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Trivium: Shogun
15/10/08 || HailandKill
No matter how many people dis them, Trivium still manage to release one great album after another. This year’s “Shogun” may be far-removed from its predecessors but still has a few concessions for their diehard fans, which explain the hideous growls on most of the songs. Hyping their frontman’s Japanese-ness, “Kirisute Gomen” begins with acoustic guitars and predictably shifts to heavier death metal. You know the drill. But it does reveal the album’s superb qualities: There’s Matt Heafy’s fully matured clean singing—no more James Hetfield imitation—and the complex melodic metal madness that runs throughout “Shogun’s” breadth. Sure, a whole lotta metalcore breakdowns re-emerge on the beat-your-chest anthem “Like Callisto To A Star In Heaven”; Matt and Corey are screaming at each other like a feuding gay couple; and Travis Smith keeps rolling his tomtoms as if “Pull Harder On The Strings of Your Martyr” never ended; but all in all, “Shogun” is a solid listen.
“Torn Between Scylla and Charybdis” is the first among many long, hard-to-remember song titles on the album. It’s also strange how the Greek Mythology the band has now embraced for sounding cool’s sake contradicts “Shogun’s” apparent Asian theme. Besides being a mouthful, “Torn Between Scylla and Charybdis” has Trivium treading on progressive territory, as if they’re shaping up to be the next Symphony X or a European power metal band. This grandiose aspiration isn’t only on track two; you might as well include the rock anthem “He Who Spawned the Furies” and “The Calamity”. Having improved by light years since their “Ember to Inferno” debut, the Trivium lads are audibly unleashing their best chops with the swagger of true professionals.
On “Down to the Sky” Trivium offer their best song to date. It just rawks your briefs off, so don’t be surprised if said underwear drops to your knees once the band dish out a bleeding melody accompanied by this god-awesome chorus. Shit man; you just have to sing along. Here are the lyrics:
(You gotta scream these out your throat first)
“Gaaay! Reeed! Eeeeyes! Riiiseee! Viiiiceee! Bring on the baaars! Haaard! Caaard!”
(Man, this is shaping up to be one of those YouTube interpretation videos… oh, the chorus now…)
“Growing fat on the throne of an Empire
Silent ruler with the threat of a great fire
I’ve opened up my eyes
Seen the world for what its worth
Tears rain down from the sky”
Awesome, eh? Matt Heafy is sooo goddamn hot. Anyway, moving on… “Into The Mouth of Hell We March” features the same upbeat esprit de corps that made the latter half of “Gunshot to the Head of Trepidation” from “Ascendancy” so freakin’ entertaining. “Throes of Perdition” has a sparkling intro that shifts to a groovy tidal wave before Heafy’s mournful singing stills the madness. Though pretentiously titled, “Throes of Perdition” sounds destined to light up stadiums for the band.
Just when you’re convinced Trivium have evolved for the better despite the ear-grating screams shared by Matt and Corey, “Insurrection” takes a step backward to “The Crusade”. It’s thrash metal Trivium style boys and girls. “The Calamity” refocuses the album by being a full fledged adventure into power metal while the mouthful that’s “He Who Spawned the Furies” (an apt description of Lord K when he’s pissed) walks the thin line between modern hard rock and metal anthem. “Of Prometheus and the Crucifix” has the band going a bit proggy but still super melodic and growlsome. The aforementioned “Like Callisto…” is the album’s token circle pit soundtrack, a mere prelude to the sheer bombasticness of the motherfuckin’ epic that follows. The song “Shogun” has so many things crammed up its ass across eleven long minutes, you kinda lose focus past the 1:30 mark.
Despite ugly growls that are so unfashionable today (c’mon, try calling your band metalcore and brace yourself for the inevitable potshots of “gayness”), “Shogun” is a genuine exercise in global domination. The soloing is perfect, the playing tight, and the band have finally managed their own sound. We should all be proud of this, guys.
Guys…?
Is anyone reading this…?
Assholes.
8 throaty growls torn between this album and the new Slipknot out of 10.
- Information
- Released: 2008
- Label: Roadrunner Records
- Website: www.trivium.org
- Band
- Matt Heafy: vocals, guitars
- Corey Beaulieu: harsh vocals, guitars
- Paolo Gregoletto: bass
- Travis Smith: drums
- Tracklist
- 01. Kirisute Gomen
- 02. Torn Between Scylla and Charybdis
- 03. Down From The Sky
- 04. Into The Mouth of Hell We March
- 05. Throes of Perdition
- 06. Insurrection
- 07. The Calamity
- 08. He Who Spawned the Furies
- 09. Of Prometheus and the Crucifix
- 10. Like Callisto To A Star In Heaven
- 11. Shogun
