LIVE REVIEW: Trivium @ O2 Academy, Oxford
The last time TRIVIUM was in Oxford was 2010, but within this time they have been to the UK a notable amount of times. The show had sold out bringing a big crowd together at the 5th show on their current tour. The only main concern to fans was will the new album, Silence in the Snow, hold up on the live stage?
Hard rock band, AS LIONS, started the show and ended up warming up the crowd, something that is mostly difficult for first acts usually. The beginning of their set was a bit weak on the vocals side from Austin Dickinson, but quickly improved. The vocalist had a good connection with the crowd, taking tips from his father, Bruce Dickinson. Overall they played really well, improving as their set went on.
Rating: 6/10
HEART OF A COWARD are the djent band that keeps on growing and delivering great live shows, doing the exact same on this occasion. All around, people were head-banging and enjoying the show, they did bring the performance to the next level, when though the first few songs had some feedback but was soon fixed as soon as the sound engineers noticed. They had a good connection with the crowd making each individual move for them. One of the coolest moments of their set was when the last few songs had huge bass drops, almost creating a weird bubble of sound that went through the entire body. Nothing less was expected from HEART OF A COWARD and they didn’t let down.
Rating: 7/10
After a short wait, TRIVIUM took the stage, expectations were high after the set from HEART OF A COWARD but of course, everyone came for TRIVIUM. They started their set straight away with their new album titled song, Silence in the Snow, which was a perfect starter to their set-list, getting everyone quickly engaged. All the songs sounded like they should do live, even the ones off of the new album. Only one song, Dying in your Arms, had some sound problems which was more the sound technicalities as opposed to the vocal capabilities of the powerful Matt Heafy, as proven by the rest of the set. The song only detached the crowd for a split second and just after, brought back the show right on track. The new drummer, Paul Wandtke, who joined TRIVIUM in December last year, had pulled off the drum parts that wasn’t his own perfectly. They finished the set with In Waves, and after thanking the crowd for support once again, they bought an awesome show to a fantastic end.
Rating: 8/10