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September 7, 2008 |
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01. Ignition
02. Detonation
03. Entrance Of The Conflagration
04. Anthem (We Are The Fire)
05. Unrepentant
06. And Sadness Will Sear
07. Becoming The Dragon
08. To The Rats
09. This World Can't Tear Us Apart
10. Tread The Floods
11. Contempt Breeds Contamination
12. The Rising
13. The Crusade
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TRIVIUM has been touted as one of the forerunners of the New Wave of American Heavy Metal, putting bands from these shores back on the Heavy Metal map…and after listening to this release at least a dozen times, that now troubles me as this may not be the best choice to represent the best of what we have to offer.
Despite all the media hype leading up to its release, this is not a Thrash album; it has Thrash elements interspersed amid typical Metalcore, the formula so many American bands seem limited to being able to play lately. Although there are some heavy, dare-I-say, "Thrash" riffs throughout, none are instantly memorable or leave an impression like a "Seek And Destroy" or a "Peace Sells"; great intentions, dreadful execution. Had "The Crusade" been released in '87, this may have worked…but almost 20 years later, it doesn't. Somebody should have also mentioned to the band that there are no breakdowns in Thrash Metal.
The somewhat promising direction of last year's "Ascendancy" has taken a bizarre turn, especially with regards to the vocals, and I feel this 180 spin has sent TRIVIUM in a direction which may turn away many fans. Gone are the grunts, and mix of harsh and soothing vocal delivery guitarist/vocalist Matt Heafy was perfecting, and in steps the James Hetfield clone. Band mates Corey Beaulieu (guitar, vocals), Paolo Gregoletto (bass), and Travis Smith (drums) join Heafy in taking their METALLICA envy to the next level, with some of the songs even sounding awfully familiar. Acknowledging your influences is one thing, trying to reproduce their style and label it your own is another.
A few seconds after Heafy's lips open in "Ignition", you may think this is a METALLICA B-side you hadn't heard before. Matt sounds better doing his own thing rather than trying to combine the Hetfield vocal style with his own. The vocals often come across as groan-y and this is a bad song with which to open "The Crusade". There's more Hetfield-envy in "And Sadness Will Sear" combined with whispers and vocal effects...this also doesn't work. "The Rising" has guess what...even more Hetfield envy. The majority of the songs make "The Crusade" a lack luster attempted follow up to "Master Of Puppets" or come across simply as cuts from the floor of the "...And Justice For All" editing room. But it's not just METALLICA being praised; SLAYER immediately comes to mind when the lead starts in "Detonation" as well as the intro to "To The Rats". "Entrance Of The Conflagration" has more of a TESTAMENT sound and feel to it.
There is more amazing solo work on this release, especially in "Anthem" and "To The Rats" for example. "Unrepentant" is better and shows some originality with less METALLICA and more of the TRIVIUM that we know. "Contempt Breeds Contamination" is another that has potential to be a decent song had there been less METALLICA and more TRIVIUM. "This World Can't Tear Us Apart" is known to those of us that lived through the '80s Metal scene as a "bellyrubber", and believe me, 2006 can do without.
Closing out the album is the eight-minute instrumental title track, "The Crusade", which seems to be a blender of ideas and "could-have-beens" as it progresses without any real flow or direction. Every time something interesting starts to come together, it suddenly transforms into something entirely new again. As there are some ingredients here that have potential, I would prefer to have heard these arrangements in a more structured format on a future release…or even this one for that matter, rather than this meager attempt at their equivalent to "Orion".
For the most part, there is nothing new here. The majority of the material is re-hashed riffs from the days of glory passed, and has all been heard before. The 4 ranking is right down the middle of 0 and 8; 0 if I was to consider this a new release from one of American Metal's supposed promising young bands and 8 if it was simply meant to be a nod to the old school, because it does a respectable job of that with only a few obvious exceptions.
Don't believe the hype.
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