What The Hell Happened To... 04.13.09: Trivium - Ember To Inferno Posted by Dan Marsicano on 04.13.2009
This week on What The Hell Happened To..., Dan Marsicano takes a gander at controversial metal band Trivium and their debut album, Ember To Inferno.
The Introduction
Welcome everybody to another edition of What The Hell Happened To…I'm your musical guru, Dan Marsicano, and I want to apologize for skipping out next week. School got the best of me; it seems to be doing that a lot more than usual.
Hey, guess what? 411 Mania has invaded Twitter, the newest craze in social networking systems. I'm on it; you all know you want to follow me, as I lead quite a crazy lifestyle, full of studying, writing, and an occasional drink or two. So join the rest of the 411 Music crew on Twitter and follow me as well.
It's time for my weekly brag-a-thon, where I list off all the web sites I write for. I recently got a gig with the Heavy Metal section of About.com and am also currently still writing at Metal Underground (under the alias heavytothebone2) and SMN News. Don't worry; I haven't forgotten about the loyal readers at 411. The column will still be around, but there will be fewer reviews than normal.
This week, I'm tackling the debut album from Trivium, one of the most controversial bands in metal today. 2003's Ember To Inferno was largely ignored by most metal fans. It wasn't until their follow-up Ascendancy that the band reached any level of notoriety. Their debut album is quite an interesting release, both in the age of the musicians involved and their approach to the metalcore sound.
The Band
Matt Heafy – Vocals, Guitar
Brent Young - Bass
Travis Smith – Drums
The Track Listing
1. Inception The Bleeding Skies- :35
2. Pillars Of Serpents- 4:35
3. If I Could Collapse The Masses- 4:41
4. Fugue (A Revelation)- 4:21
5. Requiem- 4:53
6. Ember To Inferno- 4:11
7. Ashes- :53
8. To Burn The Eye- 7:01
9. Falling To Grey- 5:36
10. My Hatred- 4:34
11. When All Light Dies- 6:23
12. A View Of Burning Empires- 1:49
The Analysis
Trivium formed in 2000 in Orlando, Florida, with Heafy originally just being the guitarist. Once vocalist Brad Lewter left the band a year later, Heafy slid into the position. Rounding out the band was drummer Travis Smith and bassist Brent Young. This line-up would change heavily over the next year or so after the release of Ember To Inferno.
That's a story for another day though. I'm here today to talk about Trivium's solid debut effort. Ember To Inferno, the only Trivium record released on Lifeforce Records, was comprised of a mixture of original material and re-worked songs from the band's first self-titled EP. The album was noted as the first major release from Trivium that showcased the immense talent of a young Matt Heafy. It has been reported that Heafy was only about 17 or 18 at the time of recording the album, a fact that makes his performance the more amazing, especially since he did almost all of the guitar work himself. Vocals are a whole different story, but I'll discuss that in a little bit.
The other band members weren't slouches either in their respective roles. Travis Smith is a hell of a drummer, with his fast feet work and steady drum patterns being the support beam that holds Trivium together. Brent Young only stayed around for the recording process before departing, but his bass work is really superb. The instrument is clear and audible in the mix. Young even gets an opportunity to provide lead work on "My Hatred."
"From Ember To Inferno" Live 2006
For a debut album, the songwriting was very strong, with each song having distinct moments that help each one to stand out. Whether that was a guitar melody, a catchy chorus, or a shredding solo, Trivium made sure to try to keep the interest of the listener for the entire running length. The band does show their in-experience at times, especially on the longer numbers. "To Burn The Eye" has an unnecessary breakdown, while "When All Light Dies" plods on near the end. Both tracks, in particular, end the exact same way, with dueling guitars fading into oblivion.
The band excels at the more punctual tracks, especially in the first half of the album. "Pillars Of Serpent" is one of the heaviest tracks on the album, starting out with pounding double bass drum work from Smith, and progressing nicely from there. The lead work, in particular, is fantastic, and while there aren't any epic solos on the level of "A Gunshot To The Head Of Trepidation," Heafy adds a technical flair to every song. "Falling To Grey" and "My Hatred" are where some of Heafy's best work is located on the album.
What Heafy and company do well is write catchy choruses, with melodies that will stick in a listener's ears for days. While later albums would improve these two aspects, Ember To Inferno still does a competent enough job. "Fugue (A Revelation)" and "Requiem," both from the first EP, are strong examples of that. The title track, in particular, is the best number on here, due to the chorus structure and clean vocal work of Heafy.
"Requiem" Live 2003-ish
Speaking of the vocals, Heafy was still trying to find his voice on Ember To Inferno and it shows. His growls and screams are quite weak, and his clean vocals are monotonous and lacking of any emotional depth. There are moments where everything clicks, and Heafy shows some promise (title track, "Falling To Grey"), but Ember To Inferno is definitely his weakest vocal performance to date.
Ember To Inferno was the humble beginnings to Trivium's career, and while most fans picked up on the band with their sophomore album, their debut album is strong, considering the ages of the members. The vocals are weak, and some tracks go on for far too long in the second half, but the fact that the band still plays several of these tracks live says a lot to how well the album is constructed. Fans of Ascendancy will probably love Ember To Inferno, while others who got on the Trivium bandwagon late may find the album to be a little too scream-heavy to digest.
Thrash metal has seen a resurgence in recent years, with bands popping out trying to recreate 1985 all over again. At first glance, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania quintet Crown The Lost seems like a solid thrash metal band, one that could fit well with the rest of the bunch. However, that perception changes when vocalist Chris Renaldi belts out a tune.
His vocals are in the vein of power metal, soaring high into the clouds and hitting notes most vocalists wish they could. The fact that he is only in his early 20's is even the more extraordinary. The rest of the band isn't slouches either, adding a technical/progressive edge to the standard songwriting characteristics of the genre.
The band is releasing their sophomore album, Blind Faith Loyalty, on May 5th and I got a sneak peek at it. It's definitely one of my favorite albums of the year so far, and I've enjoyed it more and more as time goes on. So look out for that, check the MySpace, and bang your heads like never before!
The Conclusion
Hope you all enjoyed this week's edition. I'll be back next week with a look at Van Halen III, the album that almost killed Van Halen in more ways than one. See you next time for another awe-inspiring edition of What The Hell Happened To…
