What The ?!

Whether recording as a solo performer, a member of Stealers Wheel or as one-half of The Humblebums, the late Gerry Rafferty was always a master craftsman, leaving behind a dazzling portfolio of songs. Although early success eluded him, it was during his time with the nominally folk-oriented Transatlantic label that Gerry learnt his craft. As most fans will be only too aware, those early recordings have been repackaged on a regular basis over the last four decades or so with varying degrees of care and attention.

What the Dead Men Say finds Trivium firing on all cylinders. Bent's double-kick drum attack and blastbeats have been fully integrated into the band's punishing amalgam of deathcore, prog metal, thrash, melodic death metal, and more. As evidenced by the pre-release tracks "IX" and "Scattering the Ashes," in a Spawn trailer for Mortal Kombat 11, Trivium revisited various sonic eras in their history while moving their music ever forward. The former cut is an instrumental that builds in grandiose intensity for two minutes then bleeds into the crushing title track. As furious as anything on TSATS, it also employs the mind-melting technical prowess Shogun boasted. "Catastrophist" commences as nearly radio-friendly with a hooky chorus before it shifts gears halfway through to become a meld of roaring vocals, twin guitar leads, and spiraling death metal riffs fueled by Bent's triple-time drumming…