Florida band Trivium absolutely knocked it out of the park in 2017 with their release The Sin and The Sentence. Every song was amazing from cover to cover. And when a band produces such good quality you always wonder, “Can they do that again?” The answer to that question is, “Hell yes!”
The band’s ninth studio album What The Dead Men Say released on April 24th via Roadrunner Records. The quartet of Matt Heafy (vocals, guitar), Corey Beaulieu (guitar), Paolo Gregoletto (bass), and Alex Bent (drums) crafted this incredible work filled with melody, passion, energy, and most of all, metal. Matt said it best, “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.” It’s ten tracks of wonderfully pieced together metal by the band and producer Josh Wilbur, who also produced The Sin and The Sentence.
After the opening track of “IX” is a musically crafted masterpiece to set the tone of the rest of the album. “What The Dead Men Say” is the first hearing Matt‘s gifted vocals between melodic and metal. All through this album, he guides his vocals between the soothing emotional and the hardcore raging. It’s perfect. Corey‘s speedy solo through the middle will have you air-guitaring along with him as well. This is how you start off an album.
But, it’s “The Catastrophist” that is the standout track on this album. It clocks in at 6 minutes and 28 seconds and you’ll be singing along with them by the first moment you hear “You’re a catastrophe!” Matt keeps his voice melodic through the majority of the song. But, when he goes hardcore, it’s all out. Alex’s drumming through this song is rapid and so precise. And let’s not forget a fantastic blend of guitar and bass from Corey and Paolo. “Sickness Unto You” is the other long song that tracks at 6 minutes and 14 seconds and has such a great combination of instrumental solos and vocals. I literally caught myself while writing this bouncing my head and leg during this song. Your metal soul will cry out in joy when you hear it.
And for those looking for the more hardcore songs on the album, “Amongst The Shadows And The Stones” will feed your need. Matt pours his death metal voice into this one and it’s why I love this song. This is the song when you see and hear it live that will have the circle pits in a frenzy and you’ll probably mosh pit in your home while listening to it too. Corey‘s solos in this song help to feed that death metal hunger. “The Defiant” also delivers especially with that death metal scream Matt drops at the end.
Now, for those who’ve read my reviews know I’m a huge fan of bass in songs. I always feel bass get buried in songs over guitar and drums and half the time on albums you’re adjusting your bass in the speakers just to properly hear it. Well, thank you Trivium for not doing that on this album! Paolo‘s work can be clearly heard in all these songs and he delivers through them all. And in “Bleed Into Me” his bass lines clearly stands in the forefront and help deliver the feeling to this song.
“Scattering The Ashes” might be the “softest” song on the album, if there is even such a thing for Trivium. Though there’s an emotional piece behind the song for Corey, “I took a trip with my family to spread the ashes of my grandparents. It was really emotional. When I got back, I jotted the title down and started working on the song. The rest of the guys took it to the next level.” And once I listened to it a second time it filled my heart that I really got this song.
The album wraps up with “Bending The Arc To Fear” and “The Ones We Leave Behind”. Both songs get back to that mix between great melody and great metal at various points in their songs. You’ll find yourself headbanging through them both from beginning to end. I need to call out a great guitar riff that Corey puts into “The Ones We Leave Behind” and you’ll know it when you hear it as it’s different than other ones on the album and gives that track it’s own standout place on the album.
What The Dead Men Say is a perfect follow-up album from The Sin and The Sentence. This is the album where you want to be on the highway, drop the windows, play this album as loud as you can, and soak in the journey. Congrats to Trivium on delivering another perfect record.
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