Review: Trivium - In Waves

Band: Trivium
Album: In Waves
Year: 2011
Genre: Metalcore/Modern Metal

I will admit I am an unabashed Trivium fan. Well of their metalcore stuff anyways, for the most part The Crusade was just not my cup of tea. But still, I have been a fan since Ascendancy and barring TC, in my opinion they make some pretty aurally pleasing metalcore.

With In Waves the band seems like they are both experimenting and regressing. IW is in fact a mix of Ascendancy and Shogun with an experimental edge to it. Now I dont mean experimental in the avante garde prog kind of way. In Waves is quite melodic, probably even more so than any of their previous albums.

So where as Shogun had more singing than screaming this album does the opposite. Dont get me wrong there is still a lot of singing here but it was toned down a little bit more and the harsh vox were given a little more room. But luckily its not forced. And not one style dominates the album either. We have songs like Black and Of All These Yesterdays where there is mainly clean singing, while In Waves and A Skyline's Reverence with mainly harsh vocals. The rest of the songs run the gamut being anywhere in between. But I guess the main thing here is if you didnt like matt's voice on previous albums, you still wont like it here.

One thing I am glad for is that Nick Augusto took over on the drums. His drumming is a little more inventive and interesting than Travis Smith's. I mean Smith's drumming just became so...formulaic and boring. He got a little better with Shogun but Augusto's drumming here is all around better. The addition of blast beats into the songs also makes them feel heavier, probably heavier than they really are.

As always I enjoy the guitar riffs created by Heafy. For all the crap they get, Trivium have some of the better solos in the metalcore genre. They are technical to a degree but also seem to be written to add more to enjoyability to the song than just being able to say they are technical. They are actually a real joy to listen to. The thrash riffs are pretty much gone and the band is back to their Ascendancy era sound.

In Waves is a good listen if you are a fan of Trivium, or metalcore in general. The band has always been more metal than hardcore in my eyes anyways. It should appeal especially to those who just enjoy melodic metal. The only problem I really have with the album is that it could be a little shorter but that's not really too big of an issue since I still like hearing the songs. In Waves might not change people's minds about Trivium but it should be something fans can be happy about getting.

Score: 7.5/10
Standout Tracks: In Waves, Black, Caustic Are the Ties That Bind