By: Caleb Rippee
Trivium has finally released their 10th studio album titled “In The Court of The Dragon” the album features ten brand new tracks by the metalcore legends, three of them being already released singles.
“In The Court of The Dragon”, “Feast of Fire”, and “The Phalanx” are the already released singles that have been extremely well received. Getting over a million views on the first two singles, and over 600,000 views on their third.
But now that the album has dropped and all the tracks are now available to listen to for all people, many people have their own opinion on the new album.
Greg Kennelty (Metal Injection) says: “At what point do we stop hailing Trivium for being at the top of their game, and simply accept that this is just their new standard? With two of their best albums being released in recent years – The Sin And The Sentence in 2017 and What The Dead Men Say in 2020 – Trivium attempts a killer trilogy with In The Court Of The Dragon and sticks the landing.”
It’s obvious that Trivium fans enjoy the album. But you may want to see what it’s all about. While I encourage you to check it out for yourself. Here is a brief summary and review of the album done by yours truly.
“X”, The album starts with an instrumental intro, using creepy Gregorian chants along with the sound of a dragon growling. It grows more and more tense and then leads directly into the title track. This intro was done by Ihsahn, a multi instrumentalist, best known with his work with Norwegian metal band “Emperor”.
“In The Court of The Dragon ” jumps right into the heaviness with some harsh screams by vocalist Matt Heafy and some melodic riffs. The song progresses and gives a taste of what this album has to offer.
“Like a Sword over Damocles” starts with a haunting phrygian scale riff that is backed up by some thunderous tribal sounding drums. It quickly morphs into a headbanging song featuring some more Egyptian sounding melodies in the chorus.
“Feast of Fire” begins with a quiet riff that gets louder and louder, building up for a loud intro. The verse has some interesting basslines, with the bass guitar tone being very rattly and thick sounding.
“A Crisis of Revelation” explodes with some crazy drums that lead into a neoclassical influenced riff and feature some harsh vocals. The chorus includes a beautiful melody that then has some shredding guitar licks, courtesy of lead guitarist, Corey Beaulieu.
“The Shadow of The Abattoir” starts slowly with another neoclassical influenced melody that is played with a clean guitar tone and has some nice bass arpeggios supporting it, as well as some light drums. Matt Heafy showcases his deeper, more soft singing.
The song progresses with an anthemic chorus that softly tapers back into the verse. This seven minute ballad boasts some of the best vocal and guitar melodies on the album and acts as an epic war cry before the next track.
“No Way Back Just Through” starts with an explosive riff supported by some fast drumming. It continues the epic and powerful emotions built up by “The Shadow of the Abattoir” with Heafy triumphantly bellowing the chorus over powerful chords and arpeggios that give the song a heroic and bold feel.
“Fall Into Your Hands” features some of the most complex and impressive drumming by drummer Alex Bent. Making the song incredibly fast and heavy. The chorus has a mournful and defeated feel despite the pace of the songs which directly contrasts the victorious feel of the previous tracks. But as soon as you feel the weight of the chorus, the song kicks into overdrive and picks up with an angry and headbanging riff that is complemented by Bent’s powerful and fast drumming.
“From Dawn to Decadence” begins with a creepy, yet alluring intro that kicks off a fast verse with Heafy screaming and Bent playing his arms off. The chorus brings back the guitar melody from the intro and adds some very tastefully performed vocals. The song builds towards the emotion in the final track.
“The Phalanx’ starts with a heavily distorted harmonic minor riff and some extremely powerful drums. The song slows down to a heavy riff with some thundering drums. Heafy belts out some of the best vocals on the album on the verse which leads into the chorus. The chorus is the apotheosis of everything on the album, bringing all the different emotions to a climactic peak with some amazing melodic guitar and vocals. The song continues on and eventually comes to the powerful and epic outro that touches on the many emotions exhibited throughout the album. Defeat, triumph, sorrow, powerfulness, weakness, and terror. The song ends with a final scream by Heafy and the guitars fading out.
This album has shown that Trivium is capable of writing some amazing songs and developing emotional themes in a way that no one else can. The themes of victory and defeat, of mourning and sorrow, all lend themselves to the creative instrumentation and lyrics. Each song seems to push you further to the climactic end and emotional peak you know is coming.
So give the album a listen, you might just fall in love with it. Even if you aren’t a fan of metal you may enjoy the creative songs and powerful themes.
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