Trivium is one of the hottest bands at this moment. Backed by a label that works hard to put them on the map, these guys from Florida work their butts off themselves to gain the success they want so badly. Personally I already was quite impressed by their debut album “Ember to Inferno” from 2003. That album got them a deal with Roadrunner who released the critically acclaimed sophomore album “Ascendancy” in 2005. On those albums it was quite clear Trivium could be placed in the so called New Wave of American Heavy Metal. You know those bands that incorporate metalcore, thrash and melodic Swedish death metal into their sound. Now a year after the “Ascendancy” album Trivium is back with their 3^rd effort and this one shows a slight shift in their sound. The melodic metal is still there but overall it turned out to become more of a thrash album. You can hear a lot of influences from acts like Metallica and Megadeth in the sound. Also the way vocalist Matthew Heafy uses his voice hints to a more James Hetfield type of singing. Older fans should definitely listen to this album just to hear the riffs that are being used that could have been heard on albums released in the 80’s when they were growing up. This doesn’t mean I’m implying Trivium just rips off older bands; in this day and era it’s quite hard to come up with stuff that’s totally original anyway. No Trivium just writes great songs with a sense of being modern and a nod to the past. I guess a band like Trivium is ideal for younger fans to start with and then start delving into the rich past of metal music. Although Trivium slightly changed their style they deliver a great album that has almost everything you can hope for. It’s heavy, it’s melodic, it’s well produced, it has great solos, great sing-a-long parts, to cut it short it’s a complete album for the fan of modern metal.