Trivium's 'In the Court of the Dragon' - Album Review

Something that has been quite a theme on this blog throughout 2021 is a reduced album turnaround brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. With touring pretty much outlawed throughout much of 2020 and a significant chunk of 2021, a number of bands decided to use this enforced downtime wisely and Florida's Trivium are one such example. Having released their ninth album, What the Dead Men Say (which I reviewed here), a month into the pandemic, opportunities to tour it were essentially non-existent. Sadly, What the Dead Men Say is likely to become the somewhat forgotten album in the band's canon as a result of its lack of a dedicated tour - a fate which I imagine will befall many albums released last year. That being said, What the Dead Men Say is a bit of a strange entry in Trivium's discography in any case. The album is certainly enjoyable, and I listened to it a fair amount last year, but it was the first album of the band's that did not really have its own identity. Trivium have constantly sought to reinvent themselves throughout their career - with each album from their 2003 debut Ember to Inferno to 2017's excellent The Sin and the Sentence (which I also reviewed here) essentially having their own sound. What the Dead Men Say was the band's first album that was pretty much exactly the same sound-wise as the album that preceded it. This could either be seen as a good or a bad thing - and in truth it is probably a bit of both. One the one hand it was great seeing Trivium finally 'settle' on a sound. As great as much of their work has been, they have often seemed to struggle to find their place in the metal world - particularly as they sought to shake the metalcore tag that came with the huge success caused by the release of 2005's Ascendancy. What the Dead Men Say was Trivium at their most comfortable, having finally managed to fuse to best elements of all of their previous albums on The Sin and the Sentence. On the other hand, however, something that I have always admired about Trivium is their willingness to experiment. All of their albums are instantly recognisable as being by Trivium, but the distinct sound of each one makes their catalogue one of the most interesting in modern metal. What the Dead Men Say essentially felt like 'more of the same' as a result of it largely copying The Sin and the Sentence's formula to the letter - and I felt that the songwriting throughout was not as strong either. 18 or so months later, however, the band are back with their tenth album In the Court of the Dragon - and it is probably the album that I wanted What the Dead Men Say to be. Instead of copying the formula of The Sin and the Sentence, it builds on it by dialling up the heaviness somewhat and including more progressive arrangements. It is clear that the band have found their true sound over the last few years, but In the Court of the Dragon shows that this sound can still be tweaked rather than purely relied upon.

As with the last album, In the Court of the Dragon opens with a symphonic, gothic instrumental scene-setter. This is not something that the band have made a habit of doing over the years, but it is a technique that they have employed occasionally. Due to the album's progressive nature, X's inclusion suits the album's overall grandness. Trivium are a band that have always pushed themselves, and X shows their long-established maturity - as well as acting as a stark contrast with the album's blistering title track that follows. In the Court of the Dragon was the first taste of the album that the band's fans heard a few months ago, and I knew when I heard it that its accompanying album was going to be a step up from What the Dead Men Say. It is the album's most consistently heavy song, with frontman Matt Heafy largely sticking to his screamed vocals throughout. Occasional clean vocal refrains are included, but even those tend to be backed by brutal blast beasts courtesy of drummer Alex Bent. The heaviness is infectious however, and that is due to the riffing style utilised throughout. The song's main riff actually reminds me of the style that the band used throughout Ascendancy all those years ago; but brought into the modern day and played with much more venom. I like this little nod to the band's past, but the song certainly sounds like modern Trivium. The production, thanks once again to Josh Wilbur, is huge, and the band's experience brings a renewed confidence to that old sound. The song has already become a real favourite of mine, and it really sets the tone for what is to come. What follows is rarely quite as relentlessly heavy, however, but the overall tone remains consistent. Like a Sword Over Damocles is a much thrashier song, with fast-paced riffs and a shouted Heafy vocal that recalls a more assured version of what he was doing throughout 2006's The Crusade. The pace rarely lets up throughout, with Heafy and fellow guitarist Corey Beaulieu filling the speakers with their relatively simple riffing - while Paolo Gregoletto's bass is fat-sounding and very prominent in the mix. The song's chorus is the album's first true sing-a-long moment too, which shows that even in a thrashy number the band can still include some of their trademark 1980s-esque melodies. There is a lot of space for soloing too, with both Heafy and Beaulieu getting plenty of time in the spotlight to shine with their shredded and sweep-picked antics. Feast of Fire tones things down somewhat compared to the furious opening two numbers. It is still a pretty heavy track throughout, but it is a much more overtly melodic song that was clearly designed to be a single. It reminds me a little of The Heart From Your Hate from The Sin and the Sentence, as well as a good chunk of 2015's Silence in the Snow (which I reviewed here), but with a little more grit. There are some harsh vocals included this time, although on the whole Heafy sticks to his clean delivery - which makes the chorus really shine, especially considering the great guitar lead that accompanies it. Throw in a fantastic bass performance throughout, too, and the song is a real melodic feast that is sure to become a live favourite over the coming years.

