The success of Orlando-based quartet Trivium has long seemed causally linked to an arithmetic pattern. Its even-numbered releases — “Shogun” and “Ascendancy” — prove masterpieces capable of melding melody and hardcore thrash, whereas its odd-numbered works — “The Crusade” and “In Waves” — substitute the band’s influences for its identity, exchanging the group’s signature lyrical depth and guitar-driven technicality for a sound deemed more accessible.
As such, the band’s sixth release, “Vengeance Falls” would be, I assumed, nothing short of exceptional. Perhaps I need to re-enroll in an elementary math class.
Like fast food, Trivium’s latest effort is perhaps best enjoyed without knowing how it was produced — in this case the musical meat-grinding factory is none other than vocalist, lyricist and producer David Draiman. Beats in songs like opener “Brave This Storm” and “To Believe” and vocalist Matt Heafy’s rapid delivery of lines over them, are reminiscent of the vocal and instrumental segments in nu-metal works by Draiman’s band, Disturbed.
Though the jaunty, punk-like pace of the aforementioned tracks and others is awkward, Trivium does utilize a variety of the metalcore genre’s conventions to create a strong sound. After some simple yet sweet guitar lines, courtesy of lead guitarist Corey Beaulieu, “No Way to Heal” swings into a clean vocal-laden groove riff which drummer Nick Augusto nurtures into a thrash verse, Heafy growling “The shame it takes me, the pain it breaks me, what have I done?” — the despair echoed in bassist Paolo Gregoletto’s gnarly, menacing sweeps.
The tension culminates when Heafy proclaims “I stand before disaster/Defiantly I lie then suffocate,” Augusto’s breakneck pace leading Trivium to the metaphorical cliff below which doom awaits. But does the song drop the momentum and take the plunge into mediocrity? No, the band soars from the guttural crescendo into a galloping chorus.
But when unsupported by the array of intricacies like guitar solos, breakdowns and vocal techniques — all of which were exemplified on “Ascendancy” — these thrash melodies become repetitive. Unlike in “Shogun,” the deviations from thrash that Trivium takes in “Vengeance Falls” come across as bland and uninspired. Heafy’s soft lines at the beginning of six-minute closer “Wake (The End Is Nigh)” fail to build as much momentum as his similar delivery in the bridge of the 12-minute epic “Shogun.” Where the lines in “Shogun” erupt into a two-minute onslaught of Heafy’s thunderous growls and lightning licks from his and Beaulieu’s guitars, “Wake” fumbles and flails between an awkward breakdown of a chorus and incorporations of more rampant riffs, the song never reaching the apocalyptic nature of “Shogun.”
Though Trivium has always lacked the sheer brutality of As I Lay Dying and the ironic savor of Darkest Hour’s bitterness, they always retained a nostalgic majesty that manifested itself beyond lengthy songs and bolstering the tiny “T” section of my iTunes library. They taught me new words and concepts — everything from “Erinyes” to “masticate” — all while supplying stand-alone sound and story.
But the larger-than-life aura Heafy and company were able to forge on “Shogun” is undermined by the more conventional, nu-metal influence of Draiman. Just like after “The Crusade,” though, the drawing board still stands; Trivium’s potential is undeniable.
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