In Waves
Encyclopedia
In Waves is the fifth studio album by American heavy metal
band Trivium
, released worldwide on various dates August 2, 2011 and August 9, 2011 through Roadrunner Records
.
after previous drummer Travis Smith
departed in 2009. In various interviews, the band has stated that the album sounds closer to the style of Ascendancy
than the style exhibited on The Crusade
and Shogun.
The first single from the band, "In Waves", was released on May 21, 2011 to Trivium World members. Following this on June 6, 2011 Matt Heafy stated on his Twitter that the album would be named after the aforementioned song. The single was most recently released onto the US iTunes store & Zune Marketplace on June 10.
On June 17 the music video for "In Waves" was released.
On June 19 Trivium performed "In Waves", "Black" and "Dusk Dismantled" at their show in Birmingham, United Kingdom
. It was the first time "In Waves" was played live and the first time "Black" and "Dusk Dismantled" had been heard by fans.
On June 26, Paolo told his Twitter followers to tweet to Roadrunner Records to release the song "Dusk Dismantled." On June 28, the song was released exclusively to TriviumWorld members with an announcement that it'll be released to the official Trivium YouTube page on June 29.
On July 9, Trivium played "Inception of the End" live for the first time at the Rockstar Mayhem Festival in San Bernardino, CA. Not only was it the first time the song had been played live, but it was also the first time the song had been heard by fans. On July 13, Trivium released "Inception of the End." as their third new single, with the song premiering on HotTopic.com.
On July 21, "Black" and "Built to Fall" premiered on various radio stations including their hometown station WJRR.com and 98online.com.
On their 2011 run on the Mayhem Festival tour, Matt Heafy stated that "Built to Fall" would be their first radio single.
In an interview with RockItOut!Blog, Corey Beaulieu stated that the band plans to film a music video for their single "Built to Fall" at the end of their tour cycle
Trivium played the live debut of "Caustic are the Ties that Bind" in San Francisco supporting Dream Theater
.
The music video for "Built to Fall" is released on the 28th October 2011 after a series of image and video teasers released over Facebook
and Youtube
, while TriviumWorld members could view the video from October 26th 2011
.
Eduardo Rivadavia of Allmusic rated the album four out of five stars and commented "...Trivium will probably be vilified once again for taking the same sort of creative backward step that the fans typically clamor for from Metallica
, Slayer
, and other bands on down; it's the essence of the Florida band's "can't win" lot in life, but there's always hope that this will change, in time".
Another positive review came from Ian Inwood of BBC
, in his review, he stated, "...This may not be quite enough for Trivium to turn back the hands of the clock to the point where the world lay at their fretboards, but the notion that this is a band whose best days lie behind them is one that, at least for now, is resting on ice". Alt Sounds also spoke positively about the album and even after stating "Trivium have not topped themselves" in reference to their past albums but did call it "...a symbol of triumph and overall a sound, beautifully solid record."
Revolver Magazine rated the album three out of five stars and summarized, "An inconsistent record with flashes of brilliance, In Waves should, however, keep diehard Trivium fans happy."
In Waves was met with negative reviews as well, most notably Jamie Thomson from The Guardian
. Who, in his review, stated that, "In Waves is as overproduced and mercilessly polished as modern metal gets, and all the worse for it."
. The album also charted in the UK at #17 on the UK Top 40 albums chart
, #6 in Japan and #8 in Germany.
Production
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
band Trivium
Trivium (band)
Trivium is an American heavy metal band from Orlando, Florida, formed in 1999. Signed to Roadrunner Records, the band has released five studio albums, eleven singles, and twelve music videos...
, released worldwide on various dates August 2, 2011 and August 9, 2011 through Roadrunner Records
Roadrunner Records
Roadrunner Records is an American record label that concentrates primarily on heavy metal bands. It is currently a subsidiary of Warner Music Group.-History:...
.
