Customer Reviews

Shogun(Special Edition CD/DVD)

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I have to say, I thought that with their earlier CD 'The Crusade' Trivium had sort of lost a little of their power and awe inspiring drive that was so evident in 'Ascendancy'. But with 'Shogun' Trivium have served up a combination of both earlier works and engineered the most mind blowing masterpiece i have heard in a long time.

If their was ever a CD that has created such a phenomenal comeback, it has to be Shogun. I honestly can't stop listening to it. Mat's vocals are so powerful, the lyrics and the singing are by far the biggest hit with me. Not just that though. These riffs that Trivium have created just blow the mind - Kirisute Gomen - unbeatable!! Trivium have also created this air of mystique on Shogun that is so very rare in music these days.

I have to say, i was pleasantly suprised, and so glad i was blown away when i bought this CD. You will be too. A perfect 10/10.

I'm speechless - I had the opportunity to meet these guys in Corpus Christi - and they're awesome - down to earth and fun guys. I can honestly say that the music they have created in shogun will blow you away - the riffs, solos, choruses - everything has been put together perfectly...It's by far Trivium's best sounding album ever - it's an in your face sound that simply makes you tap your foot or bang your head. Into the mouth of hell we march with Trivium and their masterpiece - Shogun.

Matt - Corey - Travis - Paolo = the best musicianship ever!

Personally, I gotta give it to these guys: this album really kicks balls and was well worth the wait. Literally from start to finish a killer modern metal album. I purchased release day and it's been spinning ever since. These guys are truly underrated and this stuff is deeper and more technical than they're given credit for. It's definitely an upgrade compared to "FROM EMBER TO INFERNO" (meh) , "ASCENDANCY" (which I really dug) and "THE CRUSADE" (which was ok), much darker and more epic.

If you're a fan of they're older material you'll absolutely love this one. As Heafy himself said, "SHOGUN is the past, present, and future of TRIVIUM". Pick it up!!!

This album is excellent. They take the best of Ascendancy and The Crusade and combine them to produce there best album yet! The DVD has the making of the album along with instructions on how to do the riffs on the songs. I would have liked some music videos or some live performances on the DVD but I gotta say, I love this album and honestly think that the quality you get is fantastic. My fav metal album this year.

Not sure where to start. The Crusade was (and is) one of THE best metal albums of the decade. It blew me away. (And I've been a dedicated metalhead since the early 80's) I wasn't expecting anything less with Shogun. I was wrong.

Here's a plea to all the guys, especially the singer, in the band: STOP LOWERING YOUR STANDARDS BY USING DEATH METAL "VOCALS" IN YOUR MUSIC! It's bizarre. One minute, you have this great voice and the next it's 180 degrees in the other direction and I feel like I'm listening to one of those lame, extreme death or grindcore bands. The music on this album is PHENOMENAL. They deserve kudos for taking it up several notches here. But, again, those vocals ruin just about every song on this album. There's no need for it and it takes songs that I'd rate 5 stars and makes them a 2 or 3.

I'd even suggest re-doing this album with 100% REAL singing. you can do it, guys. You did it on the last album and you have the talent! Use it!!

Anyway, if you can get past the 40% bad singing, this album is simple outstanding. I guess I can still recommend it, but hesitant to do so. They were *this* close to creating a masterpiece.....

A couple idiots wrote a review on this and gave it a low rating and it had nothing to do with the music.
This album is spectacular, and by far the best that Trivium has ever come out with. The guitars are spectacular, the vocals are the best ever heard on a Trivium album and the drums will blow your mind.

It mixes the sound they experimented with on their previous release with the complicated, more progressive song structures of their earlier works. In other words, it's the best of both worlds.

Now roughly 3 years old, Trivium's Shogun has withstood the test of time, and still remains one of my favorite metal albums of the last 5 years. I picked up this album about the same time that I purchased Kamelot's The Black Halo and Symphony X's Paradise Lost, and to me, these 3 albums are still my unholy trinity. I usually cannot listen to one without listening to the others soon afterwards. Though the styles are different, each is powerful in its own right. My previous experience with Trivium was with the albums The Ascendancy and Crusade, and while technically proficient, they just didn't grab and violently shake me like I expected. But it only took a few minutes of listening to "Kirisute Gomen" on Shogun to make me rethink my opinion of this amazing band. Matt & Co. have truly created something genuine and breathtaking, and ultimately timeless. And that is an amazing feat for any band.

