''Ascendancy'' is the second studio album by American heavy metal band

Trivium The trivium is the lower division of the seven liberal arts and comprises grammar, logic, and rhetoric. The trivium is implicit in ''De nuptiis Philologiae et Mercurii'' ("On the Marriage of Philology and Mercury") by Martianus Capella, but the ...

. It was released on March 15, 2005, through

Roadrunner Records Roadrunner Records is an American record label focused on heavy metal and hard rock bands. Founded in the Netherlands in 1980, it is now a division of Warner Music Group and is based in New York City. History The label was launched in 1980 in t ...

and was produced by

Jason Suecof Jason Suecof (born April 3, 1980) is an American record producer, audio engineer and guitarist best known for his work with heavy metal bands such as Trivium, Battlecross, Death Angel, All That Remains, Bury Your Dead, The Black Dahlia Murder, ...

and

Matt Heafy Matthew Kiichi Heafy (born January 26, 1986) is an American musician, best known as the guitarist and lead vocalist for heavy metal band Trivium. He was also the lead vocalist for the band Capharnaum, along with Trivium's former producer Jason ...

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

. The album spawned four singles: "

Like Light to the Flies "Like Light to the Flies" (or "Like Light", as it is often referred to) is a song by American heavy metal band Trivium and is the first single and music video from their 2005 album, '' Ascendancy''. The band originally considered using the song ...

", "

Pull Harder on the Strings of Your Martyr "Pull Harder on the Strings of Your Martyr" (often shortened to "Pull Harder" or simply "Martyr") is a song by heavy metal music, heavy metal band Trivium (band), Trivium. It appears on their 2005 album ''Ascendancy (album), Ascendancy'' and was r ...

", "

A Gunshot to the Head of Trepidation "A Gunshot to the Head of Trepidation", often referred to as "Gunshot", is a song by American heavy metal band Trivium. Written by Matt Heafy and Corey Beaulieu, both of whom perform vocals and guitars on the track, it was featured on the band's ...

" and "Dying in Your Arms".

Music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

s for each of the songs were shot; a promotional video was filmed for the song "Rain". The music video for "Like Light to the Flies" debuted at MTV2's Headbangers Ball on September 25, 2004 and features the original demo of the song, which was included on the

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several Performing arts#Performers, performers. If by one artist, then generally the tr ...

'' Headbangers Ball Volume 2''. Likewise,

demos Demos may refer to: Computing * DEMOS, a Soviet Unix-like operating system * DEMOS (ISP), the first internet service provider in the USSR * Demos Commander, an Orthodox File Manager for Unix-like systems * plural for Demo (computer programming) ...

of songs "The Deceived" and "Blinding Tears Will Break the Skies" were included on the re-release of Trivium's debut album ''

Ember to Inferno ''Ember to Inferno'' is the debut studio album by American heavy metal band Trivium. It was released on October 14, 2003, through Lifeforce Records and was produced by Jason Suecof and the band themselves. Background Trivium formed in 1999 with ...

,'' nearly a year before ''Ascendancy'' was released. Speaking to ''

Kerrang! ''Kerrang!'' is a British weekly magazine devoted to rock, punk and heavy metal music, currently published by Wasted Talent (the same company that owns electronic music publication ''Mixmag''). It was first published on 6 June 1981 as a one- ...

'' 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."''

'' #1273, August 8, 2009. 21st Century's Greats. No.22. Ascendancy, Trivium. p. 39 Heafy considers ''Ascendancy'' his favorite Trivium album.

Reception

Critical

Upon its release, the album received critical acclaim. In a very positive review, Johnny Loftus of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

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."

Accolades

*In 2005, ''Ascendancy'' won the "Album of the Year Award" from ''

'' magazine. *"Dying in Your Arms" was nominated for Best Single at the 2006

Kerrang! Awards The Kerrang! Awards are an annual music awards show in the United Kingdom, founded by the music magazine ''Kerrang!'' and focusing primarily on rock music. The annual awards features performances by prominent artists, and some of the awards of mo ...

