Trivium began with a talent show at the Lake Brantley High School in Altamonte Springs, Florida. Way back in the year 2000, one of its acts was a fourteen year old guitar player by the name of Matt Heafy, whose performance of Metallica’s “No Leaf Clover” caught the eye of Trivium’s very first singer Brad Lewter. Impressed, the vocalist asked him to try out and soon after, Heafy was an official member of the band.
The band started gigging soon afterwards and after some time, Lewter left the band, allowing Heafy to take over lead vocal duties as well as playing rhythm guitar. It was with this set up that Trivium went into the studio and recorded their debut album “Ember To Inferno”, releasing it in October 2003. The album was enough to tour with Machine Head off the back of it, who in turn, introduced them to the folks at iconic metal label Roadrunner Records.
It was their second record however, that made the band what they are today. Released on Roadrunner in March 2005, “Ascendancy” wasn’t a hit immediately but thanks to positive critical reception, word of mouth and an utterly astonishing set at the 2005 Download Festival, it went on to make their name on the world stage. Over 100,000 copies sold in the U.K alone later, it became one of the decade’s touchstone metal albums.
Since then, they have remained near the top of the metal world as one of the century’s first true success stories. The likes of "Like Light to the Flies", "Pull Harder on the Strings of Your Martyr" and "A Gunshot to the Head of Trepidation" are new metal standards that thousands of garage bands practise to this day. There really is no higher compliment than that when it comes to rock and roll. No true metal head can go wrong with a Trivium gig, highly recommended.
Jesper Strömblad founded the Swedish group alongside another band he was part of. In 1993, Strömblad decided to dedicate all of his time to In Flames. That same year Glenn Ljungström on guitar and Johan Larsson on bass guitar joined for the first In Flames line up.
Their first album was released in 1994 called 'Lunar Strain'. The trio had to use different singers to help out, as they didn't have a lead vocalist. But in 1995 they got Björn Gelotte to join the band as a drummer, and Anders Fridén as their full time vocalist. The official one-piece metal band was born.
Their music uses harmonized lead guitar melodies and screamed/ growled vocals. On Soundtrack to Your Escape, the band used less guitar melodies so they were able to incorporate more synths, but this seemed to be only a short phase in their music. In Flames' lyrics have varied over the years as well. In some of their releases like 'The Jester Race', they seemed to talk about astrology and mankind. But in later albums such as 'Come Clarity' the band specifically sang about their personal issues and life problems.
In Flames were big influences to many metal bands. Darkest Hour, Slowlife and Trivium are amongst the few that name In Flames as a huge influence on their melodic death metal style.
Before Trivium even walked onto the stage, haunting, dark ambient music drifted across the festival, creating a brooding atmosphere. The band walked out and were playing "Rain" within seconds.
The audience was overwhelmed with energy, thrashing everywhere, and overcome with passion. The guitar riffs were so heavy, it was actually kind of surprising. The best thing that Trivium is known for is their use of melody just as much as abrasiveness, and it creates a truly beautiful mix. When the band switches from heavy chugging to emotional, somber and ecstatic riffage, you cant help but want to start slamming your head, and letting out every built up tension you have. The audience was it's own experience.
Completely different from what you see at other shows, there are walls and walls of people flailing about everywhere, passionately yelling along with the singer. You better be prepared to be knocked on the head a few times(but don't worry. If you fall, someone will happily help you back up.).The music was beautiful, heavy, and loud. What was not to love? Every song has plenty of energy, and cool riffs. Seeing Trivium was a great experience, and I recommend them to anyone who loves heavy, passionate music.
Forget what you thought you knew about heavy metal in general, because as In Flames have spent the best part of twenty-five years proving, there actually is such a thing as melodic death metal. It’s commercially viable, too, with the Gothenburg outfit having shifted two million records over the course of their career to date; eleven records in, they’ve carved out a feverishly loyal cult fanbase, and continue to pack out their own shows the world over as well as provide support to some of the biggest bands in metal, too. Dreadlocked vocalist Anders Friden is one of the most recognisable frontmen in the genre, and it’s his energy that’s key to In Flames shows being the high-octane affairs they’ve long been known as. He rarely stays still, stalking the stage with genuine menace and he screeches through the likes of ‘Take This Life’ and ‘Rusted Nail’. Behind him, his four bandmates put on nightly masterclasses in technical proficiency; guitarists Bjorn Gelotte and Niclas Engelin, in particular, are amongst the most naturally-gifted players in metal. With a new record, Siren Charms, set for September, the band have lined up October dates in Manchester, Glasgow and London, as part of a wider European tour.
Joeg_67
Log in to your account
