Album Review: Trivium - In Waves

This album is modern thrash metal core art at its finest! The time of rebellion begins. A revolution against ongoing musical trends in the metal sector. An answer to the threatening stagnation of modern guitar art. Trivium dare to try to create something new and show the world that fresh songs can still be written in 2011. At least that's what frontman Matt Heafy says and if Trivium Machine Head were called, the new work wouldn't be called "In Waves" but "The Blackening". How come? Because in 2007 Rob Flynn & Co. had found their new path, which they had already started with «Through The Ashes Of Empires», which was reflected above all in complex and varied songs. It's exactly the same with Matt Heavy and his comrades-in-arms, who also integrated significantly more sophisticated metal and less core into their sound with the predecessor «Shogun». Friends, you may be hot for new food from Florida...

... because Trivium won't let you down in 2011 either! The look of the youngest Trivium offspring "In Waves" shows with its dark and mysterious facets a contrasting antipole to the sunny home of the band, Florida. A coherent overall picture is presented with the artwork, the song structures and the video clip for the first single release, which also bears the album title "In Waves": menacing, dark and peppered with memorable surprises, the album shows the band after the new line-up with Nick Augusto the drums, from a more mature, thoughtful side that moves far away from typical Metalcore clichés. The cover is much darker, the band itself is not shown in the video for "In Waves" as a headbanging metal combo, but as a group of adventurers. And the music also shows a menacingly dark character right from the start.

TRIVIUM - In Waves (Official Music Video)

One intro and the lead single and title track "In Waves" kicks things up a notch, similar to the excellent "Shogun" opener "Kirisute Gomen". Boys, that's a kick in the ass: "Capsizing the Sea" pulls up the arc of suspense, which is immediately powerfully shouted down with the first note by the following album's namesake. An aggressively shouted "In Waves" echoes through the speakers four times before the whole thing ends in a once again gifted chorus that only Trivium can write in this sector. The song prepares the listener for what the band will be like in 2011: More heaviness, more darkness, catchy choruses and melodies and the courage to change things up. Exactly these rhythm changes, paired with the backbone for the increased installation of technically demanding instrumental parts (see «The Blackening») make «In Waves» an absolute highlight of the metal releases of the year.

In the course of the album, the guys increase the tempo again and again with incredible skill and sovereignty, sprinkle in shattering beats and then effectively step on the brakes again. Many rhythm variations and an unrestrained wealth of ideas characterize the album. On the one hand, the refrains in almost every song screw themselves irrevocably into the listener's memory, on the other hand, there is still something to discover even after numerous listens. The band exploits this strength on «In Waves» just as confidently as on «Ascendancy», only this time the instrumentation and the vocals are a good deal more mature.

Trivium - Inception Of The End (Audio)

«Inception of the End» and «Dusk Dismantled» are two brute steam hammers and pretty much the coolest thing I've heard from Trivium to date, to which I can only bow. Especially the second one is flawless Death Metal in parts. For "Watch the World Burn" and "Built to Fall" no other term than ingenious can be used. Another highlight is the incredibly groovy «Black» and the final semi-ballad «Of all these Yesterdays», which may sound a bit wooden in the first run, but later unfolds an unparalleled charm!

The songs, which are mostly above the 4-5 minute limit due to such an abundance of variety and gimmicks, are still homogeneous on their own and don't sound overloaded, and yet the album seems to be made of one piece! The process that the band has undergone is already clear in the melancholic intro "Capsizing The Sea", which builds up an oppressive tension right up to the first gripping screams of "In Waves". From fast pieces to brutal tracks, the record offers a balanced mixture of heaviness and speed and ensures a consistently harmonious listening experience.

Trivium - Watch The World Burn [OFFICIAL VIDEO]

Whether it's the change of drummer or the personal development of the four youngsters from the States - "In Waves" stands out from the pool of conventional Metalcore discs from the past few years through intelligence and inventiveness. One wishes at some point on the record that the gentlemen had approached the matter a little more courageously and had pushed themselves even harder to their limit, but the mid-twenties still have enough room for improvement in the future. Trivium have definitely written an outstanding album. Only time will tell if this is the heroic answer to the stagnation of the modern metal sector. The band has almost perfected their usual stylistic devices, refined them with a pinch of unusual darkness and heaviness and also recorded half a dozen highlights on CD. You really can't do much better than that.

Trivium «In Waves» is the absolute must-buy tip for all metal fans out there! You should keep an eye on the special edition of «In Waves», as you get something more clearly here: 5 bonus tracks (including a fantastic cover version of the Sepultura evergreen «Slave New World») as well as a DVD with live material where, among other things, pieces from this current album were performed and a 40-minute behind-the-scenes documentation.

Track list:

1. Capsizing The Sea
2. In waves
3. Inception Of The End
4. Watch The World Burn
5. Dusk Dismantled
6. Black
7. Built To Case
8. Caustic Are The Ties That Bind
9. A Skyline's Severance
10. Forsake Not The Dream
11. Chaos Reigns
12. Of All These Yesterdays
13. Leaving This World Behind

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