Throughout the years, few bands have been consistent in putting out stellar albums while aggressively expanding their sound. Whether it’s the more metalcore sounding Vengeance Falls, or the more heavy metal sounding Silence in the Snow, the growth of their skills and playing has proven immensely.

2017’s The Sin and the Sentence pushed the band further into heavy metal and progressive territory than ever before, and this sound was what fans of the band had been looking for. What the Dead Men Say continues this trend, but pushes the band further into the progressive territory. The band extensively layer sounds in almost every track, where it feels like you’re being pummeled by the utter heaviness they’ve created.

Make no mistake, this is exactly what a Trivium album should sound like. What the Dead Men Say is absolutely loaded with riffs, chugs, blast beats, and everything any Trivium fan could want. Along with the riffs, Alex Bent sounds, appropriately, hellbent on the percussion and drums. His vicious and brutal pounding leaves enough room for the other members to fill the spaces with melody, weight and feeling.

The instrumental introduction to the album attempts to set the atmosphere and mood of the remainder, but it’s almost a fool’s errand. The metallic crunch here is 100% Trivium, with their tried and true heaviness and melodic spin.

The depth of the music is also spread across the breadth. Enormous, pummeling choruses with lyrics that are catchy, and dare I say it, poppy. Matt Heafy’s vocal delivery has moved on from the Hetfield-esque growls to his own sound, and it perfectly complements his guitar chops. The fretwork on “Amongst the Shadows & the Stones” is some of his best thus far.

I believe, finally, that Trivium has truly found their stride and sound. Fantastic efforts of the past such as Vengeance Falls and The Crusade were great, but the band sounded uneven, and maybe a little unsure of themselves. With What the Dead Men Say, they finally sound absolutely confident, comfortable with themselves, and ready to take on the world.

Final Thoughts

After years of refining their sound and exploring, Trivium have not only hit their stride and the mark, but they’ve completely broken the mold for themselves. A band that is fully sure about what they want to do and how they sound, What the Dead Men Say is Trivium at their best, and they’re here to prove that they’re going to be one of the biggest metal bands, ever. They have been called the next Metallica, but to me, they’re the next Led Zeppelin or Pink Floyd of metal. Oh, and this may be the record of the year!

Overall

100

Vocals

100

Mix

100