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KERRANG!/MARCH '06
ASCENDANCY (SE)
“Trivium will be the biggest metal band on Earth soon,” Kerrang!
boldly claimed in June last year. They may not be there just yet,
but after a now-legendary appearance at Download 2005 and a
sold-out three-week tour just six months after this album's
original release, it is a destination that looks increasingly
within this young band's reach.
If you don't already know what they sound like then you've either
been living on Mars or you have the wrong magazine in your hands.
'Ascendancy' is to the '00s what 'Master Of Puppets' was to the
'80s. Acoustic and piano-led opener 'The End of Everything'
leading into the trash riffing of 'Rain' echoes the intro to 'Battery'
and this album's original closing track 'Decalration' is every bit
as relentless as 'Damage Inc.'. The headbanging fury of 'Pull
Harder…' echoes that of 'Master Of Puppets' while 'A Gunshot To
The Head of Trepidation' is as crushingly intense as 'Disposable
Heroes'.
But although there is an obvious Metallica influence that's not to
say Trivium have ripped them off wholesale. It's as fresh to the
current metal scene as Metallica were 20 years ago, and Trivium
are as peerless today as their heroes were in the mid '80s. And if
you want to be the biggest metal band on Earth- which is something
Trivium have made no secret of- who else are you going to emulate?
Re-released to coincide with another sold-out tour- featuring a
previously Japan-only track and a bonus DVD of four promo vids and
a live set taped at London's Astoria- 'Ascendancy' remains as
fresh and invigorating as it was a year ago.
KKKKK
KERRANG/JUNE 2005
DOWNLOAD
2005 REVIEW
11am might seem a bit early to witness the future of metal, but
judging by the vast crowd that's turned up for Trivium (KKKKK)
the Florida foursome's ascent to legendary status is already
underway. From the acoustic intro to 'End Of Everything' to
breathtaking set-closer 'Pull Harder On The Strings Of Your
Martyr', the devotion on display is - for such a new band -
unprecedented. Frontman Matt Heafy looks like a young James
Hetfield, utterly assured of his own impending stardom. At one
point there's six circle-pits going off at once as riffs rain down
like lava. What a spectacle. What a start to the day. What an
awesome fucking band.
Dom Lawson KKKKK
KERRANG!/MARCH 9th
TRIVIUM
PLUS: 3 INCHES OF BLOOD, THE AGONY SCENE, STILL REMAINS, CBGB'S,
NEW YORK
TRENDS IN metal are changing faster than ever before. Though
guilty of crimes as heinous as any major label (Nickelback anyone?),
stalwart metal stable Roadrunner has always been at the forefront
of change and evolution in metal. As recently as 2003 this
same-named tour featured the decidedly nu-metal sounds of Five
Pointe O, Ill Niño and Spineshank. This time around it's like
nu-metal never happened, with all four of tonight's bands proudly
waving aloft their True Metal banners.
First up tonight are Michigan quintet Still Remains, whose
icy Dimmu Borgir-style keyboards immediately single them out fro
the screamo/metalcore pack. Supplying energy and adrenaline in
spades, this band have riffs that kill and a mentalist headbanging
keyboardist. Ones to watch. Oklahoma sextet The Agony Scene
may be a bunch of fat dudes with silly haircuts, but they
nevertheless make one hell of a classic metal racket, with their
Lamb of God-meets-Anthrax-style thrash replete with
whiplash-inducing breakdowns and venomous tongue-lashings.
Canadian orc-slayers 3 Inches of Blood are tonight's
undisputed heroes. Spiky armbands, dead-on humour, outrageous
beards and the band's ace-in-the-hole, Cam Pipes - a man gifted
with a high-pitched shriek to rival Halford at his peak - make
this band unstoppable. 'Destroy The Orcs', 'Axes Of Evil' and 'Deadly
Sinners' are pure slices of cavalcading heavy metal.
Darkness-style superstardom awaits. Hopefully.
