Trivium - The Crusade

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RIYL

Metallica
Megadeth
Stone Sour
Avenged Sevenfold

Tracklist

1. Ignition
2. Detonation
3. Entrance of the Conflagration
4. Anthem (We Are The Fire)
5. Unrepentant
6. And Sadness Will Sear
7. Becoming the Dragon
8. To The Rats
9. This World Cna't Tear Us Apart
10. Tread the Floods
11. Contempt Breeds Contamination
12. The Rising
13. The Crusade

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In the span of less than 2 years, Trivium has managed to go from being a local Florida sensation to being a band that is able to sell out arenas. Ascendancy was a volatile combination of old-school thrash and new-school metal that worked well on many levels. With the release of that album, the band ascended into the good graces of a solid portion of the metal community and even garnered some commercial success. That said, Trivium may have put on the brakes to their fame-mobile. The Crusade is more than an evolution of Trivium's sound, it's a complete shift in direction.

With all the mainstream success coming as it did, critics were quick to proclaim Trivium a flash in the pan. It was no secret the band was not received well on their 2005 tour with Children of Bodom. What does this have to do with The Crusade? These events no doubt lingered on the minds of the band while they recorded the album. This can be the only conclusion as to why the band might have moved so far musically away from what they were doing on the previous record.

In reality, the changes aren't monumental. For the most part, The Crusade is just a lot of shredding and intricate solos, but not as hard or as fast as they used to. The tempos are noticibly slower than before. The most obvious change is Matt Heafy's change in vocal style. Gone is his growl. In its stead is gruff singing reminiscent of James Hetfield of Metallica fame. Instrumentally, Trivium sticks to roughly the same formula found on Ascendancy, but is lighter on the double bass and the thrash level is noticeably lower.

It's very hard to find any particular thing Trivium did wrong on The Crusade, but as a follow up record to Ascendancy it's disappointing. One can point to the obvious Metallica knock-offs or the neutering of their former style, but without paying attention to their previous works, none of that could be considered negative. The problem, then, is really all about the expectations. When you alienate the staples of your sound, you're also going to alienate a certain number of your fans that crave that sound. The hope is more can be gained through the commericial success, however.

The Crusade will either be the last thing heard from Trivium or it will catapult them into the mainstream, at which point they'll sign to a major record deal and go on worldwide headlining tours. If this records is a bust, though, it is doubtful they'll be around in another 5 years. Trivium needs to really think about what their next move is going to be because it will most likely decide the rest of their careers.

--Jared Mehle

Author

Jared Mehle
Last updated: 09/29/2009 08:54PM

Comments

Imtonydanzasboss
10/19/2006
07:54AM
Location
Washington, DC
I actually prefer his exact immitation of Hetfield to the sub-par, unintelligible, and redundant growling on Ascendency...then again, I like Avenged Sevenfold :rolleyes:
Rick Gebhardt
10/19/2006
08:17AM
Age: 32
Location
Minnesota
This CD was SSSSSSOOOOOOOO bad.

In fact, I'm so in need of a good laugh this morning, I'm going to go listen to it again. Every time I hear a song from this release I can't help but chuckle at how much they rode Metallica's nuts on this.

Find me EVERYWHERE:




Chris Conlan
10/19/2006
09:02AM
Age: 28
Location
Dubuque
I bet this album sells more than Ascendancy. I was a HUGE HUGE fan of the last album, but I have no desire to ever listen to The Crusade again.

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lpshinobi
10/19/2006
09:12AM
Age: 24
Location
VT
Being a Metallica fan, I actually liked this album at first. Then I went back and listened to Ascendancy and realized how much more weak that this album is.

My Top Songs of '09
The Appleseed Cast//as the little things go
Caspian//sycamore
Sunwrae//Chinook Winds
Dredg//down to the seller
If These Trees Could Talk//the sun is in the north
From Monument to Masses//an ounce of prevention
Straylight Run//i'm through with the past


LpShinobi's Post-Rock and Shoegazing Recommendation, via YouTube

Lpshinobi's Post-Rock Band, New Song Posted

M.J.Austin
10/19/2006
09:12AM
Location
Dallas, Texas
...one of the biggest disappointments of the year.

Since when did they become a Metallica cover band?
Chris Conlan
10/19/2006
09:18AM
Age: 28
Location
Dubuque
It wouldn't be so bad if Heafy vocals were such a rip-off. Not saying he shouldn't sing instead of scream, but it's too much the same.

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Rick Gebhardt
10/19/2006
09:36AM
Age: 32
Location
Minnesota
If you listen to Ember to Inferno then to Acendancy then to The Crusade you'll see a trend of the band slowly getting shittier and shittier. For my money's worth, Ember to Inferno is still their best disc to date.

Find me EVERYWHERE:




detuned
10/19/2006
09:48AM
Location
Maine
sell out arenas?
Truman Burden
10/19/2006
09:52AM
Location
KY
I actually like this album for the most part and although the vocals are very Metallicaish I don't find it terrible. My negative comment on the album is it doesn't seem as well put together as their previous effort. I agree with the review of the album as well good job on it.
jam11es
10/19/2006
09:58AM
detuned
sell out arenas?


Oh yeah, they can sell out an arena in Europe no problem, they're huge over there.
barryscatton
10/19/2006
10:03AM
Age: 30
Location
Philadelphia, PA
Is it just me, or does this bands name sound dangerously "nu-metal."

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GO RED SOX!!!!!!!!

SketchesOfSpain
10/19/2006
10:56AM
Location
rhode island
I thought this record wasn't as consistent as Ascendancy but it definitely wasn't horrible. I can see people hating the record just because of the obvious Hetfield-influenced vocals but for the most part I think the songs work. There were two or three that I have to skip (including the instrumental) and that didn't happen on the last album but I liked hearing a new album that was largely influenced by the kind of metal I started listening to when I was in 7th grade.
Genre: Corecore
10/19/2006
01:06PM
Location
St. Louis, MO
Like most other people, I thought that this wasn't anywhere near Ascendancy, which I fucking loved. Actually, I pretty hate this record. I will admit, though, that the last song, the instrumental, is awesome. I like that one.

~Tom



The Silent Ballet: The very best in instrumental and post-rock reviews and coverage.

fictional
10/19/2006
04:07PM
Age: 33
Location
Bayside,NY
loved ascendancy and was hoping when i heard this album a month ago that itd be different on the actual cd..unfortunately it was the same garbage..big disappointment
djc666
10/19/2006
04:21PM
Location
San antonio, Texas
Not as good as their first 2 CDs, but decent nonetheless....i was rather dissapointed wit the vocals....not bc he sounded like hetfield but that...idk....they didnt come off smooth and came out rather forced

morgan
10/19/2006
05:36PM
Age: 25
Location
Columbia, MO
trivium always sucked
jam11es
10/22/2006
03:23PM
Wow, what a disapointment, I don't even know what to say, except its been a rough couple of weeks with this and It Dies Today's Sirens. I was also a little disapointed with Norma Jean's Redeemer, but after this it's not so bad.

Please save me deftones (Saturday Night Wrists) from these last couple of weeks.

Trivium - The Crusade [1] out of [5]
gregplaysdrums
10/23/2006
01:46AM
Location
SCV, CA
never been a fan