A great example of thrash metal. Thrash metal is like heavy metal on speed not really my taste having been brought up on heavy metal but I found it a bit hard to listen to for any length of time. I think the are great exponents of the genre and would recommend this for lovers of that sound.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
Good product
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
After hearing so much about how guys this young can be so good at their instruments, I was eager to hear what they play. Needless to say, I was disappointed. As I said, riffs are beyond bland. They harmonize downtuned riffs like every other NWOAHM band, but they obviously haven't figured out how to distinguish themselves among a legion of bands that have emerged in recent years. While some songs do contain some catchy riffs such as Ascendancy or Like Light to the Flies, for the most part it is very generic sounding. The soloing is definitely a highlight of the album, however. The guitarists don't mindlessly shred like many other metal guitarists, but they obviously can. They choose to play solos that accent the song and display emotion, a very commendable course of action. Unfortunately, the short spans of soloing time we hear are vastly overshadowed by the horrendous vocals work. To say the least, Heafy does not have a good voice. His scream is a high rasp that sounds identical to plenty of other mainstream bands I've been hearing lately. His singing is hardly any better. He can stay on key perfectly, meaning he doesn't need vocals lessons or anything along those lines. The problem is that his voice simply isn't good. Aside from a few highlight moments such as Dying in Your Arms or Suffocation Sight, the band could only benefit from a replacement. The rest of the band are much better at what they do, but for some reason they chose not to utilize their capabilities. The riffs are very simplistic, which only aid to the bland tincture of them. The bass goes unheard (except for perhaps Suffocation Sight) throughout virtually the entire album, a common thing among metal bands. The drums are respectable. The double bass speeds do get higher than expected at times (Rain), but overall none of his patterns are creative or mindblowingly fast. In the end, these guys have potential, but I don't hear anything that would make them worthy of the praise they get. The musicianship involved is very solid, but nothing out of the ordinary. The riffing is relatively boring and uninspired. The vocals are of course, horrid. Trivium definitely has strengths, but they have yet to master those in their music and develop their songwriting. The soloing was used well without being overdone. Overall, the song structures were all very similar and predictable. Some of it sounded like rushed writing with no though, such as The End of Everything, which had extremely sloppy guitar/piano harmonizing. Perhaps in the future these guys will improve, because they many good things going for them. But for now, all they're simply another generic American metal band with adequate playing and unoriginal writing.Read full review
"With its mercilessly precise and technical thrash metal riffage, blazing lead breaks and startling, instantly memorable choruses, 'Ascendancy' is arguably the strongest album to emerge from the U.S. metal scene in many years." - Kerrang! " 'Ascendancy' is absurdly good....you must hear" - Total Guitar 5/5 Personally, and as a metal guitarist I find the riffs absolutely fantastic. The drumming is nice'n'heavy with a lot of double bass pedalling. The vocals are very heavy in a lot of parts but soften into some great choruses. If you don't like heavy vocals (i.e. screaming), then it may not appeal to you, however the choruses and riffage is so good it will probably be worth it anyway. If I had to relate this album to the sound of other bands, I would probably say it sounds like a cross between 'Avenged Sevenfold' on their album 'Waking The Fallen' and some of Metallica's older stuff (pre-1992). If you want some heavy, well written, and rifftastic metal, then this album is definitely worth checking out. I decided to buy this album after I heard a sample of one of their songs - once I had a good listen to the guitaring, my mind was made up. Trivium Official Website: www.trivium.org See also: Atreyu, Avenged Sevenfold, Bullet For My Valentine, From Autumn To Ashes, Funeral For A Friend, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Killswitch Engage, Thrice, MetallicaRead full review
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