Trivium - What The Dead Men Say (Album Review)
Trivium - What The Dead Men Say
Released: April 24th, 2020
Line-Up:
Matt Heafy // Vocals & Guitar
Corey Beaulieu // Vocals & Guitar
Paolo Gregoletto // Bass & Vocals
Alex Bent // Drums
Online:
Trivium has been on a bit of an upward trajectory since the release of Vengeance Falls. This ultimately culminated in the release of The Sin and the Sentence which still stands head and shoulders above many albums released by the bigger bands of this genre released in the same year.
So here comes their new album, What The Dead Men Say and honestly, this album exceeds all expectations.
‘IX’ opens this album with an instrumental that builds in grandiosity until it segues perfectly into the title track ‘What The Dead Man Say’ and oh boy, what a fucking song.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8VqQPBrhmaY&w=640&h=360]
Honestly, this track takes what worked so well from The Sin and the Sentence and injects the fury and technicality of Shogun back into the mix to produce one of the hardest songs Trivium has written in years. It’s going to absolutely destroy when they hit the stage. Following this up with the ‘Catastrophist’ is a risk that pays off, at first it has the kind of radio-friendly chorus that is sure to be sung in the pit by anyone at their shows, but then it switches at the halfway mark and seeks to absolutely rip and tear your face clean off when it goes into a full-frontal assault of the senses. The drumming from Alex Bent is definitely the glue that clenches this all together. Bravo.
‘Amongst The Shadows And The Stones’ is quite simply breathtaking. Furious, technical and absolutely soul-crushing. The chorus will just fucking eat you alive, and you will welcome every single second of it, as Matt Heafy and Corey Beaulieu weave themselves around you and envelop you until you’re reduced to dust.
‘Bleed Into Me’ opens with a fat bass riff and Matt Heafy’s glorious vocal lines. It’s a moody and almost grunge-like piece that builds into this monstrosity of atmosphere that will have you crying and screaming in the rain. Probably. The best bit is when Heafy says “bleed into you” and is met with an absolute, headbang inducing riff.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lNgyzREsaAA&w=640&h=360]
Look, so far, this album is just wall to wall bangers.
‘The Defiant’ for instance is just the kind of grandiose moment that this band has always threatened to make. Moody, heavy and it’s like having a weight crush your entire chest until you’re coughing up blood. It’s going to be absolutely monumental in the pit. ‘Sickness Unto You’ ramps up the mood and the technicality to breaking point, while a maelstrom of extreme riffs enfold themselves around you and the drumming courses through your body until you’re possessed and you have no choice but to throw your television out the window.
The album ends with ‘The Ones We Leave Behind’ and it’s everything this album does so well in a single song. Heavy, melodic and absolutely fucking furious in the way in bombards you with some of the hardest riffs of their career. Breathtaking.
If there’s anything to take away from this album. The songwriting is the best they’ve ever done here. The songs are heavy, technical and memorable. Not something you can say for many bands on this level.
Trivium somehow marries the heavy, technical aspects of Shogun with the more melodic, commercial elements of Vengeance Falls and The Sin and the Sentence and in doing so, they have managed to create one of the best albums they have ever written.
This is the album where Trivium further cements their place as one of the most important bands in modern metal.
Trivium - What The Dead Men Say tracklisting:
- IX
- What The Dead Men Say
- Catastrophist
- Amongst The Shadows And The Stones
- Bleed Into Me
- The Defiant
- Sickness Unto You8.Scattering The Ashes
- Bending The Arc To Fear
- The Ones We Leave Behind
Rating: 10/10
What The Dead Men Say is out Friday, April 24th via Roadrunner Records
Pre-Order Here
Reviewed By: Kaydan Howison
Revisit our interview with Trivium's Matt Heafy chatting all things What The Dead Men Say right here
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDcSigYUYZQ&w=853&h=480]