With the imminent release of the new album In Waves, I have been playing Shogun more and more often, and it seems to get better and better with each listen. Why? I honestly can't answer that question with words. Suffice it to say that there's really not a weak track on the album. Not a single one. While not every song knocks it out of the park, there isn't a filler track or lackluster entry, and that is not something that happens too often on metal CD's. But it's more than that. Somehow, this album generates actual emotion, and ebbs and flows like a living thing. When I first bought it, I tended to gravitate to my favorite songs, and ignore the others. But recently, I have been playing it from start to finish, and because of that, it has evolved into an experience, not just a CD. But I digress...

So, for you few uninitiated, here are the tracks to pay attention to; "Kirisute Gomen", the perfect choice as the intro track, teasing the ears with a slow & quiet start before the punishing drums kick in; "Down From the Sky", the single, released with an official video, and a pretty awesome metal song; "Throes of Perdition", my personal favorite from the album, with great lyrics, a sing-a-long chorus, and a brutal breakdown in the middle; "Insurrection", a blistering track with staccato drums and Slayer-esque soloing; "The Calamity", a more melodic track with a great solo; "Of Prometheus and the Crucifix", another song with a catchy chorus and great solo; "Like Callisto to a Star in Heaven", my other personal favorite, with driving guitars and drums and raspy vocals; and "Shogun" the 11+ minute title track, a slow burner for about 8 minutes before kicking into high gear for nearly the remainder of the song.

I always recommend picking up the special edition of albums if they have bonus tracks, and Shogun is no different. There are 3 bonus tracks to be had. Of the 3, "Upon the Shores" and "Iron Maiden" are the standouts, and evoke a sense of Ride The Lightning and Kill `Em All era Metallica. I know that's what Trivium is going for, and it works well.

I am hoping that In Waves continues the strong trend that Shogun has established. If not, I still have this great album that keeps getting better with every listen. If you haven't heard it yet, take a listen to "Kirisute Gomen" and see if it doesn't blow you away. If it does, then this album is for you!

"Shogun" is the fourth studio album by American metal band "Trivium", originally released in 2008. The title implies a lyrical shift from the western crusades of the previous album into Asian culture and philosophy. What remains is the essence of human struggle and battling. The line up features Matt Heafy on lead vocals and guitar, Corey Beaulieu on guitar, Paolo Gregoletto on bass and Travis Smith on drums.

The amount of effort put on the guitars is evident of first play. For that matter "Shogun" is a true testament on metal/hard rock guitar-playing as the band goes through a phenomenal amount of six-string riffs, melodies and solos on the 14 song that the limited edition of the album offers. So clearly "Shogun" is one of those albums meticulously planned to the minor detail and for that matter one has to congratulate the guys for their work.

And above all "Sogun" is a guitar driven album, with the rhythm section following the many twists and turns of the two-guitar formation. The overall musical style follows the power-speed metal path integrating a slightly modern touch. The vocal approach blends brutal vocals with melodic singing, perhaps a trademark of contemporary heavy metal; on a personal level I do favor the clean vocals over the distorted ones on "Sogun" simply because Matt and the guys are capable of such incredible vocal melodies.

Overall "Sogun" is so loaded with riffs, solos, melodies and rhythm patterns, becoming impossible for the listener to digest upon first play, particularly this 14-track special edition. Realistically "Sogun" is as complete a dose of heavy metal as it gets.

Trivium's most recent album, "Shogun", shows us how the band is continually developing as musicians and songwriters. Their first two albums were in the metalcore vein, whereas "The Crusade" took things into thrash metal. So how does "Shogun" measure up to their first three albums? Read on to find out.

I would define the sound of "Shogun" as being a cross between the sound on the first two albums paired up with "The Crusade", and to boot, a vast, epic-sounding element that shows Trivium entering a new realm. Matt's screams are back on "Shogun", and here, he sounds more vicious and mighty than ever. However, I would hardly call "Shogun" a metalcore album, as the intensity and honest sound would make any of the bands with sentence-long names run for cover! The songs on "Shogun" are able to combine brutality with pure beauty on a larger-than-life scale, making this a truly unique album.

