Review Summary: Precisely what’s expected of a band known for putting out some of the catchiest material in metalcore.
For anyone bearing interest in Trivium, it goes without saying that the Alex Bent era was perhaps the most fruitful period of the band’s history. The first two albums recorded during his tenure behind the kit suffered from dry, unimpactful production, but the material itself was more technical and epic than ever;
In the Court of the Dragon then emerged as a modern metal paragon with levels of musicianship not heard since at least
Shogun. With the band regaining their creative juices and Alex bending the laws of physics with his lines for whole eight years, the news about his departure were nothing short of underwhelming. The topic is still hot, the discussion is still going; as far as the music is concerned though, the band’s most talented drummer got a quality sendoff in the form of a three song EP.
Struck Dead also served a purpose as a test of the hangar - or rather, The Hangar - that the band reorganized into their very own musical headquarters. With a new vehicle of logistic independence brought to functionality, it was time to find how well it actually worked - and judging by this release, it passed the test with flying colours.
The opening track wastes no time bursting into a ferocious intro and alike verse, filled to the brim with fast-paced, anguished screams and utterly chimaeric drum lines - Alex again showing his ability to combine an astronomic amount of different beats into a single song section to a stunning effect. You can also notice the lyrics mentioning taiko, a Japanese drum; a small, yet nice bit of that culture’s influence coming through, aside from the album’s artwork of course. The song rapidly slows down for the chorus, introducing restrained, low singing and a bouncy, almost poppy beat. This section has been singled out by some as unfitting, but from a different standpoint, its calm nature is an interesting departure from the extreme parts of the song. Not to mention the gloriously smooth tonal shift in the final line, displaying Matt’s newly adopted half-scream vocal style. The track wraps up in a similarly satisfying manner - the bridge vocals are supremely catchy, the solo seamlessly integrated and the outro smotheringly heavy (per Trivium standards).
In the Court of the Dragon fixing the previously mentioned production issues of the two preceding records was a treat for the ears, and
Struck Dead continues in a similar vein. The sound is spacious, organic and properly balanced; every sonic component receives satisfying exposure and the bass even gets additionally accentuated for select parts, like in the bridge of the title track. Another trait of the EP, although only coming to light after the opener, is its tendency for musical callbacks.
Pain Is Easier to Remember resembles
In Waves in being centered around a catchy start-stop groove and a fast, melodic chorus; what sets it apart is that it doesn’t plunge into the "hopeless epic" waters, instead channeling defiant anger and Iron Maiden-esque energy. The aforementioned bridge is expertly handled - Paolo’s fleshed out basslines, simultaneous solos from Corey and Alex, menacing tremolo riffing and an overall cinematic quality prove the track to be much more than its catchiest part.
Six Walls Surround Me comes about as the massive closing piece. Starting with moody, acoustic guitars, it soon erupts into the most 2000s metalcore-like song on here, treating us with furious verses, catchy pre-chorus riffage, the long reign of guitar leads in the bridge and, most noticeably, one of the band’s finest choruses in recent memory. From the captivating rhythm and melody to the eventual transition into the outro that fleshes out the melancholic backing vocals and beautiful guitar work, it is a worthy emotional climax of the record. What’s not talked about much is the concept that ties these songs - a metaphor for a psychological cycle of self-destruction, fueled by Matt’s own recent mental breakdown. The opener is a call for the mind to rise from the dead, countered by the title track’s rationalization of suffering, and
Six Walls sees the narrator sending himself back to the casket he calls his home. Which ties with the previously mentioned musical callbacks, as the song references both
Like Light to the Flies - seemingly recontextualizing the past attack on hypocrisy as a reflection on the toll that lying to oneself takes on the mind - and Metallica’s
Fade to Black, one of the most famous suicidal songs in history.
Struck Dead shares the technicality and ambitious scope of
In the Court…, a crucial difference being the lack of the same epic grandeur that Trivium’s last full-length thrived on. This is not to say that these songs are not epic - just look at the title track’s bridge and the choruses in the other two - but it’s rather the moderate and dynamic kind of epicness in the vein of such tracks as
The Sin and the Sentence or
Down from the Sky. It’s not so densely dramatic, maybe less imposing but easier to digest for that matter. This, combined with a short runtime and the consistent cool factor, makes for excellent replay value - precisely what’s expected of a band known for putting out some of the catchiest material in metalcore.
