Trivium’s turn towards a more mainstream sound, which already began with their last record, becomes even more apparent on this new effort. Just take a look at the producers they choose to work with: David Draiman, Disturbed’s frontman, for 2013’s ‘Vengeance Falls’ and Michael Baskette (Alter Bridge, Slash) this time around.
‘Silence in the Snow’ is the band’s first record without any brutal vocals whatsoever, it contains straight forward songs, and, according to the members themselves, the title track is their attempt at ‘classic heavy metal’. Indeed, artists that so far seemed far away from Trivium’s sound, such as Ronnie James Dio or Iron Maiden, are proper influences on ‘Silence in the Snow’. For that to be even possible, Matt Heafy really stepped up his vocals, while Heafy and Beaulieu kept it simple in the guitar department, managing to show their undeniable chops at the same time. The result is an album with some very good material, such as ‘Dead and Gone’, ‘The Ghost That’s Haunting You’ and ‘Rise Above the Tides’, but with some mediocre stuff as well. ‘Silence in the Snow’ will bring new fans to the group and disappoint some old ones. What it won’t do, is take Trivium to the level many at the beginning of their career thought they’d reach.