Background
This album is the first record to feature new drummer Nick AugustoNick Augusto
Nick Augusto is an Italian-American drummer of the heavy metal band Trivium . He replaced Travis Smith on 4 February 2010. Since joining Trivium, Augusto has recorded eighteen tracks: "Shattering the Skies Above"—which featured on the God of War: Blood & Metal EP— a cover of Sepultura's "Slave...
after previous drummer Travis Smith
Travis Smith (musician)
Travis Smith is the former drummer in the metal band Trivium. He was with Trivium since forming the band in 1999. Travis is best known for his very fast footwork, and intricate rhythms on the toms, a skill that has been noted several times by music magazines such as Revolver and Modern Drummer as...
departed in 2009. In various interviews, the band has stated that the album sounds closer to the style of Ascendancy
Ascendancy (album)
Ascendancy is the second studio album by American heavy metal band Trivium. Released on March 15, 2005 by Roadrunner Records.-Background and production:The album was produced by Jason Suecof and frontman, Matt Heafy...
than the style exhibited on The Crusade
The Crusade (album)
-Reception:* Allmusic [ link]* IGN * Kerrang! * Metal Hammer * Rolling Stone * Sputnikmusic * Total Guitar -Personnel:Trivium*Matt Heafy – lead vocals, lead and rhythm guitars*Corey Beaulieu – lead and rhythm guitars...
and Shogun.
The first single from the band, "In Waves", was released on May 21, 2011 to Trivium World members. Following this on June 6, 2011 Matt Heafy stated on his Twitter that the album would be named after the aforementioned song. The single was most recently released onto the US iTunes store & Zune Marketplace on June 10.
On June 17 the music video for "In Waves" was released.
On June 19 Trivium performed "In Waves", "Black" and "Dusk Dismantled" at their show in Birmingham, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. It was the first time "In Waves" was played live and the first time "Black" and "Dusk Dismantled" had been heard by fans.
On June 26, Paolo told his Twitter followers to tweet to Roadrunner Records to release the song "Dusk Dismantled." On June 28, the song was released exclusively to TriviumWorld members with an announcement that it'll be released to the official Trivium YouTube page on June 29.
On July 9, Trivium played "Inception of the End" live for the first time at the Rockstar Mayhem Festival in San Bernardino, CA. Not only was it the first time the song had been played live, but it was also the first time the song had been heard by fans. On July 13, Trivium released "Inception of the End." as their third new single, with the song premiering on HotTopic.com.
On July 21, "Black" and "Built to Fall" premiered on various radio stations including their hometown station WJRR.com and 98online.com.
On their 2011 run on the Mayhem Festival tour, Matt Heafy stated that "Built to Fall" would be their first radio single.
In an interview with RockItOut!Blog, Corey Beaulieu stated that the band plans to film a music video for their single "Built to Fall" at the end of their tour cycle
Trivium played the live debut of "Caustic are the Ties that Bind" in San Francisco supporting Dream Theater
Dream Theater
Dream Theater is an American progressive metal band formed in 1985 under the name Majesty by John Petrucci, John Myung, and Mike Portnoy while they attended Berklee College of Music in Massachusetts. They subsequently dropped out of their studies to further concentrate on the band that would...
.
The music video for "Built to Fall" is released on the 28th October 2011 after a series of image and video teasers released over Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
and Youtube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
, while TriviumWorld members could view the video from October 26th 2011
Critical reception
In Waves has received favourable to mixed reviews from critics, averaging a score of 66 based on 13 reviewers on the review-aggregating website MetacriticMetacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
.
Eduardo Rivadavia of Allmusic rated the album four out of five stars and commented "...Trivium will probably be vilified once again for taking the same sort of creative backward step that the fans typically clamor for from Metallica
Metallica
Metallica is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1981 when James Hetfield responded to an advertisement that drummer Lars Ulrich had posted in a local newspaper. The current line-up features long-time lead guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Robert Trujillo ...
, Slayer
Slayer
Slayer is an American thrash metal band formed in Huntington Park, California, in 1981 by guitarists Jeff Hanneman and Kerry King. Slayer rose to fame with their 1986 release, Reign in Blood, and is credited as one of the "Big Four" thrash metal acts, along with Metallica, Megadeth and...
, and other bands on down; it's the essence of the Florida band's "can't win" lot in life, but there's always hope that this will change, in time".
Another positive review came from Ian Inwood of BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
, in his review, he stated, "...This may not be quite enough for Trivium to turn back the hands of the clock to the point where the world lay at their fretboards, but the notion that this is a band whose best days lie behind them is one that, at least for now, is resting on ice". Alt Sounds also spoke positively about the album and even after stating "Trivium have not topped themselves" in reference to their past albums but did call it "...a symbol of triumph and overall a sound, beautifully solid record."
