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February 3rd, 1959, otherwise known as “The Day the Music Died”. April 24th, 2020, now known as “The Day Metal Ruled the Waves”. Just one day that brought forth sublime new releases from Katatonia, Cirith Ungol, (O), Warbringer and sitting atop the pile with a seven-mile wide grin; Trivium with their ninth full length album ‘What The Dead Men Say’.
After the short instrumental introduction of ‘IX’, the parking brake comes off and the album launches in fine style with the blistering title track. Overflowing with nailed-on riffs and breaks from Corey Beaulieu and Matt Heafy, this is what modern metal should sound like in 2020. Multiple changes in style and tact over five minutes, Trivium mixing it up in fine style. Although Heafy is in the form of his life with some staggering harsh and clean vocals, it’s the engine room team of bassist Paolo Gregoletto and (new-ish) drummer Alex Bent that steals the show. This continues on ‘Catastrophist’ where the incredible bass drum work from Bent, coupled with Gregoletto’s thick bass tones, have the arm hairs standing to attention. Heafy does however steal the limelight back with his powerful screaming vocals, and as far as opening salvo’s go, this is as good as it gets.
‘Amongst The Shadows And The Stones’ keeps the momentum going (Alex Bent especially shines), and then some. Punishingly heavy with more twists and turns than a Biffy Clyro album, this is Trivium at their very, very pit-inducing best. It’s going to take something special indeed to beat this one to a Grammy for “Best Metal Performance”; Jethro Tull comeback album perhaps? ‘Bleed Into Me’ offers up some respite before ‘The Defiant’ highlights exactly how varied Trivium can sound within the same song, and really does show the pretenders to the throne how it is done. As well as gloriously heavy, it’s also very upbeat and in some parallel universe: quite radio friendly. ‘Sickness Unto You’ belongs to Alex Bent (again) and gives him the perfect platform to run through every weapon in his arsenal. That Zoom video of Charlie Watts air drumming for charity…that’s you listening to this.
The tail end of the album is just as strong as the opening and after the melodic Maiden-esque guitars on ‘Scattering The Ashes’ fade out, ‘Bending The Arc To Fear’ unleashes hell. The harsh vocals from Heafy are incredible, and the chugging riffs mixed with piercing lead-work linger on for sometime after. ‘The Ones We Leave Behind’ ends the album and has Heafy asking…”If we could break through the structures built between us, then would all the fault lines simply disappear…”. Quite timely considering the “we’re in this together” atmosphere at the minute.
April 24th, 2020, the day that Trivium raised their collective middle fingers and said “hold my beer” to those fools who utter “there are no new festival headliners anymore”.
Available now through Roadrunner Records.
Review – Dave