Florida's youthful Trivium, who with their juddering
riffage, Maiden-esque leads and screamo-style vocals probably
represent the most brazen face of post-Killswitch metal tonight,
have a tough job following the metal maniacs preceding them
onstage. Despite imparting a mellower tone, they cap the night in
grand style, however, and thanks to their savvy mix of might and
melody, look all set to light a considerable fire under the arses
of the likes of Atreyu and Avenged Sevenfold.
Whether 2012 will see a nu-metal revival under the Road Rage
banner remains to be seen. Tonight, the ball was firmly in True
Metal's court.
DANIEL LUKES - KKKK
METAL HAMMER/MARCH
RISING
ABOVE THE CROWD
ASCENDANCY ALBUM REVIEW
An awesome third album for the pint-sized Florida metallers.
Roadrunner is a much maligned stable. Since the mod 1990s,
it's been a common misconception that they're out of touch,
realising albums by medicre acts – cough! Nickleback! Cough! – er,
making below – par albums. So how does one explain the phenomenon
of the past 12 months, when Roadrunner were responsible for
releasing arguably the three strongest metal albums on the shelves,
in the shape of new sets from Killswitch Engage, 36 Crazyfists
and the mighty Slipknot, while also breaking hot newcomers
such as Twelve Tribes and Caliban?
What's more, hard-rockin' amigos, it clearly wasn't a fluke. For
while it may only be the first quarter of 2005, in the shape of
'Ascendancy' , Trivium have already delivered another
album-of-the-year contender for that supposedly 'irrelevant'
record label.
When you discover that these hard-hitters hail from Orlando,
Florida, it'll probably conjure up the kind of synthetic and
saccharine mental images most commonly associated with the
jug-eared tool of evil that is Mickey Mouse however, u can rest
assured that Trivium work the old-school Floridian way,
taking influences from some of the sunshine State's biggest and
best death metal exports. Also, a major portion of this album was
recorded as Morrisound Sound Studios under the tutelage of Jason
Suecof,.
So Trivium are a straight-up death metal band, right? Well,
not exactly, because while their roots lie deep in their home
state, they're far from being a parochial outfit. Like any
essential metal album in this day and age, 'Ascendancy'
draws on many influences, which are so brilliantly applied that it
never sounds derivative. In fact, such as the quality on offer
here that Trivium breathe new life into genres that you
thought had nowhere left to go. Scandinavian thrash, NWOBHM,
metalcore – it's all here, cohesively updated and revitalized for
the 21st century.
'Ascendancy' creeps up on you with the melodic and almost
classical guitar intro that is 'The End Of Every Thing'.
It's softly-softly approach is the calm before the storm, because
once 'Rain' kicks in, you can almost feel your face being
stripped of its skin, such is the caustic quality of the
double-kick drumming, the shredding guitars packed with the
old-school nous of Trivium's influences and the new-school
vitality that this band brings to the table in spades. As things
unfold, they dispay the finesse and sophistication that you'd
expect from a group of gnarly old veterans, but you see, what else
sets them aside from the rest of the pack is the fact that primary
song writer and guitar virtuoso Matt Heafy is a kid of 18
(the fact that he's young enough to be the offspring of some of
his contemporaries is just plain frightening!).
Trivium have gone on record to say that they want to be the
biggest band since Metallica given that they'll only improve with
age an experience, it's an ambition that must surely be realized.
Truly amazing!
BRIAN MAGILL 9/10
KERRANG!/MARCH 12th
Album
Review - Heartstopping metalcore
Trivium stop at nothing in the name of metal. Hell, they've
even driven through the eye of a hurricane to play a gig. Be this
proof of total dedication or simply insanity, who knows, but as
18-year-old frontman Matt Heafy (Best Metal Guiratist's at
Orlando's 2002 Metal Awards, apparently) flits between deathly
bellows and uplifting choruses, while widdling his way into
oblivion and back for 'A Gunshot to the Head of a Trepidation',
you start to unravel the sheer quantity of groove and ferocity
these four Floridians are capable of. Complete with orchestral
intro, duel guitar harmonies, and lightning-speed fretwork, this
is power incarnate.
