EP review: Trivium – Struck Dead

After Trivium spent the first half of the year touring their breakthrough – and still brilliant – album Ascendancy, questions abounded about whether this trip down memory lane would reignite that original passion for thrashtastic metallic fury and unbridled angst on which the band built their foundation. And while this stopgap EP isn’t wholly indebted to the record that earned them K!’s Album Of The Year in 2005, there are unmistakable echoes reverberating through, with hints of Rain and Suffocating Sight in particular glistening amongst the unrelenting rampage.

Although Struck Dead is comprised of just three songs, it clocks in at around 18 minutes, so the Floridian favourites are able to cram a lot in with barely a pause for breath. Opener Bury Me With My Screams, which British fans may recognise from its debut airing at Bloodstock this summer, is pure Trivium, loaded with chunky riffs, a frantic, galloping pace, expansive melody, and one royally pissed-off Matt Heafy, who flits between his signature croon and barbaric roar. And in much the same way Ascendancy deals with a teenager publicly reckoning with his emotions and feelings, so too does our frontman explore sentiments of isolation and rage across the EP.

The title-track notches things up even further with a sledgehammer blow of grimace-inducing, neck-wrecking fury, revelling in its Slayer-esque cacophony and blistering speed, practically shaking with enough energy to power a small city. As Heafy effs and jeffs his way through the claustrophobic clobbering – with perfectly-placed ‘Fuck!’ before a crunching breakdown – the punishing climax of it all showcases just how ferocious Trivium can be. And as the EP comes as a de facto swan song for drummer Alex Bent, it's a perfect reference for the CV that he can pummel with the best of them.

Rounding off with the seven-minute Six Walls Surround Me, what begins with a distinctly different flavour swiftly dives headfirst into a meaty main course, as the band still haven’t lost their appetite for going metal thrashing mad. There’s also an awesome mid-section with an infectious riff and driving dynamism that’s a pointed reminder of just how much these men love the guitar.

In short, this is a balls-out, fuck-you record, getting in and out as fast and furiously as possible. Having enjoyed a second wind for a good few years now, this new mini release is emblematic of a band locked into the groove of knowing exactly who they are, what they stand for and what they want to sound like. Which, it turns out, is bloody heavy and bloody good.

Verdict: 4/5

For fans of: Machine Head, Killswitch Engage, In Flames

Struck Dead is released October 31 via Roadrunner