- Shogun (Trivium album)
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Shogun 
Studio album by Trivium Released September 30, 2008 Recorded Nashville, Tennessee Genre Thrash metal, metalcore Length 66:37 Label Roadrunner Producer Nick Raskulinecz , Matt Heafy Trivium chronology The Crusade
(2006)Shogun
(2008)In Waves (2011) Singles from Shogun - "Kirisute Gomen"
Released: July 31st, 2008 - "Into the Mouth of Hell We March"
Released: August 11th, 2008 - "Down from the Sky"
Released: September 1st, 2008 - "Throes of Perdition"
Released: January 27th, 2009
Alternative cover 
Special editionShogun (将軍 Shōgun)
listen (help·info) is the fourth studio album by American metal band Trivium. The album was released worldwide on various dates between September 23 and October 1, 2008 through Roadrunner Records. It is their last release to feature founding drummer Travis Smith. Work on the album is noted to have begun with producer Nick Raskulinecz in October 2007,[1] with the band stating that they chose not to work with Jason Suecof again as they wanted to explore new ideas.[2]Contents
Background information
In an interview with Metal Injection,[3] Matt Heafy stated:
“ We started demoing after Family Values, like October... We started writing some songs, demoing them. The demo quality is so good it sounds like a real album, which is awesome, so it gives us a really good basis to compare and fix shit, so we've been revising and going back in and changing shit up. We're doing another set of demos. I think we're probably going to have 30 songs to pick from and we're working with Nick Raskulinecz (who produced for Foo Fighters, Rush, Velvet Revolver, Shadows Fall and Stone Sour). ” In an interview with Revolver,[4] Corey Beaulieu stated:
“ We want to capture the best ingredients of everything we've done. Each song has a little bit of everything, going between something heavy and then melodic, and then back to something heavy. So it has a really interesting balance. On The Crusade, Matt did almost all singing, so this time we're bringing back some of the screaming that's on Ascendancy. ” Promotion
On June 16, 2008, Trivium posted a bulletin on their MySpace profile titled "New Album Update" with an embedded YouTube video,[5] implying that the album would be released on September 30, 2008, by Roadrunner. On July 31, 2008, the first track from the new album, "Kirisute Gomen", was made available as a free digital download through the Roadrunner Records website for 24 hours only. On August 8, 2008, the cover art for the album was revealed. On August 12, 2008, the fourth track from the new album, "Into the Mouth of Hell We March", was made available for purchase on iTunes. On September 1, 2008, the third track and first single from the album "Down from the Sky" was made available for purchase on iTunes, as well as in stores. On September 3, 2008, the music video for "Down from the Sky" was released (exclusively) on MySpace. The band would later upload "Throes of Perdition" to their MySpace page on September 17, 2008 and on September 23, 2008 the complete album was added.[6]
Musical and lyrical themes
The reason we picked that word is because when you think of a word like shogun, it sparks all this vivid imagery and storytelling, especially when you look into the definition. It’s the highest ranking military general in Japanese times. We really dug it. We felt it was an appropriate name for the album.—Matt Heafy, About.com[7]Shogun largely features a continuation of the thrash metal style[8][9][10][11] featured on The Crusade, however, it also marks the return of Matt Heafy's screaming vocals and is also the band's first album produced by Nick Raskulinecz. In an interview for About.com, Heafy described the album's musical direction as a combination of various aspects including: "the past, present, and future of Trivium, all on one CD" and that is the "next evolutionary step".[7] When asked about the change in his singing style, he said: "It’s the kind of thing that happened naturally."[7] Shogun heavily features 7-string guitars and 5-string bass guitars, which had been used sparingly on The Crusade.
