Mick's Töp 15 Albums of 2021

2021 was an interesting year. It cleared the lowest bar possible of being better than 2020, but still was another year of adjusting to whatever the “new normal” is supposed to be. I work from home and do have a job that I love, but the monotony of not leaving my house basically ever has surfaced more moments of existential dread than I typically like to allow in one calendar year. My wife and our two cats have continued to be my foundation. Having each other has certainly meant the world in navigating through these weird times. I fell deeper into some hobbies which mostly were video game related (shocker, I know) but the tradeoff was that I wrote about music less. Durf really put the team on his back by coming up with the Durf’s Weekly Workout column, but it was personally a slow year around these parts. All in all, 2021 was like beating Dark Souls (which was also something I did for the first time this year); there were plenty of moments that felt like I was beating my head against the wall, but seeing it through was ultimately worth it. And since I didn’t write a ton this year, please allow me to word vomit a bit about the albums that carried me through.

Trivium - What the Dead Men Say

I will forever long for the feeling of hearing Ascendancy for the first time again as much any other metal fan whose "gateway years" coincided with the metalcore boom of the early-mid 2000s, but what has kept me a Trivium fan for the long haul is how their sound has continued to evolve with each album. Ember to Inferno through Shogun saw the band flex their heavier, thrash-laden muscles while more accessible hooks and melodies were explored during the In Waves through Silence in the Snow years. While my preferences lean more towards the former rather than the latter, the release of 2017's The Sin and the Sentence was a watershed moment not only for the band but also for me fully realizing that the best version of Trivium is when all these elements, and their extremes, come together. What the Dead Men Say, the band's ninth full-length album, continues where The Sin and the Sentence left off; offering a slew of heavy hitting, dexterous guitar riffs accompanied by captivating drum-work, heavy screams, and lush vocal melodies.

Trivium - The Sin and the Sentence

I'd wager pretty comfortably that the majority of metal fans out there started their journey with bands that they would now consider mainstream. If somebody tells you their first endeavors in metal occurred by just happening upon a discography of a band like Immolation then that somebody is either a flat-out liar or a unicorn. Like it or not, as is the case with other genres of music, the mainstream is a piece of the puzzle that forms the holistic view of metal. It's normally here where bands are referred to as "gateway" bands. Trivium was such a band for me. 2005's Ascendancy, the crown-jewel of their discography, showed early high-school me that there were much heavier things to be discovered other than the slew of radio-cuts from Metallica and Slipknot I was primarily caught up in at the time. Over the course of their next five albums, Trivium played a balancing act with Matt Heafy's screaming:clean vocal ratio, effectively experimenting with each extreme of that spectrum and much in-between. With The Sin and the Sentence, the band has found a sweet spot in their sound by focusing their efforts in the dead middle of that aforementioned spectrum; something that should appease both camps of their fan-base.

Exclusive Interview - Corey Beaulieu (Trivium)

This past Saturday in Detroit, Durf and I were able to sit down and catch up with Corey Beaulieu, lead guitarist of Trivium, for a little chat before their show playing alongside Devildriver. Topics included the current tour, future tours, the new album, and what kind of sound Trivium strives for. Be sure to check out this and more after the break!

Trivium Streams New Track : "No Way To Heal"

Just in the wake of the review I wrote for Trivium's upcoming album, Vengeance Falls, they've released a third track for all to enjoy.

Trivium - Vengeance Falls

There’s a fine line in determining whether the changes in a band’s sound over the course of their career are indicative of actual positive growth. Sounding different then what you became known for does not automatically equate to quality. Yet, on the flip side, it doesn’t automatically disqualify it from having some merit either. In the case of Trivium’s sixth full-length album, Vengeance Falls, the latter is supported and then some. While they take a definitive direction with the more mainstream side of Matt Heafy’s vocals, Vengeance Falls manages to also encapsulate the kind of heaviness you would hope for, and not to mention some of their strongest songwriting since Shogun.

Music Video Mania: September 12, 2013

I don't know if it's just me, but music videos seem to be very much a thing of the past. Not so much in the sense that they're rarely made anymore, but more so because they feel like they've lost a certain kind of flare that they once knew. That's not to say, however, that I don't enjoy watching music videos once they come out. They certainly are fun little treats to perhaps hold you over until a certain album is released or to just entertain you with something like awesome live footage. 2013 has had its fair share of music video releases, thus far. In an effort to start centralizing all of these videos into one place, take a look after the break to see what three selections I've made for this first Music Video Mania post.

