All right, so it's been a while since I actually did any of these reviews. Not out of any particular malice or anything, just been occupied with other shit. So, that being said, shall I commence with what's sure to be a controversial album?
Trivium was always been one of my favorite bands, at least since I began to discover what music I liked back in my early teenage years. I can vouch for being a fan by the handful of T-shirts of theirs I've bought, the posters that cover my walls to this day, and the fact that I've purchased every album of theirs, including this one.
So, as I press play on the album, what do I hear?
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01.) "Brave This Storm"
This song starts off with a pretty thrashy opening, and a trademarked gutteral shout from frontman Matt Heafy kicks the song off. It's pretty surprising how groovy this track is, and melodic to boot. It's clear that Trivium are turning over a new leaf with this album, as Trivium usually tries to kick off the proceedings with an aggressive track chock-full of screams, but there is really no screaming to be found on this track (or the rest of the album that follows). Still a solid track that is really indicative of the entire album, and a great way to set the tone for what follows.
02.) "Vengeance Falls"
This track starts off with another groovy opening, a song that is more indicative of the Trivium of old. The instrumentation sounds like something off of "Shogun," yet it still has the same groove that opening track "Brave This Storm" possessed. Matt Heafy does a really great job of getting his voice across on this track, and you can tell that vocal lessons with producer/Disturbed frontman David Draiman have done him wonders for his clean singing. A lot of great melodic moments on this song, and a heavier breakdown about 2/3 through. A well-done track that really ties up some older Trivium elements with this new sound they're embracing.
03.) "Strife"
"Strife" is the first single from the album, so it's going to be more of an easily-accessible track. The intro seems to share a bit with the track "Down From The Sky" off of their "Shogun" album, but by this point, the band is fully-invested in groove. Bassist Paulo Gregoletto and drummer Nick Augusto have a great rhythm melody throughout the verses of this song, and it's a good reminder that the two form one of the best rhythm sections in all of metal. A really accessible chorus and a good single to get yourself used to the vibe of the album if you haven't heard it before.
04.) "No Way To Heal"
Matt Heafy and guitarist Corey Beaulieu start off this song with a great guitar melody that sounds like something off of their album "In Waves," but the vocals are rather dark, which is fitting, as there is probably more screaming vocals on this track than any others on the album (and in some parts, Heafy channels his inner James Hetfield). There are some Disturbed-sounding vocals on this song, but it somehow fits the melodic nature of the choruses. Some great guitar solos follow, and a very present bass sound compliments the song well.
05.) "To Believe"
Perhaps my favorite song on the entire album. The album gets off to an outstanding guitar melody, and this is where the new Trivium sound reaches its apex: a perfect mix of melody, groove, and rage. The lyrics are not-so-subtly aimed at people with certain political beliefs, but the vocals never reach more than a heavy croon... it's so well-done. And, dare I say that this song just absolutely oozes with melody. It just dares you to not bop your head or tap your foot while listening. If you are to listen to one track to get a great taste of this album, listen to this one, I swear you won't be disappointed.
06.) "At The End Of This War"
A nice acoustic intro is a nice change-of-pace for the album, and it has a slow build-up to the continued groovy-melodic tone they've established thus far. This song has a really good build-up to its choruses, and a really awesome bridge about halfway through that really carries it throughout the latter half of the song. Not an amazing track, but a very solid one, regardless.
07.) "Through Blood And Dirt And Bone"
This song starts off with yet another outstanding guitar melody, and the rhythm buildup behind it really leads to a gargantuan groove. This is another one of those amazing tracks that really makes this album what it is, which is surprising, considering how melodic it truly is. Trivium is a band that has shined on its ability to mix aggression with melody, but especially on this track, they've gone 100% melody, and it really works. This song just has a continuous pulsing energy to it that keeps on building up for the payoff, which is the best solo of the entire album, something that sounds like it should be on Machine Head's "The Blackening" album.
