Review: “Struck Dead” by Trivium

Produced by Trivium and recorded with Mark Lewis at the band’s own Hangar Studios in Orlando Florida, “Struck Dead” was recorded to test out the newly constructed studio during the rehearsals for the 25th anniversary of “Ascendancy” tour. Mixed and mastered by Josh Wilbur (Lamb of God, Gojira, Malevolence) it marks the bands first new material since 2021 album “In the Court of the Dragon” as well as, surprisingly, their final offering with drummer Alex Bent. In various interviews during the aforementioned tour the band had stated that they had only originally planned on doing a single to release during their European Festival run but as they had more time and they’re prolific writers, they ended up writing and recording three songs in total.

The single that did end up getting released while Trivium were in Europe was “Bury Me With My Screams“, a track that combines Thrash orientated riffs with Melodic Death Metal leads in the bands signature style. It almost feels like a throwback to the “Ember to Inferno” era of the band during the verses, the rich choruses which scream of needing release from the frustrations of this life giving it a real grit and integrity. Whats interesting is that it doesn’t sound over produced, there are a couple of rough edges that have been seemingly left there deliberately and that adds to the appeal. As you would expect, Corey Beaulieu delivers a scorcher of a solo and then there is a “Chaos A.D.” era Sepultura style piece of down tempo staccato riffage that seals the deal. That styling continues into the introduction of “Struck Dead” with Matt Heafy providing some high quality harsh vocals during the punchy, aggression fueled verses. The choruses don’t quite reach alter ego level but the clean vocal parts do at times feel a little unnecessary, especially with the presence of a spoken word an a couple of classy howitzer like solos. There are moments that flirt with “Master Of Puppets” era Metallica as well as the band continue to wear their influences on their sleeves but in all honesty this pretty much at the heavy end of what the Orlando Florida band do and comfortably slide into their live set, such is the quality on show.

There are a few similarities between “Six Walls” and “Ascendancy” classic “Like Light To Flies” particularly around the harsh chorus of “There is no light in here (there is no light), My fate is now unclear (my fate now unclear), I am suffocating (suffocating)“. They may actually go unnoticed in the first few spins as the band express themselves with flamenco acoustic guitars that transcend the night before bursting into some rapid fire riffs with venom and urgency. An extended solo is utterly sublime, the sing-a-long chorus later an arena filling moment and there are a couple of flirtations with the more progressive realms, some broken chord progressions almost a warning that the band can go heavier if they so desire. When it comes to this collection the surprise is that it doesn’t feel like a stop gap or something rushed to get it out there while the band enjoy some well deserved nostalgia. In fact it feels like a moment caught in time, a glimpse at what the next Trivium album will sound like and the four piece having fun. So if that record its a continuation of this, it’s going to be another exceptional one [8/10]

Track Listing

1. Bury Me With My Screams
2. Struck Dead
3. Six Walls

“Struck Dead” by Trivium is out 31st October 2025 via Roadrunner Records