[thes1n].com

[одб]

Какой интересный альбом, какой пиздатый коллектив!

[dimashing]

Trivium "Ascendancy" CD
8/10 - [Roadrunner]
After a brief instrumental of acoustic guitars and piano these guys launch into some surprisingly promising material that's a blend of progressive thrash metal given a modern facelift and loose hints at contemporary metalcore, complete with shitloads of awesome dual guitar runs and energetic picking patterns that are performed with clinical precision and really make for a solid listen. The vocals shift from strained yells to layered singing harmonies, so there's a little variety there as well. I do think the singing needs a little more effort to really push itself to be 100% effective, but once you get used to it nothing really holds 'em back. Also present are tons of effective chugga rhythms and staccato chords, slick lead runs and melodic riffing, plenty of technical flurries, etc. But regardless of the fact there are a lot of changes going on, the songwriting never suffers. In fact, the writing is fucking great. Some of the songs might be a little too modern for diehards to appreciate, but there are some ridiculously awesome riffs on this thing, and a lot of the material is catchy without coming off as forced or generic at all. I mean, at its core this is a total thrash record, and the playing reflects that. For such young dudes these guys can seriously fucking shred, and there's a lot of truly energetic and memorable material herein as a result. Some of the solos absolutely remind me a mix between Carcass circa "Heartwork" and Megadeth circa "Rust in Peace", so I really do want to stress that this is a fucking metal record, not another metalcore band masquerading as a metal outfit, despite minor strands associated with said genre. "Drowned and Torn Asunder" and "Like Light to the Flies" let some spacious mid-tempo stuff seep in to set them apart, while "Rain" and "Pull Harder on the Strings of Your Martyr" give the disc a good kickstart with plenty of explosive fury and galloping rhythms. "The Deceived" has some midpaced dissonant chords and Arch Enemy styled riffing that adds a lot of emphasis to the playing, as does the ripping speed in the brief "Suffocating Sight" – I mean, talk about some ridiculously active picking endurance! "Departure" brings in some brief clean guitars and lets singing play a slightly larger role but eventually throws around shitloads of speedy thrash and dual guitar interplay; so the title track and "Dying in Your Arms" are among the only "lighter" songs, maintaining a slower drive and more singing vocals that allow blatant melody to take the fore. Hell, the latter almost comes off as something Sentenced might do on some level! Closer "Declaration" is seven minutes, which seems long, but the churning midpaced melodic chords and tradeoff leads are pretty fucking cool, providing enough breathing room to make this composition stand out quite a bit from the other material – it's just more restrained and persistent, without lacking the explosive thrashiness that makes all of this stuff so killer. "A Gunshot to the Head of Trepidation" is one of the only songs that flirts with melodic Swedish riffing (And what's with the old school metal "Hey! Hey!" chanting part!?), but it doesn't detract at all since every part is solid and the overall style on this disc is pretty far removed from that angle, so there's not one weak song on this thing. A couple of the songs that top five minutes feel a little overbearing, and 55 minutes as a whole is a little strenuous, but it all pans out due to the sheer quality of the musicianship. The recording was handled by Jason Suecof of Capharnaum and sounds pretty damn good. The vocals are a little loud and the percussion comes across as a bit clicky and unnatural in some respects (though the guitars dominate so that's alright), but the mix is crisp and the guitar tone is fucking great. It leaves enough room for the bass to pound away in the distance, while adding just the right amount of crunch to the thrashy rhythms without dampening the fluidity of the solos. Good stuff. The layout's alright. I'm not wild on it but the colors on the cover are pretty gripping and it looks professional at the very least, so whatever. Lyrically the material is kind of typical and just sort of roams a vague line of nondescript content that hints at various forms of conflict and turmoil but doesn't really get all that creative. I mean, I swear to god, there's actually a line that reads, "Annihilation your masturbation," and even though that's definitely one of the worst lines, it's weak enough to kind of drag down some of the other content that's not nearly as silly, you know? I don't care about the lyrics though, you can't really understand the vocals and the music kicks ass, so screw it. They've grown a hell of a lot since their debut, and this record seriously makes 'em a major name to watch in the future. To have so much ripping guitar work and songwriting talent so early in their lifespan is overwhelmingly impressive. A lot of people are tossing these guys off as generic metalcore or fifth generation Swedish junk, but that's a total load of shit. There just aren't that many bands out there with this level of ability that can actually write good songs. These kids are definitely gonna leave a mark if you ask me. Check this shit out… I'm very much looking forward to their future.
Running time - 55:11, Tracks: 12
[Notable tracks: Pull Harder on the Strings of Your Martyr, Drowned and Torn Asunder, The Deceived, Declaration]