S-TIER: Trivium
this is a series i've always wanted to start, picking every s-tier song from random bands and typing stream of conscious thoughts as fast as i can before the song is over. saw trivium last night and already had this halfway done so figured they'd be an appropriate start. these guys at the top of their game are honestly make some of my favorite metal. but what makes them fun is they write a lot of bullshit too! so hear it is: trivium the best of the best (or worst) |
| 1 |  | Trivium
Ascendancy
Rain:
My first ever Trivium song. 11-year old me put the Ascendancy CD on for the first time having no idea what to expect, only that the cover was cool and there was a Master of Puppets cover at the end of the disc. This track melted my brain. The Metallica influence has always been very apparent in their music, but I knew this had to have been drawing from something newer/heavier too, and it's really the album that got me to dig into heavier/not-so-mainstream 80s/90s metal like Death, Atheist, Cynic etc. that these guys would talk about in interviews. |
| 2 | | Trivium
Ascendancy
Like Light to Flies
The main “Like Light to Flies” riff is one of my favorite metal riffs of all time. It’s so good that the band recycled it over and over and over and over again for 20 years. Maybe a slight exaggeration, but it really did become the template for everything they would write after. Also of the belief Matt’s solo (the second one) is one of the best guitar solos I’ve ever heard. I said what I said. |
| 3 |  | Trivium
Shogun
Into the Mouth of Hell We March:
The best prog-Trivium track. Iconic intro, iconic riffs, legitimately great vocals from Heafy, some fun lyrics. Also one of the few Trivium songs with nearly all clean vocals that doesn’t suck. |
| 4 | | Trivium
Shogun
Throes of Perdition:
This song is carried by a massive hook and that everything revolves around, and that is perfectly fine when the hook is that good. The intro song is also quite notable, always thought it really fit the samurai theme or whatever of this album. Also always thought Matt sounded like he was literally choking during the harsh “we choke, then we die” section. His harsh vocals sound painful on this album but I think it really heightens this song. So does the dinky acoustic guitar that slips into the verses. |
| 5 |  | Trivium
In Waves
In Waves:
The stupidest, funnest, most jaw dropping meme song of all time. All the naval gazing Trivium fans acting like this doesn’t deserve to close all their shows: touch grass. Yall disappoint me. |
| 6 | | Trivium
In Waves
A Skyline’s Severance:
The only deep cut on here, I'd retroactively credit this song for getting me into old school metalcore like Converge, Botch, Dillinger etc. While this song sounds absolutely nothing like any of those bands… I feel like this is where I acquired my unquenchable taste for dirty ugly dissonant guitar chords, as that’s all this song is made up of. No clean vocals either. Wish they made more than one song like this. |
| 7 | | Trivium
In Waves
Forsake Not the Dream:
This song seems hardly special in their discog ever since Alex Bent joined the band, but this song in hindsight seems like the blueprint to a lot of the material they’ve been putting out since The Sin and the Sentence. Very high tempo, lots of octave chords, blast beats (they never had those anywhere besides this album until recently), and big choruses. During the dark ages between In Waves and Sin, the style of this song in particular is what I always wanted to hear again, and they actually did it and people started to like them again see I know things. |
| 8 |  | Trivium
The Sin and the Sentence
The Sin and the Sentence:
The song that really revived their career. Still remember being blown away the first few times I heard the outro of this, never thought we’d here that Ascendancy style riffing ever again. |
| 9 | | Trivium
The Sin and the Sentence
Beyond Oblivion:
The Alex Bent masterpiece. Trivium with legitimately great drums. Double rides! One of my favorite bridges. |
| 10 |  | Trivium
What the Dead Men Say
What the Dead Men Say:
Great main riff. Really really like the melodic verses over the crazy drums. Also has that scary tremolo breakdown section, as well as maybe the catchiest chorus they ever wrote. Maybe their crowning achievement. |
| 11 |  | Trivium
In the Court of the Dragon
In the Court of the Dragon:
Please never stray away from this style damnit they're touring with beartooth and playing all their bullshit radio metal songs oh no oh no oh no not good. |
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