Trivium: In Waves

In Waves
Roadrunner
**

Florida's premier metallers kick off their fifth studio album with a rather haunting minute-and-a-half-long piano melody. It's a somewhat unusual intro that might leave many fans scratching their beards in confusion.

But just as devil's horns are perhaps being lowered, in come the guttural scream and cymbal crashes to get arms back up again.

Taking Trivium away from the thrash of 2005's Ascendancy into more metalcore directions, In Waves throws out several blistering staccato riffs and even the odd catchy chorus. But overall, it just seems a little inconsistent and overly polished, with the blend of screamed and sung vocals falling short.