Crusade, The [PA] - Trivium > Reviews > a fair critical analysis of the crusade

Author's product rating:   

Originality	Average
Lyrics	Mediocre
Quality and consistency of tracks	A couple of weak links
How does it compare to the artist's other releases	Weak
Value for Money	Satisfactory

Advantages:	couple of promising riffs and songs
Disadvantages:	no song really stands out; two very bad songs

Recommend to potential buyers:

no

Full review

i agree with others that are disappointed with this album and agree that trivium have tried to become the new 21st century metallica. with this album came alot of expectation, especially on the back of their last album \'ascendancy\'. however for me this album is sheer disappointment. matt has ditched the screaming in turn for all out singing which at times just does not suit the music he is playing. however like others i knew this was coming as i saw the band perform on their uk tour last year. in this tour matt slowly started screaming less and less until when they hit southampton, the place i saw them, the screams had completely gone and corey was doing the bare minimum of them instead. they also played their metallica cover \'master of puppets\', which i feel is no match for the original.

you could almost forgive heafy for singing more, as his voice is good when he wants it to be and obviously singing appeals more to the mainstream than hard to make out screams. however this makes the whole album lose any feeling or raw emotion it may have had with screams in place.

song by song review:

1. ignition

this song starts off promisingly, sounding quite like the album before, just without the screams. it is quite a catchy song, with plenty of riffing. this is perhaps one of the better efforts on the album but still does not stand out on its own as a song that you must listen to. 7/10

2. detonation

there are mixed views on this song. i personally think it is too much like a mixture of old style metallica. the verse is long and labouring and has no real kick to it. also the lyrcis i think are quite poor. the song does eventually pick up to a more thrash style about 2minutes in, but by this point the song cannot be saved. there is a good solo before the song again slows down. disappointing as could be alot better. 6/10

3. entrance of the conflagration

this is like something off their first album 'ember to inferno' but is a is a lot better than the two previous songs. the verse and chorus are very catchy and full of good riffs and licks. it is at this song that i thought that maybe there would still be promise for this album.... 8/10

4. anthem (we are the fire)

the lyrics in this song don't even deem talking about. however the music isn't too bad but isn't exactly brilliant either. it is in this song i start wondering if we will ever get another album as good as ascendancy from trivium.. 6/10

5. unrepentant

this song is led by a catchy riff which sounds like something perhaps off an old skool megadeth or maiden album. this leads into a good verse, heavy and full of promise. i like how this song has the lyrics 'you will slaughter..every one of your daughters' this immediately makes me wonder where they got that idea from (iron maiden perhaps?) this song is again average but no big shake. 6/10

6. and sadness will sear

now up until this point i thought the usual slots where the best songs are have gone, worrying me that we may hit upon something even worse than what we have already stumbled across. unfortunately this song is it. i don't really understand how this song made the album. 4/10

7. becoming the dragon

this song again starts off promising with a good solo. however it again sounds far too much like a wanabe metallica band. the song is not too bad but again just does not stand out, something that if this band really want to be as big as metallica, then must sort out. 6/10

8. to the rats

this has perhaps the fastest riff on the album. i personally think this is a really good song. it is not the most technical of songs but is just plain all out thrash and sounds good. definitely one of the better songs on the album and well worth a listen. lyrics again disappointing though. 8/10

9. this world can't tear us apart

i have no idea where this song came from after most of the other songs have lyrics relating to mediaval time wars or dragons. this i guess is the 'dying in your arms' of this album. it is not too bad but is just cheesy beyond belief. 6/10

10. tread the floods

this has the best intro of the album, it really makes you think something promising will come. and it leads into a pretty good song. the only problem with this song is that the verse and chorus are repeated many times in order to make the song last the 3 minutes. 7/10

11. contempt breeds contamination

for this song trivium tuned the guitars right down and it can be heard immediately in the opening riff. the lyrics in this song are quite good and suit the song. a fairly good song. 7/10

12. the rising

this song is just pure disappointment for me all round. the song is slowed down completely, i don't know if this is to try give the feeling of a pantera-esque rhythm or to just sound heavier but it does not work at all. boring at best. 5/10

13. the crusade

at some point we were all expecting it. an instrumental song from trivium which cements their intent at being the next metallica. well here it is and for me is neither good nor bad. it is nothing like the metallica instrumentals which may be a good thing, but their attempt at one just sounds like a load of riffs that weren't used for the album thrown in and made into one long bore. there are good moments in this song but nothing that hits home. 6/10

overall i would give this album a cautious 6/10 as there is nothing that really stands out as a must listen to song, which is extremely disappointing. the songs on offer here are all at a similar standard which is fairly average, with the odd two exceeding this and the odd two greatly not. make your own mind up about this album and have a listen for yourself. but after doing so, go back to the ascendancy and listen to what trivium should really sound like.