The group did not want to make an album where all songs had the same singing style, like in The Crusade, and decided to just let their music flow naturally and unbiased. Unlike The Crusade, which had some songs focusing on famous and controversial murders/crimes, this album has a few songs that deal with ancient Japanese military customs and several regarding Greek mythology, some serving as metaphors to be interpreted by the listener. "Into the Mouth of Hell We March" and "Torn Between Scylla and Charybdis" detail the story of Odysseus choosing whether to face the giant whirlpool Charybdis or the 6-headed monster Scylla. "He Who Spawned the Furies" is about the Titan Cronus devouring his children and castrating his father Uranus, creating Aphrodite and the Erinýes (the Furies). "Of Prometheus and the Crucifix" references the daily torment of Prometheus and alludes to crucifixion of Jesus Christ, serving as a metaphor for enduring torment by the public for daring to contribute something new to society. "Like Callisto to a Star in Heaven" is written from the perspective of the nymph Callisto, detailing her rape and impregnation by Zeus and her transformations into a bear and into Ursa Major. "Down from the Sky" features a contemporary theme, chastising those who spark wars for profit or religion, and warning of nuclear holocaust.
Sales
Shogun sold 24,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release, and debut at number 23 on the Billboard 200 chart, and the top 100 in 18 other countries, including #6 on the Japanese international charts, #4 on the Canadian Hard Rock Charts, #1 on the UK rock charts and #4 on the Australian charts. As of March 2009, the album has sold around 70,000 copies in the United States since its late September release, according to Nielsen SoundScan.[12]
Reception
Professional ratings Review scores Source Rating About.com 
Allmusic 
Alternative Press IGN 
Rock Sound Sputnikmusic Ultimate Guitar Archive The album received generally positive reviews, with Chad Bowar of About.com praising the band's progress on songwriting, as well as their musicianship.[13] Bowar finishing its review stating: "Shogun won't silence Trivium's legions of critics, but I think most fans will like the harsh vocals along with the great riffs and memorable melodies."[13] Eduardo Rivadavia of Allmusic described Shogun as "Trivium's most challenging and ambitious album yet."[14] IGN's Ed Thompson wrote that with the release of their fourth full-length album the "band have done what absolutely needed to be done."[15] The band's ideas and influences were praised by Thompson, and considered Shogun the best of their first four albums.[15] Thompson also defined Shogun as the band's "best effort to date."[15]
Track listing
All songs written and composed by Trivium, except where noted.
Standard Edition No. Title Length 1. "Kirisute Gomen" 6:27 2. "Torn Between Scylla and Charybdis" 6:49 3. "Down from the Sky" 5:34 4. "Into the Mouth of Hell We March" 5:52 5. "Throes of Perdition" 5:54 6. "Insurrection" 4:57 7. "The Calamity" 4:58 8. "He Who Spawned the Furies" 4:07 9. "Of Prometheus and the Crucifix" 4:40 10. "Like Callisto to a Star in Heaven" 5:25 11. "Shogun" 11:54 Deluxe Edition No. Title Length 12. "Poison, the Knife or the Noose" 4:14 13. "Upon the Shores" 5:21 14. "Iron Maiden" (Steve Harris) 3:43 - Special edition DVD
- The Making of Shogun (A behind-the-scenes documentary capturing the making of the album)
- Shogun: The Riffs (Instructional videos for guitar and bass)
Notes
- "Into the Mouth of Hell We March" was featured on the soundtrack for the 2008 video game Madden NFL 09.
- "Down from the Sky" was featured on the WWE SmackDown! Vs Raw 2010 soundtrack.
