For better and worse, Trivium haven't made the same album twice since 2005's Ascendancy. In keeping with their own tradition, they tossed out plenty to reinvent themselves on Silence in the Snow. Drummer Nick Augusto has been replaced by drum tech Matt Madiro, and producer Michael "Elvis" Baskette takes the chair previously inhabited by David Draiman on Vengeance Falls. Vocalist/guitarist Matt Heafy makes great strides in his quest to become a rock singer. It's true that he's been moving in this direction since Shogun, but for this date he worked with vocal coach Ron Anderson. His voice is enormous and his delivery clean throughout. In the past, the guitars provided the melodic focus in Trivium's songs, but here Heafy's singing claims that role…

What the Dead Men Say finds Trivium firing on all cylinders. Bent's double-kick drum attack and blastbeats have been fully integrated into the band's punishing amalgam of deathcore, prog metal, thrash, melodic death metal, and more. As evidenced by the pre-release tracks "IX" and "Scattering the Ashes," in a Spawn trailer for Mortal Kombat 11, Trivium revisited various sonic eras in their history while moving their music ever forward. The former cut is an instrumental that builds in grandiose intensity for two minutes then bleeds into the crushing title track. As furious as anything on TSATS, it also employs the mind-melting technical prowess Shogun boasted. "Catastrophist" commences as nearly radio-friendly with a hooky chorus before it shifts gears halfway through to become a meld of roaring vocals, twin guitar leads, and spiraling death metal riffs fueled by Bent's triple-time drumming…

In the Court of the Dragon is Trivium's tenth album, a milestone for any band. It's also a homecoming for the quartet of Matt Heafy (guitar/vocals), Corey Beaulieu (guitar), Paolo Gregoletto (bass), and Alex Bent (drums). Heafy returned to Florida after living in California for several years, as did Gregoletto after a period in Chicago. Produced by Josh Wilbur, this extremely musical, ten-song set aesthetically reaches forward and back simultaneously. For starters, it's simply brutal. Metalcore, thrash, and technical death metal converge throughout, with some prog metal nods, too. Wilbur's production is streamlined yet massive as it juxtaposes extreme aggression with some arena rock tendencies.
Opener "X" is a brief yet sinister interlude with chanted, wordless vocal assistance and subtle electronics from guest and Emperor frontman Ihsahn…

In the Court of the Dragon is the tenth studio album by American heavy metal band Trivium. It was released on October 8, 2021, through Roadrunner Records and was produced by Josh Wilbur.