A Crisis of Revelation picks up the pace again, as well as the heaviness, and really goes for the throat with an extreme metal vibe and some of the album's best drumming. The band have had a few great drummers in the past, but in Bent they have found their perfect match. He makes the most complex and furious beats sound so effortless - and the casual blast beats that are thrown in throughout this song really showcase his talents. Due to this overall heaviness, the song is another that generally relies on Heafy's harsh vocals. The verses steam along at a fast pace, with his screams sitting atop the riffing, but the chorus does slow things down a little to allow him to almost croon over a snaking groove. Heafy is a singer that is always trying to better himself, and his performance throughout the whole album is stellar. He has had his vocal issues over the years, but he seems to be much stronger these days - as his varied performance throughout A Crisis of Revelation proves. Those who like Trivium's more progressive side will love The Shadow of the Abattoir, which follows. There are three songs on this album that breach the seven minute mark, and The Shadow of the Abattoir is the first of them. It certainly reins in the heaviness of the album up to this point, at least at first, and presents a much murkier, more atmospheric front. The opening guitar melodies twinkle in the darkness, before Heafy sings the first verse in an uncharacteristically gentle manner. Atmospherics and intricate bass playing back him; but the song ramps up as it moves towards the chorus - which is anthemic and packed with hooks. Heafy can genuinely soar as a clean vocalist these days, and the choruses here are some of the album's hookiest moments for me. Following another verse-chorus cycle, however, the song shifts in tone quite considerably as a big riff kicks in and the piece morphs into a fast-paced progressive metal behemoth with lots of tight guitar interplay and bursts of throat-shredding vocals. These are the sort of songwriting twists that I like to see from Trivium; and the song is a real album highlight for me as a result of the variety found throughout. No Way Back Just Through is a bit simpler and more to-the-point, which is appropriate following the colossal previous number, and has the feel of an old NWOBHM track played through a modern thrash filter. The structure of the song is much more straight forward, and the riffing throughout is quite old-school - even if some of Bent's drum tricks are more modern in flavour. As a result, the song is pretty hooky - and there is a lot of space for Heafy's vocals to shine. With the exception of a short bridge that leads into a melodic Beaulieu solo, the song is sung clean. Again, the sound forged on The Crusade is nodded to here - but with less of a thrash vibe and more of an old-school metal arrangement. There are stronger songs here, but the focus on vocal melodies makes the song stick in the brain - and it shows that the band can also excel at writing shorter, punchier pieces.

Fall Into Your Hands is the second of the three longer-form pieces here, and it opens with a chaotic drum intro from Bent that continues on even after the guitars join the fray. Some of the beats that Bent has laid down on the three Trivium albums that he has now been a part of are hugely impressive, and the opening salvo really showcases his talent perfectly. The Trivium drum stool became a bit of a running joke for a while because of how regularly it was vacated - but Bent has allowed the band to take their songwriting and arrangements to the next level. I really hope that he sticks around as Trivium are genuinely better with him involved. In fact, Fall Into Your Hands is a bit of a tour of everything that he can do. There is so much variety in the drumming throughout the song, ranging from simple to extremely complex, and the lengthy piece benefits from his constant chopping and changing of styles. This would be for nothing if the songwriting was weak however, but Fall Into Your Hands is another strong offering on an album that is packed full of memorable cuts. It is much consistently heavier than The Shadow of the Abattoir, and the strongest moment for me is the guitar solo-heavy mid-section - which sees both Heafy and Beaulieu shredding. From Dawn to Decadence opens up with something of a more old-school heavy metal sound; but this is fairly short lived as the song is one of the album's most chaotic and varied. It is not one of the longest cuts here, but it manages to squeeze a lot into its four minute run time. It is one of the most interesting tracks on the album vocally too, as it features a lot of layering that mixes semi-spoken word with harsh vocals to create something unsettling - particularly during the verses. There is something Nevermore-esque about these parts, with complex and oppressive riffing to back up Heafy's vocal experimentations, while the chorus is trademark Trivium and packed full of hooks. The contrast between the two main sections of the song is stark, but it makes it memorable. The variety within the song is staggering, and it goes to show how creative the band currently are. The album comes to a close with the third of the longer-form pieces The Phalanx. The song is certainly the album's grandest, with subtle keyboards and orchestrations throughout, and as a result there it has an old-school heavy metal vibe. The band wanted to channel influences like Dio on Silence in the Snow, and that has been brought forward into The Phalanx - albeit with an increased emphasis on heaviness. Silence in the Snow eschewed harsh vocals entirely, but The Phalanx includes heavier sections that see Heafy screaming - even if the bulk of the song is sung clean to emphasis the grandeur and old-school metal vibes that it is portraying. It is a great song to end the album with, especially as the orchestration increases as the piece moves on - which culminates in an epic crescendo to close things out. The crescendo represents the power of what came before, and the album as a whole is packed full of memorable moments. While Ascendancy, 2008's Shogun, and The Sin and the Sentence are probably the band's peaks for me, In the Court of the Dragon is not far behind at all. It is probably the band's heaviest work to date - and it shows that the band are still striving to better themselves and write epic music.

The album was released on 8th October 2021 via Roadrunner Records. Below is the band's promotional video for In the Court of the Dragon.