Initial Impressions: Trivium: In Waves

Everyone has bands that they are ashamed to admit that they love.  No one's tastes are impeccable.  This being my blog, I do not really care what other people think of the bands that I enjoy.  I will not be afraid to admit that there are some groups that I love that other people hate and there are some groups that I hate that a lot of people seem to love.  I have previously mentioned my love of Cradle of Filth as one example.  I also despise Neurosis, Isis, and a lot of the so-called "atmospheric sludge" groups.  I also happen to really like Trivium.

I considered not checking this one out.  In fact it took a long time before I eventually did.  At one point I was ignoring it because I did not care much for Shogun.  I figured that was it for this band and me.  But over the last few weeks I had been reading some surprisingly good reviews for it.  So I decided eventually to go for it.

Whatever went wrong on the last album has been fixed and Trivium is actually sounding like a much more mature band on this release.  They have always been gifted at writing infectious hooks and melodies and that is certainly evident here on tracks like the title track and "Built to Fall".  The band had long ago filtered out much of their metalcore influence, though they do still utilize hardcore vocals somewhat frequently.  But the chugging riffs and frequent breakdowns have gone by the wayside.  What remains is a fairly streamlined, melodic, and very catchy album.

The guitar work is the star here.  Matt Heafy and Corey Beaulieu are both talented guitarists with an ability to write decent riffs and solos.  They also complement each other well.  The hardcore vocals do grow a little stale at times.  I do prefer the cleaner vocals from this band.  But there is enough of a variety to keep things entertaining at least.

This is probably still not likely to be popular with the true metalheads.  This is Trivium after all, and their undeniable Trivium-ness is on full display here.  But the band has crafted their own sound and grown into it.  There is something to be said for that.