Trivium – “Vengeance Falls” Review

Trivium’s sixth studio album, Vengeance Falls, follows in the footsteps of In Waves thematically and aggressively, marking a milestone for the band that manages to leave its members exposed to criticism when the sound leans toward melody.

Vengeance Falls’ producer, David Draiman (Disturbed, Device), recently contributed to Megadeth’s Super Collider, an album that fans judged harshly.  Perhaps the inclusion of melody and Draiman’s own reputation contributed to the reactions, but when a band hits its fifth and sixth releases it must balance between stagnation and losing the fans who fell in love early on with one aspect of the art.

Musicians must adapt not only to life on the road—and Trivium is a band that has worked its collective tail off over the last decade—but also to the changing dynamics of music itself.

“Brave This Storm” opens the album with panned guitars that riff in one ear before pounding in both. Trivium breaks further from the Metallica comparisons of their early records and truly delves its own style and sound here.

Thematic elements, like the dark and frustrated lyrics, leave fans familiar with facts of Matt Heafy’s generally positive-appearing life wondering about the story behind creating these songs. Often, a band’s sophomore or even the third release finds the songwriter expressing fears of failing or questioning the meaning of working so hard to create something artistic.

Though the album is named for its vengeance-seeking and sails through ideations of battling strife and losing the battle to find healing, Vengeance Falls masters dynamics and includes both the thrash aggression and the melody of emotion in its songs.

Trivium
Vengeance Falls
Orlando, FL
(Roadrunner Records)
Produced by David Draiman
www.trivium.org/vengeancefalls