After just reaching their 20-year mark, Trivium is releasing their 9th studio album this month, What the Dead Men Say. “Throughout our career, we’ve learned who we are,” says vocalist, Matt Heafy. “Now, we’ve got it dialed-in. What the Dead Men Say came together so efficiently and organically. It’s the result of all the time we’ve spent together as friends. We’ve found a really great place to exist in this world. We love melodic death metal, we love death and black metal, and we love hardcore. What The Dead Men Say is everything we do on one record.”
Opening the record with the title track, “What the Dead Men Say” opens right away with all their strengths with the heavy drums and the precise and difficult guitar. It has everything in one metal song with clean vocals, then the gritty, guttural screaming lyrics. There are a few tracks on this album that I want to see live, but this is a top song that I can feel the pit opening up with the heavy instrumentals in the middle.
“Catasophist” has been playing on the radio for a few weeks now, giving us all a taste of what this album has in store. “It has so much of what we do in one song,” Heafy goes on. “There’s the black metal energy inspired part and some Eastern European Gypsy jazz scales. On the whole album, you can track our audible history melted into a cohesive whole.” “I looked up what the word ‘Catastrophist’ means, and it’s one geological view of how the world has been shaped by very catastrophic and immediate changes,” says bass player, Paolo Gregoletto. “You can apply the same narrative to the C.E.O. of an oil company making decisions for profit, but ruining wildlife. You know it’s going to be a disaster, but you do it anyway. When you’re born, you have no say in the world you grow up in. You do as you get older though.” Listening to this track during the COVID-19 pandemic and seeing so much chaos around, brings a new perspective to the song.
“Bending the Arc to Fear” is a favorite of mine on the album. The intro has this great rhythmic riff where the guitar, drums, and bass mimic each other. After a solid 8
measures, there’s then a scale of a face-melting guitar, then the two join for Matt’s vocals. This is one of those tracks where the pit is felt when I listen to it. This track is one where every member’s strengths are heard individually, and then together as they play the speed and precision in sync with one another.
Any fan of Trivium is going to flip for this album. It shows the band’s progression over their 20-year career. “To be on album number nine and have a chance to better ourselves and our music is humbling,” states Paolo. “We’ve put everything into Trivium in order for it to grow and sustain. It’s an honor for me to play with these guys. It’s exciting just to go out on stage and know they’re as into it as I am.”
April 24th, download or stream their newest album, and follow the band on social media for updates. They currently have a tour scheduled, but stay tuned for updates with the COVID-19 pandemic possibly affecting those dates.
Track List
- IX (intro)
- What the Dead Men Say
- Catastrophist
- Amongst the Shadows and the Stones
- Bleed Into Me
- The Defiant
- Sickness Unto You
- Scattering the Ashes
- Bending the Arc to Fear”
The Ones We Leave Behind
