Trivium – In Waves

And so it came to be… The teenagers that shocked the world with ”Ascendancy” in 2005 finally grew up and turned to mature men. Quite a logical turn of events, but it is very different to happen in your normal life and to be accompanied in musical inspiration also. Trivium is a band which from a point and on, everyone loved to hate, for no particular reason. Naive adjectives like ”gay, repetitive, trendy, commercial” and such stuff would be unleashed against them by all ‘true’ metal fans, as if Trivium swore to serve the old metal spirit and suddenly betrayed their beliefs. The band fortunately never gave that much attention to all these and just kept going on without hesitation and by taking advantage of the momentum which was on their side, they simply proved (without having to) that they are a full skilled band that has nothing to envy from other more traditional metal bands. After all, Trivium’s roots really lie into ’80s and ’90s metal, though the ones always keen on burying them six feet under will never notice it and listen without closed ears.

The Florida based quartet from Orlando saw suddenly the world at its feet and they would simply not leave the chance pass by. Others would collapse under the weight of such instant success, but not Matt Heafy and his companions. Back at 2005, at the age of 19, Matt was clever enough to close his ears to all sirens trying to make Trivium the next best thing and keep away from all the leeches trying to suck anything from their rising status. And even when the band paid homage to their favourite Metallica with ”The Crusade” album in 2006, which was very close to the legendary metal pioneers’ sound, they still showed that the potential existed for better things in the future, which showed two years later in 2008, with ”Shogun”. An album closer to the Trivium sound of their enraging first two albums, ”Ember To Inferno” and ”Ascendancy”. Unfortunately every success has its costs sometimes and the Trivium team saw a member not being with them any more, with the excellent drummer Travis Smith departing, with the rest three searching for a new drummer.

Replacement was found in Nick Augusto, whose first effort to fill in Travis Smith’s shoes is the new album ”Shogun”. Three years after its predecessor, ”In Waves” is maybe the most challenging album in Trivium’s career so far, at a very critical moment in their history. First of all, the newcomer shows from the beginning that he was a wise choice behind the drum kit. With the production’s warm and sweet sound, compared to the previous four albums, Augusto’s playing fits perfectly with the new mature face of Trivium, without missing the chance to smash toms and cymbals where needed. The rhythm section part was always a big deal about Trivium, with bassist Paolo Gregoletto helping Augusto very much into his adaptation to the band. But the biggest deal in Trivium’s music was the double guitar assault by Matt Heafy and Corey Beaulieu. Once again, the duo composes excellent tracks that can stick to your mind either immediately or as the album’s listenings increase, at time passes by. In any case, the result is nominal and to be praised.

The title track’s initial breaking groovy riff can’t pass unnoticed, with Heafy’s singing having become more raging, but also melodic, proving that from the so called ‘metalcore’ sound, he’s always been the best singer and his vocal range not only has increased, but also can match in such a way that it doesn’t sound cheasy (as long as someone doesn’t wake up with Manilla Road and sleeps with Cirith Ungol with nothing inbetween). Especially his clean voice has become tremendously amazing, proving that in each record he is getting even better, compared to any previous album at least. It seems he has found the perfect balance in his voice and he’s using it properly where he has to, the way he has to. Headbanging tracks are there, melodic tunes are there, mid tempo groovy parts are there, so pretty much everything that has made Trivium a love/hate situation is included on ”In Waves”. The Metallica riffing and Iron Maiden leading can’t just be erased in one day but it’s certainly for good and makes them more special.

The two standout video clips for the title track and ”Built To Fall” will make your jaws drop, as they are two of the best videos of 2011 and in metal history in general. Also, the five bonus tracks included on the limited edition have nothing to envy from the standard ones, many fans will claim that they are even better instead, such as the great ”Drowning In Slow Motion”. A cover of Sepultura’s ”Slave New World” is also included on the limited edition, a package which raises the duration of ”In Waves” from 51 to 67 minutes. Not bad at all, a rather tasty Trivium taste for the year 2011. Trivium may never become the new Metallica or Iron Maiden as Monte Conner of Roadrunner Records once said, showing how much he believes in them. But they are still one of the best modern sounding bands with traditional influences. It’s a pity to miss them because some people are still stuck in the ’80s. Music changes and evolves. The lovers will still be at their side. The haters will continue throwing rocks. And Trivium will continue being great. So simple.