Reviews list for Trivium - Struck Dead (2025)

Trivium is back with their first new material in 4 years, Struck Dead! Well, it's a short 3-track EP, but one that really SLAMS. They have their usual thrashy melodic metalcore with fire and fury. It's an amazing way to make up for when their Poisoned Ascendancy tour with Bullet for My Valentine fell through partway, and it shall gets us geared up for their next album to come next year.

As the band continues to evolve throughout their over 25 years of existence, these heroes of Florida's modern metal scene aren't putting out the fire anytime soon. What you can expect from this EP is similar to the rest of their catalog, bloodthirsty riffing and epic melodies.

The first track and single, "Bury Me With My Screams" shows that the band is back with a vengeance, filled with awesome heavy groove. It's an explosion of crushing riffing, Matt Heafy's vocals ranging from raw screams to emotional cleans, and energetic drumming by Alex Bent. Truly a pit-ready anthem! The title track, "Struck Dead (Pain is Easier to Remember)" has that mid-paced groove with Heafy bellowing the track's title, "STRUCK. F***ING. DEAD!!!". And when it switches to the big melodic chorus, it already seems like a remake of their ultimate best track that is the In Waves title track. That is, until it speeds up for a long brutal thrash/groove bridge. It's just pure rage throughout, with the most of that in the breakdown. Enjoyable, but can't beat the other two tracks here and especially not "In Waves".

"Six Walls Surround Me" is the EP's 7-minute epic. It may just be the "And I Return to Nothingness title track" of this EP, longer and more epic than the heavy rest of the offering. After a haunting one-minute intro, the remaining 6 minutes has the band's thrashy melodic metalcore reminiscent of Ascendancy, with a more cinematic progressive structure. It's the perfect emotional storm! Oh, and I would like to note that based on the different keys that are out of the E-flat/drop D-flat/7-string B-flat/drop A-flat tuning range, this may be the first ever Trivium track in D tuning (not drop D, standard D) (in my theory). So many surprises in that towering track that are easy to remember!

Struck Dead shows the band looking back at the past while preparing for the future. It also fits well as a farewell to Alex Bent and his drumming fire. His replacement, the previous unavailable Alex Rudinger (Revocation, Monuments, Whitechapel, Light the Torch, Threat Signal, Intronaut, etc.) will make the band destined for a brand-new more technical era. In the meantime, this 18-minute EP has brought their heavy memorable sound back on top. Their talents are unforgettable!

Favorites: "Bury Me With My Screams", "Six Walls Surround Me"