
Matt Heafy‘s harsh vocals return once again on this album, along with more complex breakdowns reminiscent of Shogun. As a result this regains a lot of the aggression from their early work, but keeping some of the meodic work introduced on The Silence in the Snow. This makes it feel like a much more complete album. Beyond Oblivion succeeds where Anthem (We Are The Fire) completely missed. So at least that rights one past indiscretion!
4. What The Dead Men Say
Trivium‘s latest album may be the first time since Ascendancy that they have not changed their sound from the previous album. With The Sin and the Sentence being welcome return to Trivium at their aggressive best, that bodes well for this album. And it delivers. The title track and single Catastrophist are absolute riff fests. Blind Leading the Blind is a sudden Glam twist, but it feels fun rather than cringe. A couple of non distinct tracks at the end of the album keep it from the best of Trivium albums, but a very positive look to the future.
3. In Waves
Building on their previous work, In Waves takes the aggression and pushes it to the maximum. Evicting a little of the complexity of Shogun in favour of a more pound your face riffs and breakdowns, the extreme influence on this album makes it memorable. Straight from the opening lyrics of the title track and not letting up. Whilst the preceding albums excel in a specific style, In Waves feels like a perfect culmination of what Trivium produce at their aggressive best.
2. Ascendency
A metalcore masterpiece. On it’s release in 2005 it took the metal world by storm. Songs like Pull Harder on the Strings of your Martyr and A Gunshot to the Head of Trepidation are standard bearers and easily standout in the metalcore crowd, showing more advanced song writing injected with high aggression.
The production quality is vasty improved from Ember to Inferno, with the vocals seeing the biggest benefit of this. It doesn’t flow as an album quite like some of their other work, but the quality of the standout songs alone push it up to number 2. Would easily be number one for the stellar songs and the impact this album had. However….
1. Shogun
Shogun is undoubtedly Trivium‘s finest work to date and one of heavy metals best albums. They began using 7 string guitars primarily on this album for the first time, and it really increased the song writing range. Matt Heafy‘s Japanese heritage influencing this album heavily.
It’s a relatively long album at 1 hour 6 minutes, with every song over 4 minutes. But straight from the first song you get complex riffs and song structure, lightning fast solos a huge heap of aggression. Down from the Sky showcases how to write a memorable breakdown. Matt Heafy‘s harsh vocals sound as good as they ever will on this record too. A clear numero uno and worthy amongst the metal elite.
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