Please tell me someone is as in-love with Trivium's new album as I am. I need someone to gush over it with.
@Laurus After giving the album a quick play through, I would say they have plateaued. Just not bringing anything that they haven't already done. A couple of the songs have a very similar set of riffs to their older stuff. Overall they just don't have the appeal that they used to. When Matt did this song, he really showed his vocal range and it really proves the guy can sing and not try to put that screamo growl into it the way he does in Trivium.
This was pretty much opinion about everything between Shogun and SatS. In Waves was generic, Vengeance Falls was a less-good Disturbed, SitS was good but I felt lacked Trivium's true "sound." Trivum has had a pretty long history of flailing for an identity. Matt originally wanted to sing -- not scream. The dude has done some serious work on his vocals since the video you linked, and SitS is a testament to that. But even when they did The Crusade, people were saying they were just imitating Metallica. Matt said that the song Silence in the Snow was actually intended for the Shogun album but didn't make the cut. So it's interesting to consider how long it took SitS to actually release while considering the fact that Travis Smith left the band after Shogun. He was with them since the beginning and the guy was one hell of a drummer. He helped cement what identity Trivium had at that time. Since then, they've cycled through two drummers who I believe just didn't have the right synergy with the rest of the band to really give them that identity that Trivium had before, and I think the quality of the albums speaks to that. I don't know why the drummers departed, but I'm glad they did. No one could really keep up with TS...until this new guy. He is a BEAST, and he works so well with the band. They have blast beats in this album! Not many, but a super appropriate amount. They only used them once before, on a special song for In Waves based on God of War 3. People were super uncomfortable with it at the time. But I think that Trivium has brought some great new things to this album, and have in fact outdone all of their past work. They've demonstrated that they've learned and grown as a band. They sound like they know what they wanted to do and did the shit out of it, combining all the fantastic elements of their old efforts into one standout album that, if they stopped making music today, would be their magnum opus. Paolo explains well in this interview what I heard when I first spun this album. They have such fantastic range now, and managed to blend so many elements into such a tight and wonderful album.
I happened across this 'sounds like' today. They're both Elvis, though, so I'm not sure it counts. In both cases it's the verses leading up to the chorus - at which point they go their separate ways - so no need to listen to the whole song. Sounds like:
Currently watching Hot Chocolate at the BBC. I can't say I've ever been a fan, but I'd never heard this early number and love it! It has an upbeat Donovan vibe about it.
Such a mood piece. It gets to me every time, even if I forget that I understand and feel things in French.
This reminds me of this, although this one is tinged with sadness given his debilitating and worsening condition. He looks extremely nervous here and it's all a little too awkward to be enjoyable.
@Cave Troll It's actually quite funny that you brought up Christmas - as I recently joined a school choir (only for this festive season) set up by my Art teacher, so I've been practising the traditional songs (Silent Night, Ding Dong Merrily On High, God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen).
I blame all the complaints that everywhere around Halloween, Christmas stuff was hitting the shelves already.
Yeah, the commercial side of Christmas seems to have really come out. For Christmas, all I ask for is a book, whereas I know people who have extensive and expensive gifts. When I see what they have asked for, my jaw drops a few inches.