Personnel
- Trivium
- Matt Heafy – lead vocals, lead and rhythm guitars
- Corey Beaulieu – lead and rhythm guitars, backing vocals
- Paolo Gregoletto – bass guitar, backing vocals
- Travis Smith – drums, percussion
- Production
- Produced by Nick Raskulinecz
- Engineered by Paul Fig, Nick Raskulinecz, and Ben Terry
- Tracks 1–11 mixed by Colin Richardson
- Tracks 12–14 mixed by Jeffrey Rose
- Mix engineers – Jeffrey Rose, Martin "Ginge" Ford
- Assistant engineer – Matt Wiggins
- Pre-production engineer – Mark Lewis
- Mastered by Ted Jensen
Chart positions
Chart (2008) Peak
position[16]US Billboard 200 23 Australian ARIA Albums Chart 4 Austrian Albums Chart 30 Belgian Albums Chart 72 Canadian Albums Chart 19 Dutch Albums Chart 49 Finnish Albums Chart 17 French Albums Chart 75 German Albums Chart 27 Greek Albums Chart 39 Hungarian Albums Chart 26 Irish Albums Chart 30 Italian Albums Chart 55 Japanese Oricon Albums Chart 17 New Zealand RIANZ Albums Chart 28 Norwegian Albums Chart 34 Swedish Albums Chart 65 Swiss Albums Chart 42 UK Albums Chart 17 References
- ^ "Metal Injection gets exclusive details on upcoming Trivium album". Metal Injection. 2008-01-30. http://metalinjection.net/blog/2008/01/30/metal-injection-gets-exclusive-details-on-upcoming-trivium-album/. Retrieved 2008-03-19.
- ^ Wiederhorn, Jon (February 2008). "Brutal 2008 Preview – Trivium". Revolver Magazine.
- ^ Metal Injection interviews Trivium at NAMM 2008
- ^ Revolver Magazine, "Brutal 2008 Preview" issue
- ^ Trivium's YouTube video showing new album release date
- ^ "TRIVIUM: Another New Song Available For Streaming". blabbermouth.net. 2008-09-16. http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=104889. Retrieved 2008-09-17.
- ^ a b c Bowar, Chad (2008-09-27). "Trivium Interview: A Conversation with Matt Heafy". About.com. http://heavymetal.about.com/od/interviews/a/trivium2008.htm. Retrieved 2008-10-09.
- ^ http://heavymetal.about.com/od/cdreviews/gr/triviumshogun.htm
- ^ http://www.allmusic.com/album/shogun-r1423932
- ^ http://www.allmusic.com/album/r1423932
- ^ http://au.music.ign.com/articles/916/916522p1.html
- ^ "Trivium: Shogun First-Week Sales Revealed". Blabbermouth.net. 2008-10-08. http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=106423. Retrieved 2008-10-08.
- ^ a b Bowar, Chad. "Trivium - Shogun Review". About.com. http://heavymetal.about.com/od/cdreviews/gr/triviumshogun.htm. Retrieved 2008-10-08.
- ^ Rivadavia, Eduardo. "Shogun > Review". allmusic.com. http://www.allmusic.com/album/r1423932. Retrieved 2008-10-08.
- ^ a b c Thompson, Ed (2008-10-06). "IGN: Shogun Review". IGN.com. http://music.ign.com/articles/916/916522p1.html. Retrieved 2008-10-20.
- ^ "Trivium: More Shogun First-Week Chart Positions Revealed". Blabbermouth.net. 2008-10-13. http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=106743. Retrieved 2008-10-15.
External links
- Shogun at Metacritic
Matt Heafy · Corey Beaulieu · Paolo Gregoletto · Nick Augusto
Brent Young · Brad Lewter · Travis SmithStudio albums Extended plays TriviumSingles "Like Light to the Flies" · "Pull Harder on the Strings of Your Martyr" · "A Gunshot to the Head of Trepidation" · "Rain" · "Dying in Your Arms" · "Anthem (We Are the Fire)" · "Entrance of the Conflagration" · " To the Rats" · Becoming the Dragon" · "The Rising" · "Kirisute Gomen" · "Into the Mouth of Hell We March" · "Down from the Sky" · "Throes of Perdition" · "In Waves" · "Built to Fall"Related articles Categories:- 2008 albums
- Trivium albums
- Roadrunner Records albums
- "Kirisute Gomen"
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