"Kirisute Gomen" starts off with some slow acoustic guitars before going into a complex and catchy drumline. The rest of the band builds up until the song is fully kickin', starting things off on a fast and intense thrash-metal note. Matt's ferocious screams bring the pre-chorus through. The chorus is slower and more melodic, reminiscent of the Metallica masterpiece "Orion". And the solos? Intense as ever! The band really gets things off with a bang on this first song.

"Torn Between Scylla and Charybdis" is a personal favorite of mine, opening with a hammer-on riff on the high B-string. The verses are in 6/8, giving the song a swaying feel to it, before going into a brutal, scream-driven pre-chorus and a beautiful, slower chorus. This song can definitely be described as "epic".

"Down From The Sky" keeps the consistency of brilliance going, with a slow and beautifully majestic opening, before breaking into a more uptempo feel. This song has such a great, huge-sounding vibe and powerful feel to it, what a song!

"Into The Mouth of Hell We March" is yet another powerful anthem that has one of my favorite choruses on the album and adds to the shape of the sound on the album. More amazing musicianship as always, too.

I can see "Throes of Peridition" as being a huge moshpit song at live shows, with its energetic guitar and drumwork throughout. It also manages to keep the same sense of epic melody as the first four songs, maintaining a consistency.

"Of Prometheus and the Crucifix" is in the key of A-major, and melodically, may be comparable to post-hardcore bands, BUT this song is, of course, much better than those bands, because it still contains the energy and passion that Trivium brings to each song.

"Like Callisto to a Star in Heaven" has my favorite title on the album, and it reflects the mysterious, epic vibe this song produces. Another great song with more great instrumentation.

"Shogun" closes off the original album, and is over 11 minutes long. This song is comparable to the title track off "The Crusade", except with vocals. There's a soft, melodic section here that lasts two-and-a-half minutes, and it really showcases the element of this album's sound. What else is there, you may ask? Oh yes, a blazing-as-ever high-energy guitar solo after that! With a melodic but still powerful section fading out, this epic comes to a close.

The deluxe edition also comes with three bonus tracks, but ironically the band states in the making-of on the 2nd disc, they spent so much energy in making the original album, they didn't think much towards the bonus songs. However, there is a passionate and intense cover of Iron Maiden's "Iron Maiden". "Upon The Shores" is an interesting and unusual song for two reasons: Firstly, it's the first Trivium song that shows Matt performing straight-up death metal vocals in one section, but even more surprisingly, directly after that, the band goes into a slow, mournful-sounding, ballad-styled chorus! A strange contrast indeed, but it makes for some new territory explored.

On the second disc, we get a 50-minute making-of, which is at the same time funny, highly entertaining and really informative. It's amazing that the band is as professional as they are in writing songs and understanding what they're doing, especially considering none of them are even 30 yet. There's also a part on the DVD that shows the riffs for guitarists and bassists, which proved to be a treat for me!

Overall, this might just be Trivium's best album to date, it's all a matter of opinion, really. However, I'm really excited for their next album and I seriously hope they continue in this direction, because "Shogun" is groundbreaking and innovative for modern metal bands, and for everybody interested, as well. Very highly recommended. Thanks for the time, and peace.

i realize Trivium started as your average metalcore band, which gained them attention in the american underground. but then did the crusade and got them europeon attention (while pissing off half of their american fans in the process). but Shogun is so much more, way more than just style experimentation. and obviously a lot of bands start out doing something at first, burning off their hatred, misery, letting out their negative energy, then eventually softening up like Staind, Linkin park, Green day, A.F.I., Bad religion... and with Trivium doing the crusade made you think that they were about to start acting like they were reincarnates of 80s metal. but then they realized they were heavier than that, they couldn't just stop the hard vocals and put together one of the greatest albums i have ever heard from this year so far.

the first few notes of the album starting off with the song Kirisute gomen is the exact rhythm of the chorus of the title-track Shogun.

a keen example that this time the band wanted to recognize the entire album as one figure, instead of past albums seeming to be sort of this song is that, that song is this, but mostly this album is connected is some sort of mix of both realism and fantism (in my opinion) using both history and various mythology alongside as well some real world issues and or metaphoric representations of past situations to new.

though i admit, and even the band themselves, were not 100 % on EVERY song of the album, but with production pushing them, they did work harder to sand the edges as far as they could.

all in all, this is not their old school, this is not another Crusade album, it is merely a step in the right direction with elements from both old and new Trivium and this time it is done right.