KJ's Playlist - Trivium’s Dragons, Deadmen, Shoguns & Martyrs [Patreon Exclusive]

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Heavy Metal Wordsmith

Mar 20, 2023

3 min read

Few bands have worked as hard or honed their metal craft in the public eye the way Trivium have. Regular visitors to our shores for festivals (Big Day Out, Soundwave, Good Things), support slots (Disturbed, Machine Head) and their own shows, the Floridians have released ten albums of pure metal. Initially part of the early 2000s Post-Nu Metal New Wave of American Heavy Metal, they’ve become one of the best heavy bands on the planet, as shown by their three straight 10/10 albums from Wall of Sound.

As they return for the sold out Knotfest Australia and their co-headline sideshows with Amon Amarth, let’s get reacquainted with some of their best tunes. Their recent European tour saw some great variety in their set lists each night so start with the 20 tracks below and be prepared to hear some other gems as well.

‘In the Court of the Dragon’

A single that caught us by surprise, especially when it was revealed to be the first single from a new album (which we gave 10/10), just over a year after What the Dead Men Say. ‘ITCOTD’ is a fire breathing beast of a death metal track, with killer lyrics.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ybekW8fZHH0&feature=youtu.be

‘Feast of Fire’

They’ve played enough shows now to see what works for a massive festival mosh pit. On this one they skip some of the fiddley guitar work for a streamlined heavy metal riot that showcases their great ear for melody. Total ear worm.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mue8XLsKYtQ&feature=youtu.be

‘Like a Sword Over Damocles’

They can still slay on album 10. ‘… Sword…’ is a thrash fest with a massive hook. Great lyrics that show the band’s love of mythology and metaphor. Sweet breakdown that throws back to their Ascendancy days with the gang backing vocals.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bnMMe_amFKc&feature=youtu.be

'Catastrophist’

A pounding riff that echoes the 80s thrash masters but feels entirely modern and very Trivium. Bassist Paolo Gregoletto led the writing process, producing some hardened diamonds that fit comfortably alongside anything in their catalogue. The bridge is freakin heavy and solo glorious. Another damn earworm too that you’ll sing along with by the second chorus.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lNgyzREsaAA&feature=youtu.be

‘What the Dead Men Say’

The title track from their 10/10 album (our review here), follows the instrumental intro ‘IX’ with some blinding guitar work from the Heafy/Beaulieu duo. Just a great series of riffs. Drummer Alex Bent is on point here too.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8VqQPBrhmaY&feature=youtu.be

‘The Sin and the Sentence’

After a couple of good but patchy albums, Trivium’s 8th album was the one in which they found a confidence to be themselves and more than the sum of their influences. The title track shows off this confidence and we gave it 10/10 as well (review here).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RAoKcM54Q1Y&feature=youtu.be

‘The Heart from your Hate’

Case in point is this single from TSATS, which hits the right melodic notes as Heafy masters his clean approach to craft an anthemic song.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fwr1Z7uyXz4&feature=youtu.be

‘Betrayer’

The antidote to the clean sung Silence in the Snow is the devastatingly brutal ‘Betrayer’.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPDhXwf3RV0

‘Until the World Goes Cold’

Silence in the Snow was divisive at the time because it was their second attempt at a (mostly) clean singing album. It’s not bad, as ‘Until the World Goes Cold’ demonstrates but it doesn’t showcase the band’s full range.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pm-xlwkQ_qc&feature=youtu.be

‘Silence in the Snow’

There’s nothing wrong with clean singing, Heafy’s voice is powerful anyway, and it’s not like it ever did Iron Maiden and Metallica any damage. The problem is it sometimes sounds like they’re trying to mimic those bands a little too much. Still a thumping good song though.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PcIlZ3luYHc&feature=youtu.be

‘Strife’

Just thrashes and has a great Paolo bass line on the verses. Credit Matt for doing something different with his vocals too. It makes ‘Strife’ stand out on the otherwise iffy Vengeance Falls.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IIvSXocE6YY&feature=youtu.be

‘In Waves’

Brutal. Glorious. It repeats the same verse and chorus for five minutes but never feels long. Breakdown is killer, uptempo verses are a home room. Live it’s even better as the three vocalists combine to bring the multifaceted growl/sing/harmony to life.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Xfvk028Kv0&feature=youtu.be

‘Built to Fall’

Turn up the groove machine and bounce along. This is someone’s favourite Trivium song.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_XD2jKlCiK0&feature=youtu.be

‘Into the Mouth of Hell we March’

My favourite Trivium song. Almost a power metal influence on the riff but also gets down to some galloping thrash. It’s just good metal and showed the band were ready to stand in their own sound and had the riffs to back it up. Great drama in the lyrics too.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z8CUqnMyRNA&feature=youtu.be

‘Down from the Sky’

A live classic thanks to its massive chorus. This one reassured fans who thought the band were lost on The Crusade that everything was going to be ok.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EApnhO2OIrw&feature=youtu.be

‘Throes of Perdition’

More progressive than they had been previously, Shogun has a few tracks that pointed to a bolder direction. This is one of them as the riffs get much more technical but no less fast. Matt conveys the story with his different vocal styles, showing a control that was absent in place of their youthful raw energy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UR7k3XnvbU0&feature=youtu.be

‘Anthem (We Are The Fire)’

Their first (almost) all clean sung album had some killer tracks and missed opportunities. It lacked the breadth of Ascendancy, but has some wonderful oddities like this ode to their fans. They channel their inner Judas Priest and have a great time doing so.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lp8p5OPtEe0&feature=youtu.be

‘Rain’

Still opens sets almost 20 years later. A modern thrash classic with a metalcore chassis.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rw-mZ5x5s1M

‘A Gunshot to the Head of Trepidation’

Epic. Clearly not content with a verse/chorus/verse format they take the Metallica/Megadeth route of opening up the song to new possibilities after the break down with gang chants Anthrax would be proud of. The solos shred.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3P7CQ9uYSy0&feature=youtu.be

‘Pull Harder on the Strings of your Martyr’

The song that got many fans moving at festivals when the baby faced Trivium graced stages while Heafy was just 18 years old. A New Wave / Metalcore anthem with impeccable drumming and soaring twin guitars. Circle pits will open.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0dD59FYxJ4&feature=youtu.be

Words by KJ Draven (Twitter and Instagram).

Check out the playlist for Spotify here, and Apple Music version here.

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Knotfest Australia 2023

March 24 | Flemington Racecourse, Melbourne – SOLD OUT

March 25 | Centennial Park, Sydney – SOLD OUT

March 26 | RNA Showgrounds, Brisbane – SOLD OUT