Album Review: Trivium - 'Vengeance Falls'

13 October 2013 | 3:56 pm | Staff Writer
Originally Appeared In

Bring back Shogun.

More Trivium More Trivium

It would appear that as vengeance falls so does creativity, with Trivium continuing their march into genericism that began with their previous album, 'In Waves'. Now almost completely indistinguishable from the throngs of uninspired metal acts out there, 'Vengeance Falls' should be remembered as the point where Trivium finally lost their last shred of soul. Granted, there's still a few cool riffs lying around, but the vast majority of the album sounds recycled and bland.

From start to finish, 'Vengeance Falls' gives the impression that Trivium have pretty much run out of ideas. If you do happen to like some of the riffs on this album well lucky you, because you're likely to hear them over and over again. Or at least that's what it feels like. When you reach the end of the record you probably won't remember much of it, and that's the biggest issue. None of 'Vengance Falls' is very memorable. All of that creativity and excellent songwriting that went into 'Shogun' and 'The Crusade' has just disappeared. Every so often you'll still hear a standout section or a shredding solo, but these are few and far between.

There are a few positive aspects that deserve to be noted, however. The production quality is top-notch, courtesy of Disturbed frontman David Draiman. The songs may be dreary and dull but at least you can hear it all with perfect clarity. If there's one thing about this album that manages to stand out, it's the superb mixing.

Matt Heafy's vocals are strong as usual but tend to sound kind of whiny, especially when combined with the average lyrics and subject matter, which really take a backseat to the sort of fantastical and epic themes the band has written about in the past. The musical style in general just has zero impact, with Trivium pretty much abandoning their heavier, thrashier side altogether in favour of a more metalcore-influenced sound, peppering their tracks here and there with breakdowns.

In short, another swing and a miss from Trivum. That makes two in a row now, so we'll just have to wait and see if they can redeem themselves with their next effort.

If you like Trivium for their thrashy numbers and creative, heavy riffs you'll probably want to give this one a miss. 'Vengeance Falls' will probably serve better as a "Baby's First Metal Album" of sorts, rather than a heavy metal classic. It simply doesn't have the same spirit as some of their past work. Your time would be spent more wisely listening to 'Shogun' again.

1. Brave This Storm

2. Vengeance Falls

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3. Strife

4. No Way to Heal

5. To Believe

6. At the End of this War

7. Through Blood and Dirt and Bone

8. Villainy Thrives

9. Incineration: The Broken World

10. Wake (The End is Nigh)