The Case For Trivium

Just a forewarning, this article will be a rather extensive read. "Oh joy, a super long article on Trivium!" I can hear many of you sarcastically saying as you roll your eyes. This article is actually to address and hopefully correct that very notion that made you roll your eyes in the first place. Trivium has always taken a lot of flack over the years from the online community.  Granted, some may have been justified, but the purpose of this article is to provide evidence that not only is most of that flack unjustified but that you should also be grateful that they’re around in the current mainstream metal scene.

Trivium vs. Ghost (It's Not What You Think)

Trivium just posted this along with a few other pictures from a recent photo-shoot they did with Ghost on their Facebook page.  I thought this one would be worth a few good laughs.

- Mick

We'll Do It Live Fridays: Live In (Waves) Studio

I don't have anything too fancy to say about this week's WDILF post, other than the fact that it's awesome (per ususal).  I'm a little late to the game in addressing this, but these live performance studio clips from Trivium are ridiculously awesome.

Check it out after the break.

Dream Theater Touring With Trivium?! Sign Me Up, Please.

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Dream Theater has officially announced some initial dates of their fall tour in support of their upcoming September 13 release of A Dramatic Turn Of Events.  They're also bringing along this band named Trivium.  Who's ever heard of that band, right? 

Here's some of the official statement from Roadrunner. 

Dream Theater are also planning to embark on a massive world tour, where they will play selections from A Dramatic Turn of Events, as well as classic staples and fan favorites. Labelmates Trivium will appear on many dates, supporting their new album In Waves.

"We are all very pumped about the release of A Dramatic Turn of Events this September, as well as the world tour we'll embark upon in support of the album," said Petrucci. "Our first leg will bring us throughout North America where we'll showcase songs from the new album along with tons of fan favorites and a brand new tour production unlike any other that we've done before. We're equally excited to have our friends in Trivium join us. It's sure to be an incredible tour. We're looking forward to seeing all of our friends on the road this fall!"
Check out some of the initial tour dates after the break

New Trivium and New Dream Theater - Dear God

Link To Dream Theater Track (why Roadrunner doesn't allow embedding on some of their youtube videos is beyond me):  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oasnbzEMV08&feature=channel_video_title

We've been lucky enough to get some more new material from Trivium and finally some new material from Dream Theater since Mike Mangini has joined their ranks as Mike Portnoy's replacement.  Let us know what you think of them in the comments section!  I'm going to hold my opinions for the time being.  Trivium's new record, In Waves, is set to be released on August 9th via Roadrunner.  Dream Theater's new record, A Dramatic Turn Of Events, is set to be released on September 13th also via Roadrunner. 

-Mick

New Trivium Track!

So here it is, at long last, our first taste of some brand spankin new Trivium.  I've only given the track a couple of listens so far but it definitely evoked some positive responses to my ears initially.  It should be no surprise to anyone that Trivium is a band I have a very positive bias towards, especially if my profile pic on the sidebar is any indication, so I won't try to sugar coat it too much.  This song is not something that is going to blow you away.  It certainly is not reinventing the wheel.  However, it is a very solid track.  While the  "epicness" that was created with tracks on Shogun is not in full force here, this track still gives plenty of reason to be excited about their new record which should be coming out sometime over the summer.  Get excited people.  

-Mick

Full Trivium Concert Here!

I've had this idea for a while but just recently got the motivation to actually follow through with it.  You can now listen to a full Trivium concert via our youtube channel.  The concert was part of their previous Into The Mouth Of Hell We Tour leg of North America.  This specific show took place on 11/17/09 at the Chicago House Of Blues which yours truly was present at and thoroughly enjoyed.  This concert marked the first time I ever heard their new drummer, Nick Augusto, play live with them and let me just say their live performance has gotten 100% better because of him.  While everybody is getting excited for certain releases coming up in 2011, you can be assured that Trivium's is one that I've got my eyes on.  I thought it would be appropriate to provide something to motivate you guys to be excited about it as well.  Enjoy.

-Mick

And Your 2011 Mayhem Lineup......(Drum Roll, Please)

I think it's pretty apparent by now that when Mayhem Festival states on their site that "announcements will be released in January," that means these announcements will arrive on January 31. They even teased us a little bit this year by saying the lineup would be announced last Wednesday.  PSYCH!  But here it is, folks.  At long last, the lineup for the 2011 Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival has been officially released.  Below after the break you can find the full lineup, dates, and my first impressions of the lineup (something tells me it won't be as good as 2009 was).