BEST TRACKS: 'Pull Harder On The Strings Of Your Martyr
FOR FANS OF : Killswitch Engage, Slayer.
KKKK
Nick Young
Powerplay/March 2005
Album
Review
Sometimes it's not the band that starts the musical movement who
end inheriting its throne. And with an average age of 19 when
releasing an album of this pedigree, its going to take a setback
of monolithic proportions to prevent Florida's Trivium
becoming absolute synonymous with the genre variously known as
“metalcore” or the new wave of American Heavy Metal. Apparently
(and absolute) Roadrunner Records knows this too.
From the gorgeous artwork by Paul Romano (famous for his lavish
mythical creatures of the covers of Mastodon's “Remission” and
“Leviathan”) to the last note of “Decleration”, this album oozes
quality from every fibre to every digit. Despite their tender
years (sorry, absolutely the last age cliché, I promise),
Trivium seems to have absorbed every metal influence from
Cradle Of Filth to Caliban, choosing to kick
“Ascendancy” off with the fragile instrumental “The End Of
Everything” before blasting into “Rain” – Itself one of
the album's more aggressive moments. From then on, the tracks jump
down each other's throats in glorious compulsive, brutal and
precise regiment: there is literally not an out of space note or
beat on this entire work. Special mention must go out to “Pull
Harder on the Strings of Your Martyr” in particular for its
relentless and deucedly catchy onslaught.
By the time “Like Light to the Flies” burns itself with a
Bodom-esque displauyof fretboard art, I can almost guarantee that
you – like me – will be convinced that this knocks its nearest
competitor, Killswitch Engages “The End of Heartache”, into
last year. Unfortunately, here's where the research kicks in:
“Dying in Your Arms” shows why a little too much spit and
polish can really detract. The band defended their reasons for
writing it very well but all the same, this sounds way too
radio-friendly and out of place on such an aggressive record, the
biscuit takers here being comparative lack of Matt Heafy's
impressive scream and the cringe-making obvious “fist in the air”
two-step chord change in the coda a trick that I always kid Sonata
Arctica for nicking from Europe. It's nit a bad track for all that,
but within the wider context of “Ascendancy” it just doesn't
make musical sense.
Fortunately, after that, it's all down to business: not an inch
more filler or Lostprophets-style unit shifters.
“The Deceived” adds some chorused vocals to brilliant
effect and “Decleration”'s title could refer to many things,
but I'm going to plump for: “watch out, children of Bodom: Trivium
is coming after your fans next…”
Truly a stunning album and a complete package. Drop your
preconceptions, see past the hardcore vocals and drink up the
liquid metal…..
POWER POINTS: 9.
Mark Freestone.
Rocksound/April '05
Album
Review
Don't be fooled by the piano-driven into of 'The End Of
Everything', as Trivium don't keep it mellow for very
long! Indeed 'Rain' slams in like a bull in a china shop,
hurtling at the listener with thundering drums, devastating riffs
and Matt Heafy's urgent tones. It's just like all the classic
thrash albums of the 80s (ask your older brother!) – when it was
cool to do grandiose intros before launching into a full-on metal
attack! The familiar metal-core take on songs sees Trivium
adopt old school metal leanings, mixed up with hardcore and the
shout / sing vocal approach, while lyrically it deals with one
man's struggle with the craziness of this thing we call life.
Executed brilliantly, these Floridians are a true class act and
with youth on their side, they could well be set for great things.
Darren Sadler – Rocksound
Link:
www.trivium.org
Live4metal.com
Album
Review
Trivium - Ascendancy (Roadrunner) Review by Ryan Bird
Ask any teenage metal convert what they'd ideally like to achieve
in life, and your answer will nearly always be the same – 'I want
to be a rock star.' Little do they know as they spend night after
night locked away in the metallic fortress that is their bedroom,
eagerly clutching their guitar as they slap on yet another of
their beloved albums and crank the stereo to 10, that this is a
dream that shall never be realised. Chances are that following
several years of playing to three people in local clubs with
numerous bands – none of which are worthy of wiping their own
asses with – they'll trim the hair, throw on a shirt and tie and
settle into the daily routine much like the rest of society. Sure,
there are bands that are
exceptions to the rule. If there weren't, music as we know it
would cease to exist.