. *In August 2009, ''Ascendancy'' ended up No. 22 in ''Kerrang!''s "21st Century's Greats" list. *In October 2018, ''Ascendancy'' ended up No. 11 in ''

Metal Hammer ''Metal Hammer'' is a heavy metal music magazine and website founded in 1983, published in the United Kingdom by Future, with other language editions available in numerous other countries. ''Metal Hammer'' features news, reviews and long-form ...

''s The 100 Greatest Metal Albums of the 21st Century list.

Commercial performance

Since its release, ''Ascendancy'' has sold over 500,000 copies worldwide. In the U.S., the album peaked at No. 151 on the ''Billboard'' 200 and at No. 4 on the

Top Heatseekers Top Heatseekers are "Breaking and Entering" music charts issued weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. The Heatseekers Albums and the Heatseekers Songs charts were introduced by ''Billboard'' in 1991 with the purpose of highlighting the sales by new an ...

charts, and has sold over 140,000 units. In the UK, it peaked at No. 79, and shipped over 100,000 copies, attaining Gold status, without entering the UK top 75.

Track listing

;Bonus DVD

Notes

* The bonus track "Washing Away Me in the Tides" was included on the ''Underworld: Evolution'' soundtrack. * A demo of the song "Blinding Tears Will Break the Skies" was included on the ''

'' 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 ''

'' re-release and was later re-recorded and included as a track on ''Ascendancy''. * The entire ''Ascendancy'' album was originally recorded in Drop D♭ tuning. However, because of an error, everything ended up out of tune, so the band tuned up to Drop D.

Personnel

;Trivium *

–

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of t ...

guitars The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stati ...

, art concept *

Corey Beaulieu Corey King Beaulieu (born November 22, 1983) is the guitarist of American heavy metal band Trivium. At live shows, he also performs backing and, sometimes, lead screaming vocals. Biography Personal life Born in Dover-Foxcroft, Maine, Beaulieu i ...

– guitars,

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are use ...

Paolo Gregoletto Paolo Francesco Gregoletto (born September 14, 1985) is an American musician and songwriter who is best known as the bassist of the heavy metal band Trivium. Music career Trivium Gregoletto joined Trivium on September 5, 2004 when Matt Heafy, ...

– bass, backing vocals * Travis Smith –

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

, percussion, gang vocals on track 6 ;Production personnel *

– production,

engineering Engineering is the use of scientific method, scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad rang ...

, mixing on track 15, guitar solo on track 3 *

Andy Sneap Andy Sneap (born 18 July 1969) is an English guitarist, record producer and composer with over 100 albums to his name, most of which have been produced at his Backstage Recording studios in rural Derbyshire. Some of the most critically acclaime ...

– mixing, mastering, gang vocals on track 6 *Jeff Weed – engineering assistance *Aaron Caillier – engineering assistance * Mark Lewis – co-engineer on track 15 ;Additional personnel *Chad Sunderland – gang vocals on track 6 *

Gizz Butt Graham Anthony "Gizz" Butt (born 3 August 1966 in Manchester, England) is a British musician, lead vocalist and lead guitarist for Janus Stark best known for being the live guitarist for the band The Prodigy in the late 1990s. His own band Jan ...

– gang vocals on track 6 *Paul A. Romano –

art direction Art director is the title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supervise and unify the visi ...

artwork A work of art, artwork, art piece, piece of art or art object is an artistic creation of aesthetic value. Except for "work of art", which may be used of any work regarded as art in its widest sense, including works from literature ...

graphic design Graphic design is a profession, academic discipline and applied art whose activity consists in projecting visual communications intended to transmit specific messages to social groups, with specific objectives. Graphic design is an interdiscipli ...

*Josh Rothstein –

photography Photography is the art, application, and practice of creating durable images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is employed ...

Charts

References

{{Authority control 2005 albums Trivium (band) albums Roadrunner Records albums Albums produced by Jason Suecof