It’s refreshing to hear an album based around proper riffs and solos, but that’s not to say Trivium are stuck in the past either. ‘Dying In Your Arms’ shows decidedly new, or ‘nu’, influences, while closer ‘Declaration’ is like the metalcore of Every Time I Die with added doses of melody. Throughout, they marry fast riffs with a sense of melody, to create something at once brutal and beautiful. Matt’s vocals complement it perfectly, with a range from melodic to gruff screaming that rivals Burton C Bell’s (though I admit I prefer his ‘clean’ style to the heavier parts).

There’s a lot of negativity throughout the themes of the album, but what remains consistent is the delivery.  Highlights for me are the fantastically-titled ‘Pull Harder On The Strings Of Your Martyr’ and ‘Like Light To The Flies’, but no track’s a let down. If I had to criticise, I’d say there’s not much variation over almost an hour, but then why change a winning formula? It’s been a long time since I heard a new metal act as exciting as Trivium, a band clearly in the ascendancy indeed.

(4½/5)

Ascendancy