Revolver Magazine rated the album three out of five stars and summarized, "An inconsistent record with flashes of brilliance, In Waves should, however, keep diehard Trivium fans happy."
In Waves was met with negative reviews as well, most notably Jamie Thomson from The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
. Who, in his review, stated that, "In Waves is as overproduced and mercilessly polished as modern metal gets, and all the worse for it."
Sales
In Waves sold 22,000 copies in its first week of release and debuted at #13 on the Billboard 200 and at #1 on the Billboard Hard Rock charts, making it the highest charting record Trivium has released to date. In Canada, the album debuted at #32 on the Canadian Albums ChartCanadian Albums Chart
The Canadian Albums Chart is the official album sales chart in Canada. It is compiled every Wednesday by U.S.-based music sales tracking company Nielsen Soundscan, and published every Thursday by Jam! Canoe and Billboard, along with its sister charts the Canadian Singles Chart and the Canadian BDS...
. The album also charted in the UK at #17 on the UK Top 40 albums chart
UK Albums Chart
The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...
, #6 in Japan and #8 in Germany.
Track listing
Personnel
Trivium- Matt HeafyMatt HeafyMatthew Kiichi "Matt" Heafy is a Japanese-American musician, best known as the lead vocalist and lead guitarist for the American Metal band Trivium. Heafy is also the vocalist for the band Capharnaum, along with Trivium's former producer Jason Suecof.-Biography:Heafy is Japanese from his mother...
– lead vocalsLead vocalistThe lead vocalist is the member of a band who sings the main vocal portions of a song. They may also play one or more instruments. Lead vocalists are sometimes referred to as the frontman or frontwoman, and as such, are usually considered to be the "leader" of the groups they perform in, often the...
, guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
s - Corey Beaulieu – guitars, backing vocalsBacking vocalistA backing vocalist or backing singer is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists...
- Paolo GregolettoPaolo GregolettoPaolo Gregoletto is an Italian-American bass player for the band Trivium. Gregoletto resides in Pompano Beach, Florida. He is Italian on his fathers side and American on his mothers side...
– bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, backing vocals - Nick AugustoNick AugustoNick Augusto is an Italian-American drummer of the heavy metal band Trivium . He replaced Travis Smith on 4 February 2010. Since joining Trivium, Augusto has recorded eighteen tracks: "Shattering the Skies Above"—which featured on the God of War: Blood & Metal EP— a cover of Sepultura's "Slave...
– drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
, percussion
Production
- Tracks 1–16 producedRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
and mixedAudio mixing (recorded music)In audio recording, audio mixing is the process by which multiple recorded sounds are combined into one or more channels, most commonly two-channel stereo. In the process, the source signals' level, frequency content, dynamics, and panoramic position are manipulated and effects such as reverb may...
by Colin RichardsonColin RichardsonColin Richardson is a British record producer, mixer and recording engineer. He has worked on over 100 albums, and is most frequently associated with heavy metal and its subgenres such as:*Anathema*As I Lay Dying*Behemoth*Bullet for My Valentine...
and Martyn "Ginge" Ford - Tracks 17–18 produced by Trivium and Mark Lewis, and mixed by Mark Lewis
- EngineeredAudio engineeringAn audio engineer, also called audio technician, audio technologist or sound technician, is a specialist in a skilled trade that deals with the use of machinery and equipment for the recording, mixing and reproduction of sounds. The field draws on many artistic and vocational areas, including...
by Carl Bown - Additional vocals recorded by Michael "Elvis" Baskette
- Production coordination for Real Productions: Lora Richardson
- MasteredAudio masteringMastering, a form of audio post-production, is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device ; the source from which all copies will be produced...
by Ted JensenTed JensenTed Jensen is an American recording engineer. Jensen is the chief mastering engineer at Sterling Sound. He started his career as a mastering engineer in 1976 and is currently the most active Mastering Engineer in the industry... - A&R: Monte Conner and Justin Arcangel
Release history
| Region | Date | Format |
|---|---|---|
| Japan | August 2, 2011 | Digital download Music download A music download is the transferral of music from an Internet-facing computer or website to a user's local computer. This term encompasses both legal downloads and downloads of copyright material without permission or payment... |
| Ireland | August 5, 2011 | |
| United Kingdom | August 8, 2011 | |
| Canada | August 9, 2011 | |
| United States |