TRIVIUM'S 9TH STUDIO RELEASE DROPS TODAY!

If you're reading this you're probably already aware of their killer bee mentality - the one that has brought this band up in the ranks, so I don't want to put you all in some tepid trance that poke and prod at you from all of the directions TRIVIUM will take yo as you listen...so let's just get right down to the nitty gritty that is "WHAT THE DEAD MEN SAY". Ready? Let's go track by track!

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IX - a telling intro to the characters storylines, and lessons. TRIVIUM will tell us throughout the remainder of the record. Get ready for acoustic sickness, metal electric madness, ballistic beating percussion, and bass lines that will make your pits sweat just thinking about it!

"WHAT THE DEADE MEN SAY X - a telling intro to the characters; acoustic sickness, metal electric madness, ballistic beating percussion, and an incredibly powerful vocal presence.

WHAT THE DEAD MEN SAY - when this song kicks in about 20 seconds with MATT saying GO, you know it is a command for more than the stir of the pit at a live show. It i s a clue to the action that the band is about to educate us with. This DON'T KNOW HOW question of “what the dead men say”, as MATT so eloquently put it was “up to the listener” and open for interpretation. Follow the clues in this track and you might be on the path to the answer.

CATASTROPHIST - when this single was released, I could not stop listening to it. I might or might not have pressed repeat on this one. It was like my head was up against a megaphone funneling in the track’s brilliantly beefed up hooks that flooded into the thirsty parts of my brain.. I love the harmonic changes in the chorus and those tucked into the hooks. Prepare yourself for the last half of the track; you’re gonna be blasted to another stage in your metal development. The solo and the drums’ ability to whoop your ear’s ass is just like that free feeling after a downpour and the sun’s heat pours over you...and you’ll know exactly what I mean at 5:28. I want this track to blast into a few people’s faces for at least 20 days.

AMONGST THE SHADOWS AND THE STONES - here’s where the inhalation of heavy tests your speaker’s ability to hold up to the girth. I feel the power of the pit enticing fans as this song’s beginnings waft over the heads of thousands of people...or will. As for now, my circle pit in my studio will have to do and if it weren't for the solid drum parts, MATT’S vocally charged riffs, and the bounce of the melody, who knows how I would keep from tipping over or getting back to not being dizzy. Throw up your fists for the mantra’s call at the surprising chug of the end...rad AF! There is a chord progression in this track that is so good it might be worth clipping and playing it over and over it’s so solid!

BLEED INTO ME - be still my heart...the bassline is dope AF! me and I have to snap myself back to reality because had I not returned, the rest of this song might not have been heard. If ever a ballad was made that you could bounce to, this is it. This isn’t a traditional love song, really. More like an exposure to that - whatever it is. But the key changes and the throttle of the undertones in the bass in the background are spine tingling - they will emotionally shock those that have those unabridged feelings to whatever we love or lust after.

THE DEFIANT - strong picking pulls my ear to the middle immediately to pay close attention. It’s a prog-like jam with the distant anthem of the days when rock music’s flag wasn’t the only thing waving in the wind. The structure of this track is like a mini-opera and whatever imagery comes whilst listening - don’t try and mold it or shape it. Just let the solos and the way the rhythm whips it back into line. I am so in love with the way this track moved me through a variety of emotions...I’m most def going back to this one to figure it out.

SICKNESS UNTO YOU - Jumpin’ Jehosaphat!!! From the first 18 seconds, had me listening like a rabbit in the tall grass trying to figure out if friend or foe was approaching in a silent meadow. MATT’s lyrics are strong AF and I don’t know what sickness he is describing, but if it’s anything like mine, it’s the powerful stuff that carved out a chapter in my life that literally changed me: forever. Holy Balls. The bass, guitars, drums are fused into a probe plugged directly into that part of your spine that is like an invisible tentacle...the chakra that absorbs energy that feels the ripples in your gut and the tiny feet walking upside down on the inside of your skin. The part of the energy of a person that creates the need to react. There are a few measures that in every sense of the meaning, have the ability to move your core and shake that internal iron ball that mimics the Earth’s core. If you find it if you find that within yourself, mark the day and time; because you’ve just made a deep discovery.

SCATTERING THE ASHES - lyrically, I am on board with the meaning of this track, at least my meaning. I like the polar opposites in the story and the tempo. There are some unbelievable drum trills and rolls in this track that leave me out of breath at the end. Even if this is an emotion trying to be pushed out from my inner-mini me or if I’m just now realizing these feelings are already there with the push-pop of the tempo. I dig it either way!

BENDING THE ARC TO FEAR - turn on the gas and light the punk to the torch and watch it weld the tempo as your pulse increases with the beats in the vocals and the slap of the skins on the drums. An angst-filled march to figure fact from fiction; and not a storyline from anyone else. This is the backdrop to your own reality set to a perfect song that builds steam as it’s played. The percussive blasts from the bass and drums will pound out all the second guesses. Followed up with the cadence of the will to exit the walls within, this track will definitely be one that sticks to TRIVIUM fans, old and new.

THE ONES WE LEAVE BEHIND - welts from the pounce off this track will most def appear on your inner ear. From the gritty vocals, to the drums that literally do not stop a double kick till the drop to the bridge-like transition that paves the way for a lengthy chorus-like guitar solo. An energized finale that leads and showcases this band’s roots and evolutionary growth. And I love the fade out because it makes me think that the story isn’t over; that in some ways, it’s just beginning.

TRIVIUM has been a staple in my bag-o-musi, since 2017’s appearance at ROCKLAHOMA. I have gravitated to the band’s ability to express this metal-savant-like music that somehow makes you reinvent how you thought about them from the last album.
these guys are impressively talented as individuals, and combined just makes metal magic.

I love that even with this essence of rejuvenation that comes through each record, it is not one that you have to reacquaint yourself with. The band picks up right where you left off at the end of the last record’s era and builds off that. TRIVIUM’S artistry in songwriting is their ability to hone in on the familiar patterns in metal and critically focus on the unfamiliar.

TRIVIUM never stops; MATT is a never-ending source of inspiration that is visible as he's immersed in his profession. Whether it’s implementing the ways he became successful in music to other areas of interest, like gaming, MATT will cliff dive (with the other guys too, mind you) right into it. Balancing all of this with his wife and kiddos, is inspiring.

WHAT THE DEAD MEN SAY isn't a secret anymore, but their message or messages are for the listener to discover. And I'm positive that you will find what you're supposed to for.

You can find WHAT THE DEAD MEN SAY in retailers everywhere or give it a tug and pull it down from any digital music source, as well.

Watch for my chat with MATT HEAFY coming up over the weekend. Keep your chins up and we'll see ya on the flip!
Til Next Time - MRML - Cherri

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Tags:  TRIVIUM, WHAT THE DEAD MEN SAY, ROADRUNNER RECORDS, NEW RELEASE, MATT HEAFY

Cherri Bird    April 24, 2020