As Lions prove unfazed by the lack of people inside the Barbican by the time they take to the stage, of what seems like a smaller version of Leeds Arena, the Barbican is the perfect fit for a Trivium tour not yet set for the big leagues of arena performances. The Fall is currently the only song As Lions have available online, which falls straight in line with the crowd being mostly out of sorts with the majority of the songs played. However, formed in 2015 from the ashes of Rise To Remain they’re by far not an amateur live band and theyre content on getting the crowd warmed up before Trivium take to the stage.
Savage Messiah show that British power metal is still alive and kicking, however suffering the same fate as As Lions with the majority of people still yet to enter into the venue but stuck at the bars instead. During stand out track Hellblazer its obvious to see why they’re suited to support Trivium and have been on tours with Amon Amarth and Huntress in the past. Though their best efforts it’s clear that the crowd in attendance are all interested in the headliners.
Trivium have been absent from touring the UK for a few years unless you count a very exclusive set at Bloodstock last year. Since then they’ve released ‘Silence In The Snow’, a new album with a different sound to what Trivium fans were expecting, but if this show at the Barbican is anything to go on the tracks are proving just as popular to the masses. Kicking the night off with new album title track Silence In The Snow, after a long standing wait through Iron Maidens’ Run To The Hills, Matt Heafy’s vocals have transformed entirely from when the band first started out, now mastering the screaming and singing side to their tracks. Rain, their first ‘older’ track of the night is a flurry of fast paced heavy metal instrumentals that the crowd have been patiently waiting for.
The Ghost That’s Haunting You is a surprising stand out from the new album. An entirely sung track is few and far between for Trivium however they do incorporate Dying In Your Arms into the set as well which is more or less a fully sung track. Back to back ‘Shogun’ classics like Throes Of Perdition and Down From The Sky show Trivium at their best, the most entrancing guitar introductions during Throes Of Perdition explodes into and electrifying head banging worthy track entirely and guitarist Corey Beaulieu is a head banging monster, constantly whipping his hair around on every track and encouraging the crowd to do the same. What has been the same for a number of years, ending the set with In Waves has become more of a tradition. The intro of Capsizing The Sea leads everyone into the monstrous In Waves with its rampant pounding introduction is and always will be a pretty outstanding set ender.
Images courtesy of Forte Photography UK: Website / Facebook
