Called It. The Shogun Vibes Were Real.
Back in July, when Trivium put out the poster for their fall tour, I said it was giving me Shogun vibes. I called it. Trivium just announced their 11th album, Crown In The Grave, and the whole thing is built on Akira Kurosawa’s Throne of Blood and Japanese horror and cinema from the ’50s, ’60s and ’70s. I’m a big fan of this band, and right off the bat I already enjoy the new title track more than the first single, “Dead Inside Of Me.”
Crown In The Grave arrives November 20 through Roadrunner Records, and it’s up for pre-order now. The title track comes with a Noh theater-inspired, post-apocalyptic video set in a smoke-filled dojo, directed by Pavel Trebukhin. It’s the first Trivium record made at The Hangar, the band’s own studio in Orlando, and the first with drummer Alex Rüdinger officially in the band. Josh Wilbur is back producing, and Jacob Hansen mixed it for the first time.
Trivium get poo-pooed on by some of the metal old timers out there, and I’ve never bought it. This band has perfectly fused old school thrash and heavy metal with a new school way of thinking, and they’ve stayed relevant doing it. Eleven albums in, that’s not luck.
Bassist Paolo Gregoletto says they referenced Metallica’s Black Album, Megadeth’s Countdown To Extinction and Soundgarden’s Superunknown for the big choruses. I’m not sure it compares, and I don’t think it has to. Trivium have been compared to Metallica for most of their career. Maybe they’re the new version of that. I don’t know. But constantly comparing them isn’t always fair. Trivium are a bit of their own thing, and they sound good.
Matt Heafy also opened up about the mental health struggles, injuries and anxiety that hit him before this record, and about choosing therapy and finding the right medication. I’m a big fan and proponent of therapy. It can bring a lot of peace and a lot of clarity to living a happy life, and it’s good to see him doing that too.
This is good stuff. Pre-order the album, and check out our post on the fall tour with In Flames, Orbit Culture, Fit For An Autopsy and Frozen Soul. It kicks off November 5, and I’ll be at YouTube Theater on December 4.
Source: Trivium / Roadrunner Records