\nYou can trust Louder<\/p>\n
Our experienced team has worked for some of the biggest brands in music. From testing headphones to reviewing albums, our experts aim to create reviews you can trust. Find out more about how we review.<\/a>\n<\/p>\n It\u2019s funny how a single song can change your life. Hearing Trivium<\/a>\u2019s Pull Harder On The Strings Of Your Martyr<\/a> on a Metal Hammer cover CD in early 2005 blew open a whole world of new bands for me. After an upbringing with classics like AC\/DC, Mot\u00f6rhead and Bon Jovi, finally I’d found a band that represented something completely new, dragging my tastes (literally) screaming into the 21st Century.<\/p>\n I certainly wasn\u2019t alone. A generational talent, Trivium represented an exciting new breed of metal band, acknowledged and respected by the old guard while acting as a lightning rod for emerging talent as the new school took hold. So when the band announced their massive anniversary celebration for 20 years of Ascendancy<\/a>, naturally I \u2013 and a bunch of friends I\u2019ve known for about as long as that record has existed \u2013 got tickets for the Poisoned Ascendancy tour and sang our asses off when the night finally came around.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n But when the band announced they might continue the album-in-full celebrations as part of their Bloodstock<\/a> headline show, I\u2019ll admit I was disappointed. Brilliant as that album is \u2013 and as powerful as nostalgia is \u2013 it felt like a lesser thing to have them trot it out when headlining a major metal event. Thank Christ they didn\u2019t.<\/p>\n You may like<\/p>\n Trivium’s Bloodstock show isn\u2019t just a masterclass in how to put on a stellar, headline-worthy performance, it\u2019s an affirmation of just how special that band are. With jets of flame, gigantic inflatable mascots and guest appearances from Robb Flynn, Sleep Token guitarist III, Ihsahn and Malevolence\u2019s Josh Baines, Trivium put on a spectacle worthy of any arena or main stage in the world.<\/p>\n And that\u2019s before we even get into the songs. Naturally, the Ascendancy stuff \u2013 A Gunshot To The Head Of Trepidation, Pull Harder On The Strings Of Your Martyr \u2013 have the well-worn feel of festival classics. But it\u2019s indicative of the excellent form Trivium have been on that newer tunes like Catastrophist, Bury Me With My Screams and The Heart From Your Hate are just as anthemic, landing with the power and unifying energy of any classic metal song.<\/p>\n That’s not just hyperbole. Covers of Symptom Of The Universe – dedicated to Ozzy – and a hale Master Of Puppets don\u2019t arrive as standouts, but another tool to be deployed in a set that celebrates heavy metal<\/a> in its entirety. Trivium know just what to do to make this event something truly special, setting an exceptionally high bar that feels like the best headline performance at Bloodstock – or any other major metal event – in years.<\/p>\n 20 years ago, Trivium made their UK festival debut with a legendary performance <\/a>that cemented them as the vanguard for a new school of metal. 20 years on, they remain an aspirational force, and at Bloodstock they might just’ve added another legendary event to their story. Suddenly Matt Heafy’s jokey “kings of metal” tag doesn’t sound so daft.<\/p>\n