Ascendancy (album)

Ascendancy is the second studio album by American heavy metal band Trivium. It was released on March 15, 2005 through Roadrunner Records and was produced by Jason Suecof and Matt Heafy.

Ascendancy
Studio album by
Trivium
ReleasedMarch 15, 2005
RecordedOctober 2004 - January 2005, Audiohammer Studios, Sanford, Florida and Morrisound Recording, Tampa, Florida
Genre
Length55:11
LabelRoadrunner
Producer
Trivium chronology
Ember to Inferno
(2003)		 Ascendancy
(2005)		 The Crusade
(2006)
Singles from Ascendancy
  1. "Like Light to the Flies"
    Released: January 2005[4]
  2. "Pull Harder on the Strings of Your Martyr"
    Released: March 2005[5]
  3. "A Gunshot to the Head of Trepidation"
    Released: May 2005[6]
  4. "Dying in Your Arms"
    Released: November 2005[7]

Background

This marks the first Trivium album to feature guitarist Corey Beaulieu and bassist Paolo Gregoletto. The album was produced by Jason Suecof and frontman, Matt Heafy. The album spawned four singles in "Like Light to the Flies", "Pull Harder on the Strings of Your Martyr", "A Gunshot to the Head of Trepidation" and "Dying in Your Arms". Music videos for each of the songs were shot; a promotional video was filmed for the song "Rain".

A demo of the song "The Deceived" was included on the re-release of Trivium's debut album Ember to Inferno nearly a year before Ascendancy was released. Likewise, a demo version of "Like Light to the Flies" was included on the MTV compilation album Headbangers Ball Volume 2.[8] Also, a demo of the song "Blinding Tears Will Break the Skies" was included on the Ember to Inferno re-release and later re-recorded and included as a bonus track on the re-release of Ascendancy.

Speaking to Kerrang! about the songs' lyrics, Matt Heafy said: "Definitely, some of the lyrics are about my personal insecurities and my social issues and disorders, and there's a thing about quietness in the music industry – people assume you're a dickhead if you don't want to talk, and that was definitely said about me. Being in a band forced me to have to get over my awkwardness around people and you can really see what I was going through in there."[9] Heafy considers Ascendancy his favorite Trivium album.[10]

Reception

Critical
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]
PopMatters[1]

Upon its release, the album received critical acclaim. In a very positive review, Johnny Loftus of Allmusic said about the album, "Ascendancy aligns real-deal thrash with powerful modern influences. But at all times it's a platform for Trivium's own crazed talent."[3]

Accolades
  • In 2005, Ascendancy won the "Album of the Year Award" from Kerrang! magazine.[11]
  • 'Dying in Your Arms' was nominated for Best Single at the 2006 Kerrang! Awards.[12]
  • In August 2009 Ascendancy ended up #22 in Kerrang!'s The 21st Century's Greats list.[9]
  • In October 2018 Ascendancy ended up #11 in Metal Hammer's The 100 Greatest Metal Albums of the 21st Century list.[13]

Commercial performance

Since its release, Ascendancy has sold over 500,000 copies worldwide.[14] In the U.S., the album peaked at No. 151 on the Billboard 200 and at No. 4 on the Top Heatseekers charts, and has sold over 140,000 units.[15] In the UK, it peaked at No. 79, and shipped over 100,000 copies, attaining Gold status, without entering the UK top 75.[16]

Track listing

All lyrics are written by Matt Heafy.

