The Sin and the Sentence is the eighth studio album by the American heavy metal band, Trivium. The album lasts a duration of 57:18. It was released on October 20, 2017, through Roadrunner Records.
Lineup:
Matt Heafy – lead vocals, rhythm guitar
Corey Beaulieu – lead guitar, backing vocals
Paolo Gregoletto – bass guitar, backing vocals
Alex Bent – drums, percussion
Production:
Josh Wilbur – producer, mixing
Background:
The Sin and the Sentence has received a very large positive feedback upon its initial release. Some have called it Trivium's best album that they have ever done and others calling it one of the best records of 2017. I tend to agree with this.
Trivium takes all of the musical styles and sounds of previous records and make an album that somehow manages to mesh them together and improve upon all of those sounds. The album's variety is fantastic because of the mix of heavy, aggressive songs, ambitious songs, and more melodic and accessible tracks. The album melds thrash metal, progressive metal, and groove metal together to make a record that many different metal fans can appreciate.
Each track will be rated as follows: I Hate It, I Dislike It, It's Okay, I Like It, I Love It. Here are my thoughts on each track:
Track Listing:
1. "The Sin and the Sentence" 5:49
Wow! Trivium comes out and completely shows off they're new drummer on this track. This was the first single for the album and perfectly represents what the listener is going to hear on this record. The drumming is absolutely ridiculous on this track. Matt Heafy did not scream on their last record, but it's apparent that this record is going to be a bit more aggressive. This song may just have my favorite chorus that the band has ever done. The guitar work is fantastic and the outro to the song is so thrashy. This song may be the best opening track of all time to a Trivium record.
Grade: I Love It
2. "Beyond Oblivion" 5:17
After that, you may think Trivium will back off and give you a bit of a break, but this is not the case. This song has a blistering fast into with speedy drumming and fast riffs. The song switches up to a dark and melodic verse and then goes into a chant just before another brilliant melodic chorus. The guitar solos are also fantastic. This is another excellent song that just gets better and better with every listen.
Grade: I Love It
3. "Other Worlds" 4:50
Trivium throws a curveball with this track. It has basically all clean vocals and seems to get better with each and every listen. I really love the guitar riffs as well as the terrific chorus. Matt's vocals sound absolutely perfect during the chorus as his range to higher notes does not sound pushed, but rather sounds natural. Trivium yet again impresses with beautiful and melodic guitar solos. This is another strong track from the album and also really sounds different than the first two tracks.
Grade: I Like It
4. "The Heart from Your Hate" 4:04
Now comes the second single from the record. This is definitely the most mainstream sounding track from the record, but it is also the most melodic. The guitar riffs are very repetitive, but in a good way that is memorable. The chorus is epic and is possibly the most memorable from the entire record. I really enjoy this track as it really is a nice melodic track on an album full of heavier tracks.
Grade: I Like It
5. "Betrayer" 5:27
Here is the third and final single for this record and it does not disappoint in the slightest. It begins with Matt yelling "Betrayer" and some really fast-paced drumming and guitar riffing. I love the buildup in the verses to Matt's powerful growls. The chorus is very melodic and the clean singing is fantastic. The guitar solos are amazing and as I always say Trivium solos never disappoint. I love this track from start to finish and it really is the song with the most variation on the entire record.
Grade: I Love It
6. "The Wretchedness Inside" 5:32
This is definitely one of the heaviest if not the heaviest track on the entire record. Heafy's screaming style delivery is so powerful on this track. The guitar riffs are more groove based on this track instead of speed based like many of the songs on the record. The chorus is cleanly sung and is very catchy and melodic. Around the 3:10 mark in the song is a very heavy breakdown with an amazing guitar riff and screaming vocals just before a fantastic guitar solo. After the solo, the prior mentioned breakdown continues.
Grade: I Love It
7. "Endless Night" 3:38
Now comes the only fairly weak song on the entire record. It is completely clean sung and feels like its made for radio. The instrumentation is not as complex as the rest of the record. The chorus is the only part of the song aside from the really good guitar solo that feels special as the rest of the track is fairly disappointing.
Grade: It's Okay
8. "Sever the Hand" 5:26
Right when I thought that maybe this record was beginning to falter, Trivium drops this masterful piece of heavy metal. The screaming vocals on this track are absolutely brutal and Matt's clean singing is perfect. The chorus is very big sounding and memorable like so many on this album. This song has some amazing guitar riffs and solos that vary in speed and ferocity. My favorite part of the song is the thrash and speed metal oriented guitar riffs and drumming that occur right after the first guitar solo though. The bass is amazing on this track. I love the second guitar solo as well. Just to finish this song off on a high note a third solo is played. This is one of the heaviest and best songs from the entire album.
Grade: I Love It
9. "Beauty in the Sorrow" 4:31
This track surprises early when it hits hard right after a very soft intro. The guitar riffs are powerful and very memorable during this song. Matt's voice sounds great again. The chorus is so beautiful and melodic just to make this track even better. Just when you think this is going to be a softer song, Matt yells "The lies they told." I love how Trivium always keeps me guessing like this. The guitar solos are incredible and so well written just to make this song even better.
Grade: I Love It
10. "The Revanchist" 7:17
This is definitely the most epic track on the entire record. The opening guitar riffs are so amazing. Then the groove-based riffs take over during the verses as the focus is on Heafy's lyrics and vocals. This chorus is absolutely epic and fantastic. I love Matt's screams because of where they are placed on this song. I love the changing tempos and the intense drumming that is contained in this track. Trivium also throws in some epic guitar solos just to make this track even stronger. This is definitely the most complex and epic track from the entire record and gets better with each listen.
Grade: I Love It
11. "Thrown into the Fire" 5:29
Now comes perhaps the best closer that Trivium has ever done. The drumming on this track is insane to start. It uses some serious blast beats and some really unbelievable speed. Matt's vocals are so heavy during this song. He sings really soft to say the song title, but basically, yells every other lyric in the song. The riffs are extremely heavy and will make anyone head bang. If you like guitar solos, then you will love this track. There are plenty of them and they are all insane. This album could not have ended more perfectly for me.
Grade: I Love It
My Verdict:
Production:
Trivium definitely hit a home run with this production. This is not only their most powerful sounding release to date, but everything sounds so perfect. Every different sound and instrument cuts through the mix to really make this the best sounding album the band has ever had.
Score: 20 / 20
Album Flow:
This album basically flows perfectly from start to finish, save for one track, "Endless Night." I love the variation and how perfectly placed every song is on this record. Each song offers something unique and new, which make this album the most enjoyable listen in Trivium's entire catalog. The mix of heavy, technical, fast, and melodic tracks make this such an exciting listen.
Score: 19 / 20
Song Writing:
As far as I am concerned, this album has better song writing than any other in the band's catalog. The instrumentation on this record is insanely consistent and excellent. Almost every song has a great chorus and memorable verses with insane guitar riffs, great bass lines, ridiculous drumming, and varied guitar solos that are executed brilliantly. Alex Bent may just be the best drummer that this band has ever had and Matt Heafy's voice has never sounded as melodic or as powerful before. Lyrically, the album is also the band's most impressive.
Score: 58 / 60
Overall Scoring Scale:
0-20: Garbage
21-40: Poor
41-49: Below Average
50-60: Average
61-74: Above Average
75-89: Good
90-100: Must Own
