TRIVIUM: What The Dead Men Say (THRASH): review / opinion to read on Music Waves

"What The Dead Men Say" is the ninth album of the American Trivium group. When you look in the past, it's true that in the last few years, the band hadn't been unanimous with their latest releases, but they had raised the bar with the solid "The Sin And The Sentence" released in 2017, which had regained a certain quality in the compositions.

Listening to the first tracks of this new album, the signal sent by the musicians is clear: "What The Dead Men Say" walks well in the footsteps of its predecessor. The eponymous song has probably the best riff of the whole CD. Although catchy and radio-friendly, the title is excellent, as is the next track, 'Catastrophist'. It features the famous Iron Maiden-style guitars that have been the hallmark of Trivium, on a fast drumming background. The clear vocals are sometimes even more important, as on 'Bleed Into You', which is also one of the most immediate songs, thanks to its well-brought chorus.

But like on the previous album, "What The Dead Men Say" features a number of tracks that are much heavier and less obvious on the first listen. This is the case of the destructive 'Amongst The Shadows And The Stones', ultra powerful and violent, or 'Bending The Arc To Fear' which crushes everything in its path.

What's also striking on this album is the mastery, the velocity, the ability of the musicians to develop complex sections. The drums are set like a metronome despite the fast tempos, the guitars are sharp and ultra clean. As for Matt Heafy's vocals, his performance is once again remarkable, with a very wide range, from clean vocals to guttural vocals to hoarse vocals. The singer switches from one style to another in no time at all and with disconcerting ease.

Here again, Trivium signs a beautiful album of melodic thrash metalcore, efficient and relatively inspired, with explosive compositions. - Official website

TRIVIUM

WHAT THE DEAD MEN SAY

ROADRUNNER RECORDS

THRASH