No.TitleMusicLength
1."The End of Everything" (Instrumental)Heafy, Jason Suecof1:20
2."Rain"Heafy, Corey Beaulieu4:11
3."Pull Harder on the Strings of Your Martyr"Heafy, Beaulieu, Travis Smith4:51
4."Drowned and Torn Asunder"Heafy, Beaulieu4:17
5."Ascendancy"Heafy4:25
6."A Gunshot to the Head of Trepidation"Heafy, Beaulieu5:55
7."Like Light to the Flies"Heafy, Beaulieu5:40
8."Dying in Your Arms"Heafy2:53
9."The Deceived"Heafy, Beaulieu5:11
10."Suffocating Sight"Heafy3:47
11."Departure"Heafy5:41
12."Declaration"Heafy7:00
Total length:55:11
United Kingdom special edition
No.TitleMusicLength
13."Washing Away Me in the Tides"Heafy3:46
Total length:58:57
Worldwide re-release
No.TitleMusicLength
13."Blinding Tears Will Break the Skies"Heafy5:10
14."Washing Away Me in the Tides"Heafy3:46
15."Master of Puppets" (Metallica cover, lyrics by James Hetfield)Hetfield, Lars Ulrich, Cliff Burton, Kirk Hammett8:11
16."Dying in Your Arms" (Radio Mix)Heafy3:05
Total length:75:23
Bonus DVD
Promo videos:
No.TitleLength
1."Like Light to the Flies" 
2."Pull Harder on the Strings of Your Martyr" 
3."A Gunshot to the Head of Trepidation" 
4."Dying in Your Arms" 
Live at the London Astoria - 9/18/2005:
No.TitleLength
1."The End of Everything (intro)"1:23
2."Rain"4:21
3."Dying in Your Arms"3:22
4."Like Light to the Flies"6:23
5."A Gunshot to the Head of Trepidation"6:45
6."Pull Harder on the Strings of Your Martyr"5:45

Notes
  • The bonus track "Washing Away Me in the Tides" was included on the Underworld: Evolution soundtrack.[17]
  • A demo of the song "Blinding Tears Will Break the Skies" was included on the Ember to Inferno re-release and later re-recorded and included as a bonus track on the re-release of Ascendancy.
  • A demo of the song "The Deceived" was also included on the Ember to Inferno re-release and was later re-recorded and included as a track on Ascendancy.
  • The entire Ascendancy album was originally recorded in Drop Db tuning. However, because of an error, everything ended up out of tune, so the band tuned up to Drop D.[18]

Personnel

Charts
Chart (2005) Peak
position
UK Albums (OCC)[20] 79
US Billboard 200[21] 151

References
  1. Lee, Cosmo (2005-06-06). "Trivium: Ascendancy". PopMatters. Retrieved 2012-04-30.
  2. Marsicano, Dan. "Essential Metalcore Albums". ThoughtCo. Retrieved September 27, 2017.
  3. Loftus, Johnny. "Ascendancy - Trivium". Allmusic. Retrieved 2012-03-11.
  4. "Trivium Like Light to the Flies (Single)". Spirit of Metal. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
  5. Pull Harder on the Strings of Your Martyr (track listing). Trivium. Roadrunner Records. 2005. RR Promo 813.CS1 maint: others (link)
  6. A Gunshot to the Head of Trepidation (track listing). Trivium. Roadrunner Records. 2005. RR Promo 868.CS1 maint: others (link)
  7. Dying in Your Arms (track listing). Trivium. Roadrunner Records. 2005. RR PROMO 897.CS1 maint: others (link)
  8. "Various Artists - MTV2 Headbanger's Ball 2". Amazon.
  9. Kerrang! #1273, August 8, 2009. 21st Century's Greats. No.22. Ascendancy, Trivium. p. 39
  10. "kiichichaosreigns @ Twitch.tv".
  11. "TRIVIUM: 'Ascendancy' Voted 'Album Of The Year' By KERRANG!". Blabbermouth.net. 2005-12-27. Archived from the original on 2013-02-01. Retrieved 2012-05-10.
  12. https://www.digitalspy.com/music/a35741/muse-lead-kerrang-award-nominations/
  13. Hammer, Metal Hammer 2018-10-12T22:37:52Z Metal. "The 100 greatest metal albums of the 21st century". Metal Hammer Magazine. Retrieved 2019-01-06.
  14. "About Trivium - History, Biography, Songs and Facts". Trivium Official Website.
  15. "Trivium: 'The Crusade' Artwork".
  16. Chart Information and Track listing Archived February 16, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  17. "Original Soundtrack - Underworld Evolution". -Amazon.
  18. Matt Heafy Interview Luxembourg on YouTube
  19. "Trivium: Vengeance Is Fine". Retrieved 18 January 2018.
  20. "Trivium | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart.
  21. "Trivium Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard.
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