Trivium are back with their fourth album, and American metal is making 2008 a fantastic musical place to be living in. Killer albums off Metallica and Slipknot have sent tongues salivating for riffage and solo’s, and Trivium have delivered big time. Shogun is by far this bands best album, taking the brutality of their first two albums and the melody of their last album “The Crusade”, they mash up a very exciting formula. Opening song “Kirisute Gomen” opens up the album a bit like a pure statement of intent, acoustic guitars, riffage galore, never once sounding like they have often been accused of doing, which is homaging Metallica. This song does kinda remind one of the opening to Machine Head’s “The Blackening”, and has the same punch as I got listening to that album for the first time. Second song “Torn Between Scylla and Charybdis” is another 6 minute epic track, featuring all sorts of crazy shit, a bass guitar doing solo work, sing-a-long choruses, whilst still maintaining a sense of order, like Trivium have finally started becoming their own band, with their own rules, forming their own sound. And it is brilliant. Fans will probably see similarities in the Trivium formula for having at least one anthemic song on each album with “Down From The Sky”, which is a brilliantly catchy track while maintaining its metal prowess like a swinging dick speaking poetry.

There is not a bad song on this album, but while I have always flown the flag for this band, I do hope that it will win around other people who slated them for calling themselves “The New Metallica.” The truth is, and this really hurts to say, while they will never do for music what that Behemoth led by Kirk, Lars, James and Rob/Jason/Cliff did, Trivium are a much more talented band than their heroes. The guitar work here is inspired and technically brilliant, the drumming is powerful, precise and fast, and the noise these boys can make will rival any metal band from over the last 20 years. And while Metallica will always be the godfathers and spearheads of modern metal music, Trivium have made a brilliant impact with this album and are easy condenders for the leaders of Modern American Heavy Metal. Listen without prejudice.

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