08.) "Villainy Thrives"
It's pretty appropriate that the title for this song has "Villainy" in it, as the beginning guitar intro sounds pretty damn ominous. However, it doesn't last long before the band gets back to their killer melodic groove sound, and drummer Nick Augusto has some amazing fills and double bass rhythms throughout this song... in fact, one could say his drums are the entire backbone for this song. Matt Heafy manages to hit one or two surprising vocal highs throughout the song, as well, which helps to set it apart from the other songs on the album, and some latter half aggression in the song really sounds like it's the angriest Heafy has ever sounded.
09.) "Incineration: The Broken World"
I try and stay pretty subjective when "reviewing" this tracks, despite being a fan, but this song features some of the coolest riffs that the band has ever written, especially the intro riff. Now, with that out of the way, this track does some cool stuff with mixing the melody of the album up until now, and the aggression that they used to utilize on older albums. In fact, I'd say that this song sounds more like something off of "Shogun" than even this album. Heafy really utilizes both vocal types (clean and screaming) to his advantage, and the groove of the song clearly shifts between the two in a cool way. The entire band is really operating at their full potential for this song, and it may be one of the best songs not only on the album, but perhaps that Trivium has ever written.
10.) "Wake (The End Is Nigh)"
Very rarely does a band fully nail the closing track on an album, and it's really the benchmark of what makes a good album a GREAT album to me. For this album closer, Trivium decided to go the route that they usually go, which is to try and end it with something a little epic... and it really doesn't disappoint in any way. It starts off slow and softly-sung, as Trivium closers usually go, but Heafy manages to hit some surprising Type O Negative-type lows on the clean parts, with some creepy whispering in the background. It really fits the tone of the album well, and it really showcases how good of a vocalist Matt Heafy has become. The great vocal parts really build up to something that I can honestly describe as "Shogun: Lite," which of course references the title track from Trivium's "Shogun" album, a song that is the epitome of buildup. This song doesn't disappoint, and leads to some amazing guitar work later on, with some heavy grooves and even a little bit of thrash, which this album has lacked a bit. All in all, not only a great closing track, but a great song in general, something that scratches multiple things off of the "What I Wanted From This Trivium Album" checklist.
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This is a band that started off as a heavy metalcore band with their albums "Ember To Inferno" and "Ascendancy," before shifting to a modern throwback thrash sound on "The Crusade," to the scorn of many fans. They seemed to truly find their sound on "Shogun," which was a modern-day thrashy metalcore classic, and then seemed to embrace an amalgamate of sounds for "In Waves," which had a radio hard rock track for every melodic death track it had.
"Vengeance Falls," however, is like a mix of "The Crusade" and "In Waves," in how it mixes clean singing with a new, original sound. Whereas "The Crusade" sounded like it wanted too hard to be a Metallica album, however, this album sounds completely original, and in a good way. Trivium is still a very young band, considering how many albums they've put out, with every member in their mid-20s, and it seems like they're still trying to push themselves to find what they're comfortable with, which is only a good thing: it means that the more they expand, the more they can utilize in the future.
Every member of Trivium is an expert musician in their own right, and while "Vengeance Falls" is by no means a perfect album, it is damn good. I'd rank it as my second favorite Trivium album, after "Shogun" and tied with "Ascendancy." This albums seems to be the perfect antithesis to "Ascendancy," an album that was pure teenage rage: this one is full of harsh melodies and killer grooves that befit a band of their current age.
Trivium is a band that seems to know what it wants, and they keep on striving to push themselves, which is more than can be said for a lot of bands. Love them or hate them, they have accomplished something completely original with "Vengeance Falls," and no one can fault them for that.
Me? I'd give this album a solid 8.5/10. If you like Trivium and/or melodic metal in any way, odds are that you'll find something to love from this album. If you want to hate Trivium for any reason, then I'm sure there's a door nearby you can walk through. Trivium is a band that is going to make each album differently, and they'll have a fan in me as long as they continue to do that.
