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Trivium - In Waves review



Reviewer:
7.5

430 users:
7.55
Band: Trivium
Album: In Waves
Style: Alternative metal, Thrash metal
Release date: August 2011


Disc I [Standard Edition]
01. Capsizing The Sea
02. In Waves
03. Inception Of The End
04. Dusk Dismantled
05. Watch The World Burn
06. Black
07. A Skyline's Severance
08. Built to Fall
09. Caustic Are The Ties That Bind
10. Forsake Not The Dream
11. Chaos Reigns
12. Of All These Yesterdays
13. Leaving This World Behind

Disc I [Special Edition]
01. Capsizing The Sea
02. In Waves
03. Inception Of The End
04. Dusk Dismantled
05. Watch The World Burn
06. Black
07. A Skyline's Severance
08. Ensnare The Sun
09. Built To Fall
10. Caustic Are The Ties That Bind
11. Forsake Not The Dream
12. Drowning In Slow Motion
13. A Grey So Dark
14. Chaos Reigns
15. Of All These Yesterdays
16. Leaving This World Behind
17. Shattering The Skies Above
18. Slave New World [Sepultura cover]

Disc II [Special Edition bonus DVD]
01. In Waves [Live from Chapman Studios]
02. Black [Live from Chapman Studios]
03. Built To Fall [Live from Chapman Studios]
04. Watch The World Burn [Live from Chapman Studios]
05. The Deceived [Live from Chapman Studios]
06. Suffocating Sight [Live from Chapman Studios]
07. Down From The Sky [Live from Chapman Studios]
08. Ember To Inferno [Live from Chapman Studios]
09. In Waves [documentary]
10. In Waves [music video]

This album is the George Costanza of Trivium's back catalog. At first listen, I absolutely HATED In Waves, I thought it was a terribly weak attempt at writing another Ascendancy, really generic and tacky. And then I left this album alone, for months.

But then I listened to it a couple more times, at random times. And... it kinda got stuck in my head... Cah-stan-zah.

Trivium should have trimmed the fat off In Waves. It has an unnecessarily long runtime and a ridiculous number of songs for an album from a band that's not grindcore. There are really fluffy, metalcore riffs, and some really dark songs. So in some sort of sense it is a diverse album. "Dusk Dismantled" is probably the darkest sounding song they've ever written, "Chaos Reigns" and "Black" are dark and bleak sounding as well. I can honestly say that In Waves is a dark sounding album, even some of the candy coated riffs have a chocolate centre (there's a metaphor for you).

Lyrically, this album is terrible. Uninspired and badly written lyrics are very evident throughout In Waves. And, if I can speak frankly, what is with all this "we" stuff? "We are the insect", "We are the arson" - which is it? Are we bugs or fire starters? Also, here's a hint, when you say "we" it sounds like "you". It sounds more impersonal than the word "I". It sounds like you are talking about yourself. Not good. The listener should feel involved and inspired. There's much more power in the word "I".

Trivium helped develop my metal taste into what it is today. And for that I am grateful. I don't listen to their music much anymore but I'll always follow their new releases, check them out. This album, wasn't better than Shogun in any way, shape, or form, but... Cah-stan-zah!


Rating breakdown
Performance: 8
Songwriting: 7
Originality: 6
Production: 8

Written by Svneatr | 22.04.2012




Guest review disclaimer:
This is a guest review, which means it does not necessarily represent the point of view of the MS Staff.


Comments

Comments: 9   Visited by: 122 users
22.04.2012 - 13:59
Rating: 8
Ace Frawley
The Spaceman
Agree with your point about trimming off the fat. I like this album and saw them perform some of the tracks live recently in Australia and it was good stuff. A very talented band, that's for sure.
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The sun shines over The Fool...
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22.04.2012 - 14:09
Troy Killjoy
perfunctionist
Probably the closest they've come to writing a straight-up radio metal release. Trivium's black album.
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"Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something."
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22.04.2012 - 14:45
Milena
gloom cookie
"And, if I can speak frankly, what is with all this "we" stuff? "We are the insect", "We are the arson" - which is it? Are we bugs or fire starters? Also, here's a hint, when you say "we" it sounds like "you". It sounds more impersonal than the word "I". It sounds like you are talking about yourself. Not good. The listener should feel involved and inspired. There's much more power in the word "I"."

Good observation!
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7.0 means the album is good
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22.04.2012 - 17:10
Olli

Written by Troy Killjoy on 22.04.2012 at 14:09

Probably the closest they've come to writing a straight-up radio metal release. Trivium's black album.

Really? I would of thought the crusade was alot more "radio metal". No harsh vocals, slower and catchy etc
Either way I found this album boring, but I'm not a massive fan of any of their work. I'll be seeing them live in June so maybe they can change my mind then
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When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened for us."
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22.04.2012 - 19:07
Rating: 7
Cynic Metalhead
Paisa Vich Nasha
I think if you listen a weak album(any!) after giving a 4.5 months(or even more) break will surely sound great. As for "In Waves" it's a pretty dark album with repetitive riffs, excessive of vociferate unpleasant vocals, amateur drumming and close sided lyrical themes can't make it to 7 I suppose. It's dropping of another "one time listen" album tbh.
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22.04.2012 - 22:48
Nergal Is God
Account deleted
I agree, it wasn't even close to Shogun, but it is a fun album. Plus, the songs were extremely awesome when I saw them live a couple months ago. Nicholas Augosto is by far the better drummer.
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23.04.2012 - 02:45
Troy Killjoy
perfunctionist
Written by Olli on 22.04.2012 at 17:10
Really? I would of thought the crusade was alot more "radio metal". No harsh vocals, slower and catchy etc

Hmm... maybe this is their Load then.
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"Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something."
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23.04.2012 - 03:14
Rating: 7
Svneatr
Vitharr
Who knows? Maybe I'll learn to hate it again. I know that's what happened with the Crusade. This is just how I feel about it right now.
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26.04.2012 - 13:13
NeilZ17

I agree with some part(s) of this review. The first time i heard the title track, I also thought it was crap...
I listened to the entire album quite a few times now, its a decent album imo.
However, I think that the main thing about this album, is the fact that the guys in Trivium finally wrote an album that they can play live (I'm talking about vocals mainly, because they definitely know how to play their instruments), and F-ing nail it.
I think thats a pretty big thing for a band, and hopefully it'll make their live shows better.
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