Occasionally, an album will hit me with such force that I’m compelled (not by the power of Christ) to put finger to keyboard and rave about it.

This is the case with Trivax and their revival of violence on The Great Satan (directed at the Ayatollah Khomeini, who is depicted on the cover as Satan). It’s safe to say these guys are not fans, and rightly so. I’m going to try and concentrate on the music itself and not so much the political part. It’s safe to say that I fucking love this album. So here I go…

“Atash” prepares your soul for what you’re about to experience. A chugging, bulldozer riff gets things underway with martial drums. It’s a menacing groove that gives way to the blaster piece “To Liberation and Beyond”. I want to like, write out the beats but it would look stupid as fuck ie: bum a dum dum dum dum bum bum. You get the idea. It’s another killer track that makes the introduction to The Great Satan an ovation to rebellion and cleansing ultraviolence.

“Lawless Eternal” starts off with this melancholic clean riffing that gives way to a earth-moving blast section, and by this point I’m starting to get these Disiplin vibes pretty much right from the start, yes I’m just mentioning it now… so what? There are parts where I experienced The True Mayhem feels on this track (circa Grand Declaration of War) that I’m actually talking about.

There’s a bit of Revenge and some Watain that creeps into “Here Comes the Flood” one of my favorite tracks, because of how Trivax manipulates their instruments and intertwines traditional and incredibly emotional passages while maintaining this lush background of blistering Thrash.

“The Great Satan” and “Daemon’s Melancholia” are the massive center, a bloody Citadel. The former is a gut punch to the Iranian regime that instigated the 1979 Iranian revolution, the latter is a gorgeous tapestry of brutal Death Metal head-butting against a torrent of savage riffs intertwined with traditional melodies.

The lyrics are delivered in English, Persian, and Arabic, and I cannot go without mentioning the production, especially the bass drop at the end of “Operation Ramadan”  Samuel Turbit from Ritual Sound did that perfectly. I also mention it because it makes “Ya Saheb Az Zaman” such a haunting track. Capturing the heartache and suffering that war has brought upon their homeland.

“Operation Ramadan” is another favorite track, it’s so fucking catchy and unrelentingly heavy with a chorus that’ll have your defiant fist in the air. Final track “Tamam Shod” is hard-hitting and powerful. An epic ending to this utterly mesmerizing album.

Trivax are another band I want to hear more of. SIN and Eloah Burns Out are their first two releases. These are great songs on a great album that is definitely for people who like Disiplin, The True  Mayhem, Watain, and Aura Noir. Pick it up and be amazed!

[Visit the band's website]

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