Trivium - Shogun (2008) [7]

1- Kirisute Gomen

2- Torn Between Scylla And Charybdis

3- Down From The Sky

4- Into The Mouth Of Hell We March

5- Throes Of Perdition

6- Insurrection

7- The Calamity

8- He Who Spawned The Furies

9- Of Premetheus And The Crucifix

10 - Like Callisto To A Star In Heaven

11 - Shogun

12 - Poison, The Knife Or The Noose [Special]

13 - Upon The Shores [Special]

14 - Iron Maiden[Special]

“Shogun” is without a doubt Trivium’s best album to the date. With their new album knocking on the door, it’s never too late to talk about this one. Having recieved a lot of crap on their first three albums for sounding like Metallica, the band took the time to improve their playing skills, singing and songwriting.

The whole album, with exception to “Down from the Sky” revolves around, as the name suggests, the Japanese culture of samurais and (as odd as it may seem) Greek Mythology. Which is enough to make all the geeky fans go “YAY for us! I know what the hell they are talking about and you mere mortal hath no clue!”.  It may sound strange at first but even if you actually don’t know “what the hell they are talking about” and can’t fully appreciate lyrics and all their brilliant metaphors to their full extent, you’ll soon forget about them.

Musically the album presents itself in various vocal forms (at least six),  a not too impressive drum work, great solos, multilayered choruses and tempo changes, never really entering the extreme metal territory. The songs are powerfull, catchy and have that kind of semi-epic feeling. The tracks were recorded start to finish nonstop (an old technique not used in these technological days) which realy shows and gives a really natural feeling to the album.

If you dig it, it’s an album that will last on your list for weeks cuz’ the songs really complement each other and are displayed in a good order where no song feels out of place. And the more you hear it, the more you’ll appreciate the little details. Definitely not a boring set list.
“Shogun” shows where the band has come from, their evolution and their maturity as a band creating a sound that is their own, all though not being quite there. Not brilliant, but if they keep this up, Trivium is definitely a band to keep your eyes on.

This is El Tigas Checking out.

Rating: 7
Pros:
Catchy songs with great lyrics, a sound with a really natural feeling to the album, great vocals

Cons:
In the special release the extra songs really feel out of place and most songs may feel the same.

Of Prometheus and The Crucifix:


Kirisute Gomen:

 

Buy the: Trivium - Shogun [ VINYL ] edition