Trivium
Ascendancy

THE REVIEW

The darkest period of Thrash has reached its sad peak, Metallica are officially fallen, just like Megadeth and other legends of this music genre that had amazed everyone, topping the charts all over the world.

A ray of light appears in 2005 with the release of the second album by Trivium, led by the frenetic American-Japanese Matt Heafy. The Orlando band, after their self-funded debut Ember To Inferno, was signed by the famous Liferecords label, allowing the quartet to offer their fans a work of much higher quality than the first album (which should not be dismissed nonetheless). March 2005 marks the consecration period for Heafy and company, who were immediately accompanied by Machine Head on their Tour. Trivium are no longer negligible but a true musical phenomenon: they are immediately dubbed the "new Metallica," even though it would be reductive to describe Ascendancy as merely a Thrash album. 

It is indeed a melting pot of different musical currents: firstly the Speed Thrash of San Francisco's Bay Area, but also the British Heavy Metal of Iron Maiden, and the new Progressive-Hardcore trends sweeping across America; with double hammering pedal, riffs brought to the speed of light, a powerful bass that penetrates the hearing, growl and melodic choruses skillfully blended together, as well as alternating "melodically powerful" moments with others where the distortion explicitly incites moshing: this is how this great work can be summarized. 

You must not be deceived by the harmonious Intro "The End Of Everything," already "Rain," harsh but at the same time absolutely catchy, lets us understand what Trivium is made of. It continues with the now-famous "Pull Harder On The Strings Of Your Martyr" (opened by an exceptional fill by the war machine Travis Smith), which turns out to be one of the most energetic and tough tracks to chew for the faint-hearted. Two more intriguing songs follow, namely "Drowned And Torn Asunder" and "Ascendancy," which mix at speed the typical elements of Steve Harris's Iron Maiden, with choruses of renewed power accompanied by unforgettable riffs. "A Gunshot To The Head Of Trepidation," one of the album's strengths, strongly reprises the Hardcore lines, softening them with pleasant melodic interludes of only guitar and drums and a surprising second part that almost takes on Hard Rock connotations. More tracks follow, among which the negatively standing out "Dying In Your Arms," almost punk-pop, although Heafy's voice saves everything. Particularly noteworthy is the crashing "Suffocating Sight," sustained by a monstrous double pedal by Smith, who increasingly asserts himself as one of the best drummers in the world in the Metal field. Next comes the restful "Departure," which gives a well-deserved relief to the ear (albeit partial), and the album closes beautifully with "Declaration," original but still connected to the flow that ties the whole album together, making it sometimes hard to digest and slightly monotonous.

The overall impression is decidedly positive, as Trivium (true to their name, indicative of their appreciation for different musical genres) revive the extraordinary music of the '80s, skillfully blending it with everything relevant in contemporary Metal. Perhaps it lacks some interludes to rest our poor hearing and give more fluidity to Ascendancy, which nonetheless remains an excellent work.