Trivium

Being one of the most notable bands in the highly popular but oft-denigrated movement known as the new wave of American heavy metal, Trivium’s musical creations carry some low expectations for traditional metalheads. This credo, however, makes for a pleasant surprise when listening to Trivium’s newest effort, Shogun. Sure, there’s a sub-par vocal performance by boss man Matt Heafy and a few clunker songs on the album but all this was pretty much expected. Where this album really shines is in the stellar guitar work by both Heafy and co-axe man Cory Beaulieu. Some tunes sound almost reminiscent of Jeff Loomis’s (Nevermore) highly praised guitar sound, and it is for this nugget alone that this record may deserve a few spins. Shogun is leaps and bounds better than Trivium’s last release (The Crusade) but the band that worship the ground Metallica walk upon will hopefully use their shredding chops for something a little better in the future.