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 (2005-03-15)
RecordedSeptember 2004 (2004-09) – October 2004 (2004-10)[1]
Studio
Genre
Length55:10
LabelRoadrunner
Producer
Trivium studio album chronology
Ember to Inferno
(2003)		 Ascendancy
(2005)		 The Crusade
(2006)
Singles from Ascendancy
  1. "Like Light to the Flies"
    Released: January 2005 (2005-01)[5]
  2. "Pull Harder on the Strings of Your Martyr"
    Released: March 2005 (2005-03)[6]
  3. "A Gunshot to the Head of Trepidation"
    Released: May 2005 (2005-05)[7]
  4. "Dying in Your Arms"
    Released: November 2005 (2005-11)[8]

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: "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".

The music video for "Like Light to the Flies" debuted at MTV2's Headbangers Ball on September 25, 2004[1] and features the original demo of the song, which was included on the MTV compilation album Headbangers Ball Volume 2.[9] Likewise, demos 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, nearly a year before Ascendancy was released.

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."[10] Heafy considers Ascendancy his favorite Trivium album.[11]

Reception

Critical
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[4]
PopMatters[2]

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."[4]

Accolades
  • In 2005, Ascendancy won the "Album of the Year Award" from Kerrang! magazine.[12]
  • "Dying in Your Arms" was nominated for Best Single at the 2006 Kerrang! Awards.[13]
  • In August 2009, Ascendancy ended up No. 22 in Kerrang!'s "21st Century's Greats" list.[10]
  • In October 2018, Ascendancy ended up No. 11 in Metal Hammer's The 100 Greatest Metal Albums of the 21st Century list.[14]

Commercial performance

Since its release, Ascendancy has sold over 500,000 copies worldwide.[15] 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.[16] In the UK, it peaked at No. 79, and shipped over 100,000 copies, attaining Gold status, without entering the UK top 75.[17]

Track listing

All lyrics are written by Matt Heafy

No.TitleMusicLength
1."The End of Everything" (instrumental)Heafy, Jason Suecof1:21
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"Heafy6:58
Total length:55:10
United Kingdom special edition
No.TitleMusicLength
13."Washing Away Me in the Tides"Heafy3:46
Total length:58:56
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" (video mix)Heafy3:05
Total length:75:22
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" (instrumental)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.[18]
  • 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 D♭ tuning. However, because of an error, everything ended up out of tune, so the band tuned up to Drop D.[19]

Personnel

Charts
Chart (2005–2006) Peak
position
Scottish Albums (OCC)[21] 93
UK Albums (OCC)[22] 79
UK Rock & Metal Albums (OCC)[23] 1
US Billboard 200[24] 151

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[25] Gold 100,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References
  1. "News & Information". The official Trivium website. 2005-01-22. Archived from the original on 22 January 2005. Retrieved 2022-04-17.
  2. Lee, Cosmo (2005-06-06). "Trivium: Ascendancy". PopMatters. Retrieved 2012-04-30.
  3. Marsicano, Dan. "Essential Metalcore Albums". ThoughtCo. Retrieved September 27, 2017.
  4. Loftus, Johnny. "Ascendancy - Trivium". AllMusic. Retrieved 2021-10-07.
  5. "Trivium Like Light to the Flies (Single)". Spirit of Metal. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
  6. Pull Harder on the Strings of Your Martyr (track listing). Trivium. Roadrunner Records. 2005. RR Promo 813.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  7. A Gunshot to the Head of Trepidation (track listing). Trivium. Roadrunner Records. 2005. RR Promo 868.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  8. Dying in Your Arms (track listing). Trivium. Roadrunner Records. 2005. RR PROMO 897.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  9. "Various Artists - MTV2 Headbanger's Ball 2". Amazon. 2004.
  10. Kerrang! #1273, August 8, 2009. 21st Century's Greats. No.22. Ascendancy, Trivium. p. 39
  11. "kiichichaosreigns @ Twitch.tv".
  12. "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.
  13. "Muse lead Kerrang! Award nominations". Digital Spy. August 11, 2006. Retrieved October 27, 2021.
  14. "The 100 greatest metal albums of the 21st century". Metal Hammer Magazine. 2018-10-12. Retrieved 2019-01-06.
  15. "About Trivium - History, Biography, Songs and Facts". Trivium Official Website. Archived from the original on 2014-06-07. Retrieved 2013-11-07.
  16. "Trivium: 'The Crusade' Artwork".
  17. Chart Information and Track listing Archived February 16, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  18. "Original Soundtrack - Underworld Evolution". -Amazon. 2006.
  19. Matt Heafy Interview Luxembourg on YouTube
  20. "Trivium: Vengeance Is Fine". Retrieved 18 January 2018.
  21. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 17, 2021.
  22. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 17, 2021.
  23. "Official Rock & Metal Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 16, 2021.
  24. "Trivium Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard.
  25. "British album certifications – Trivium – Ascendancy". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved November 22, 2022.
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