However, how many times in recent memory can you recall a band of
such an age not only breaking out of their parents' garage and
into the scene with the ferocity and momentum of a tornado, but
inking a major label deal and producing one of the best metal
albums of the 21st century to date in the process? I'm willing to
bet you can count the number of groups relevant to such a
description on one hand after it's had an unfortunate meeting with
a hacksaw.
Obviously no one bothered to mention such facts to Florida based
upstarts Trivium, who despite featuring members not even of legal
drinking age in their local establishments, are about to unleash
shockwaves throughout the metal underworld with their second
full-length and Roadrunner Records debut 'Ascendancy'.
In a modern day scene that sees bands merging together the classic
80's metal era sounds with new age hard rock influences on almost
a weekly basis, it's becoming harder and harder for bands to make
people sit up and take notice. Upon experiencing the instant
barrage of savage riffery, trembling bass lines and staggering
drum blasts of inauguration track 'Rain', you can't fail to sense
that this is perhaps a band head and shoulders above almost any of
their peers.
As the gun-blast breakdowns and soaring vocals melodies of
consequent offering 'Pull Harder on the Strings of Your Martyr'
fuse effortlessly with the twin guitar assault and rampant speed
bursts of 'Drowned and Torn Asunder', there's simply no stopping
your jaw plummeting helplessly towards the floor. Combine the
aforementioned masterstrokes with similarly outstanding delights
as 'Like Light to the Flies' and the impulsive, fist-pumping
characteristics of 'A Gunshot to the Head of Trepidation', and
you're staring at possibly the biggest breakthrough story since
Pantera.
If complaints are to be made, then only the seemingly out of place
'Dying in Your Arms' appears to be worthy of criticism in even the
slightest of forms, exhibiting all the traits of a manufactured
radio hit aimed squarely at commercial airplay and little else.
Fortunately when backed by the no-holds-barred savagery and
stunning solo sections of 'The Deceived', it's easy to forgive and
forget such atrocities almost as quickly as which they appeared.
Minor complacencies aside, 'Ascendancy' is undoubtedly the
enthralling soundtrack to one of the most promising and talented
metal acts that the world has seen this side of the millennium. If
there's any justice left in this world of ours, then this is
irrefutably a band destined for the type of fame and success that
few others will ever experience.
Let's make it happen.
Link:
http://www.live4metal.com/reviews-246.htm
Planet Loud
Album
Review
Having been around for over four years and having shared stages
with metal heavyweights like Danzig, Iced Earth and Machine Head,
you'd except the Roadrunner debut from Florida metallers to be
something of a cracker. And, fuck me, it is just that. Blasting
you with both barrels, it would seem that this New Wave Of
American Heavy Metal scene has found itself a new star.
With solos that come from listening to the early Metallica albums
waaay too many times, Ascendancy sets its stall out early on with
the relentless Rain. Pounding kick drums and a groove the size of
a mountain, you can sum everything that is great about this album
up in the first five minutes. However, that's not to say that the
thrashers shoot their wad that early on. Far from it. Instead,
they maintain the fury for the duration of the album - through the
grinding battery of Pull Harder On The Strings Of Your Martyr and
onwards until the ferocious Declaration brings this metal
masterpeice to a close. Sure you can pick up the influences of
bands like Killswitch Engage, Fear Factory and Unearth albums but
there is something about Trivium that makes the experience of
listening to their rage, all that more satisfying.
Vocalist Matt Heafy, at the wise old age of 18, gives most metal
vocalists a run for their money with some of the most corrosive
vocals you'll hear on a metal album while also managing to switch
to a cleaner more melodic style when the music calls for it. A
breathtaking perfomance from a kid who is almost a decade younger
than most of his peers but, like his band, ten times better!
So metal they shit early Metallica albums!
9/10
Link:
http://www.planet-loud.com/recordreview.php?albumid=207
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