I really don't believe that there is someone out there who has never cam across TRIVIUM. This band from Orlando Florida made quite an impression to Roadrunner Records with Ember To Inferno who immediately offered them a record deal. TRIVIUM presented their finger melting riffs through an early METALLICA meets MEGADETH perspective without loosing a certain level of originality. Actually the fast yet sophisticated guitar work brought the band and especially Matthew Heafy in the front pages of well known guitar magazines.
Personally, I have followed TRIVIUM from a safe distant always being afraid of their Nu Metal approach. Well, my less than amateur guitar activity brought me in front of some amazing guitar tabs like The Crusade, or A Gunshot To The Head Of Trepidation that made reconsider their albums.
All these lead me to the review of the new TRIVIUM album entitled Shogun. I was very anxious to hit the play button since their aforementioned guitar work has already made me a some kind of fan of them. Kirisute Gomen did not disappoint me at all; the solid and ton-heavy rhythm lead us to the trademark hammer-ons and pull-offs. The dual guitars pay the proper respect to IRON MAIDEN making the whole almost perfect. In fact it is well below perfect and let me explain why. Even though musically the band has grown their vocals remain at least amateur. The clean/shouting mix with a touch of aggression sounds not only predictable but in some cases out of tune. It is such a same to waste all these shredding guitar riffs by spoiling the entire atmosphere with this Nu-Metal vocal approach. Take for example Into The Mouth Of Hell We March; the tracks kicks in with a massive rhythm and turns into a heavy Thrasher looking towards MACHINE HEAD until the total turn-off comes as soon the vocals have entered. The same thing also happens in Throes Of Perdition where we find the finger stretching power chords that made Heafy a well known guitar shredder.
The album closes with the impressive eleven minutes of the homonymous track where the vocals do less damaged adopting an almost PERZONAL WAR approach. TRIVIUM added that many ideas in this one that could make at least three new songs but splitting it up. The clean guitar break builds the powerful tension that after more than two minutes breaks through low tuned bone crashing drums and finger bleeding solo.
I think I made myself clear with this one; the musicianship is top notch but the vocals kind of suck, hence the respective low grade. Lets hope that this band with this high potentials will eventually hire a full time singer. until then...