Words by Yasmine Summan / Pic by Phil Drury
Florida’s heavy metal band, Trivium, set Birmingham a blaze this week as they storm through the UK on their The Sin and The Sentence World Tour 2018 – bringing city fans extreme head banging, searing guitar riffs, intense breakdowns, and a varied set list of their best hits since they first formed in 1999.
Fans flocked to the O2 Academy Birmingham in the thousands, hounding the merch tables and practically clinging onto the barrier with faces from all generations wavering through the crowd. I could feel the waves of nostalgia and excitement flooding through the room as fans joyfully ran in, decked out in ancient Trivium memorabilia unseen for years.
Opening the night, UK death metal band, Venom Prison, stormed onto the stage with a high energy performance and excessive head banging from vocalist, Larissa Stupar – who’s impressive screams filled the room and left everyone stunned.
Power Trip followed with their unique sound that revives the best elements of 80’s thrash metal, but takes aspects of modern metal to create a unique flare to their music. Their intensely high tempo, fast paced rhythm and scorching guitar solos had energy buzzing through the air; the whole band emanated great stage presence, with guitarist, Blake Ibanez, leaning into the crowd to sing along with the fans.
Code Orange stood out for their insane, off the wall performance that sky rocketed the energy levels in the room. Before their set had even begun the band’s guitarist, Dominic Landolina, ran off the stage and jumped into the crowd, gathering excitement amongst fans.
Whilst I enjoyed the diverse range of support acts, the drastically varying subgenres didn’t fairly compliment their collective talents. Hardcore is often more aggressive whilst metal is more melodic, which garner completely different audiences. Whilst the majority of the crowd was lively, this did result in some disinterested faces across the room and I think better consideration could have been put into the arrangement of the line-up.
As the lights dimmed and fans eagerly waited, I was unsure of what would entail for the atmosphere in the O2 Academy after the mixed reactions for the previous acts. However, I can assure you that as Trivium’s lead vocalist, Matt Heafy, swarmed onto the stage and the thudding of Alex Bent’s drums began to charge through the room, all hell truly did break loose. Trivium kicked in with their latest track, ‘The Sin and The Sentence’, causing crowd surfers to flood through the barriers, with mosh pits circulating around the room as an intoxicating rush of adrenaline dazed the crowd.
Their performance was practically unscathed, it felt so well-rehearsed and strategically thought out. From the layout of the stage that matched their latest album cover, to the lights syncing to the beat of the drums and every single riff tearing its way through the room without a single distorted note in sight, I was beyond overwhelmed with the outstanding performance – especially at Heafy’s guitar riffs that were so crisp they could cut through thin air.
Trivium play on the traditional styles of heavy metal music, which was translated great through their older hits like ‘Throes of Perdition’ and ‘Becoming the Dragon’ with highly amplified extended guitar solos and emphatic drum beats, similar to heavy metal bands like Iron Maiden and Pantera. Although arguably, I do think the lack of their works from popular albums such as Shogun and The Crusade was underwhelming, seeing as these tried and tested tracks translate well with the fans when performed live.
The band moved as one body and fed from each other’s energy. It was clear to see the devoted passion for their work thriving through each member; at times you could even see bassist, Paolo Gregoletto, rapidly strumming with sweat soaking his face, as if he was pouring his soul into every strum.
Even between songs the band’s genuine nature transpired, as they constantly thanked the crowd and shared moments of their last time in the UK with Heafy saying he feels that “the UK basically adopted us” because of how frequently they visit.
Short bursts of surreal moments are what truly captivated the O2 Academy Birmingham crowd and brought the room together. It was humbling to see fans completely in awe with their eyes glued to the stage, or even to see someone coming out of a mosh pit completely covered in blood but with a huge grin plastered across their face as they sang along to every word.
Trivium are stretching their adventures across the UK and will be visiting Manchester and London before finalising their The Sin and The Sentence Tour for 2018. But as for their stop at the O2 Academy Birmingham, it brought a nostalgic pang of happiness to see fans, families and friends all enjoying themselves.
Trivium @ O2 Academy 17.04.18 / Phil Drury
For more on Trivium, visit www.trivium.org
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Power Trip – supporting Trivium @ 02 Academy 17.04.18 / Phil Drury
For more on Power Trip, visit www.powertripsl.bandcamp.com
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Code Orange – supporting Trivium @ 02 Academy 17.04.18 / Phil Drury
For more on Code Orange, visit www.codeorangetoth.com
For more on Venom Prison, visit www.venomprison.com
For more from Live Nation UK, including further event listings and online ticket sales, visit www.livenation.co.uk
For more on O2 Academy Birmingham, including venue details and further event listings, visit www.academymusicgroup.com/o2academybirmingham
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