Review: Trivium – In Waves

| Aug 01, 2011 | Comments 12 | Tags: ,

Rated:

3/5

The fifth album from Floridian quartet Trivium finds the band returning to the more metalcore, less straight-up thrash, direction of 2005’s Ascendancy, while exploring new directions. Standout tracks “Watch the World Burn” and “Caustic Are the Ties That Bind” echo the catchy choruses and blistering riffs that have first made the band popular; lead single, “In Waves,” meanwhile, suggests Fear Factory with its scathing title refrain. Unfortunately, many of the other songs sound too similar and simply blend together, and the frequent layering of melodic singing over blast-beat drumming sounds out of place. An inconsistent record with flashes of brilliance, In Waves should, however, keep diehard Trivium fans happy. DAVID McKENNA

Check out the title track off In Waves below:


  • Gkatlasdoc

    WOW – I promise that anyone who gives the cd a full listen will say that Trivium has released the best album this year … promise ! Oh yeah , & nothing is musically better than HEAVY intertwined with MELODY !

  • http://www.facebook.com/alejandro.rojasramirez Alejandro Rojas Ramirez

    i love that video

  • Oli

    Inconsistent, simple, average, radio friendly.. Nothing refreshing

    I agree with 3/5. Definitely no way near a 4. Just another average album. Shame, really. Shogun was undeniably musically superior in every way possible to this.

  • Mark

    Takes a few listens to really get behind it but still a pretty good record. 3.5/5

  • Chante

    I honestly think it’s an extremely good album. yes it has it’s flaws but it is still one of the best albums of the year. I personally think that the use of melodic singing combined with the harsh vocals works really really well. It sets them apart from the rest who just try and sound too brutal. This album was way better than say Children of Bodom’s new album which I thought was the worst album of the year.In Waves is definitely something new and well done to Trivium who is always trying something new. 

    • Browntown

      how does ‘the use of melodic singing combined with the harsh vocals.. sets them apart from the rest’ ? metalcore as a sub genre is based upon breakdowns and this style of vocals. and then you compare it to COB, a band that is nothing like trivium, nor have they ever been.

      I think this album is ok, as said elsewhere, not as good as Shogun, but not bad at all, 3/5 is fair.

  • Chante

    I honestly think it’s an extremely good album. yes it has it’s flaws but it is still one of the best albums of the year. I personally think that the use of melodic singing combined with the harsh vocals works really really well. It sets them apart from the rest who just try and sound too brutal. This album was way better than say Children of Bodom’s new album which I thought was the worst album of the year.In Waves is definitely something new and well done to Trivium who is always trying something new. 

  • Buddy Sherrer

    i hated this album at first. then after a few listens it became on of my favorite albums. There are some tracks that I could care less for like Forsake Not the Dream and Chaos Reigns but every other song is very good and shows emotion in every note. This review was right about the top tracks being Watch the World Burn and Caustic but there are other tracks like In Waves (with the intro!) and Black that are definitely keepers. Inception gets old after a while and Dusk Dismantled needs many listens. I don’t understand why this website and Guardian (btw, don’t listen to Guardian’s review, it is pitiful how little the editor knew about metal) rate this album so low. It is Trivium making songs that, while not showing how talented they are as musicians, show that they know how to make songs that just sound good. I’d give this album a 4.5/5 and that’s an underrating so I wouldn’t sound like a fanboy giving it a 5/5. Trivium delivered.

  • Scott

    Love Trivium but this is a step back after Shogun which may be my favorite album ever.  The best songs were the ones they released early which kind of takes away from the experience when you skip those and get dissapointment with the rest.  Chaos Reigns is about the only other song that sounded great the first listen through

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_SPNDO2EPH5ZHHAQBWXPR7FW7AM Κώστας

    in 2008 and 2009 i used to listen trivium everyday and everytime, 2 years they were my favorite band… but trivium ended for me since travis left the band…
    from shogun and after, i hear noise from my speakers…

  • Connor

    To the reviewer – do you know what a blast beat is? There are very few moments where blasting even occurs on this album, and fewer still ones that have only clean vocals over them.

  • http://www.facebook.com/clayne.zollinger Clayne Stirland Zollinger III

    In Waves is not as complex as Shogun (which is why Shogun is AMAZING), however it’s a great record nonetheless. Sometimes band’s have to go back to the basics to find a new path. I think they do a good job of blending simplicity with an adventurous sense of growth on this one. In the end I like Shogun slightly better, but this one is no slacker of a record.  A solid 3.7/5.