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The Crusade (album)

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Not to be confused with The Crusader (album).
The Crusade
Studio album by
Trivium
ReleasedOctober 10, 2006 (2006-10-10)
Studio
Genre
Length57:27
LabelRoadrunner
Producer
Trivium studio album chronology
Ascendancy
(2005) 		The Crusade
(2006) 		Shogun
(2008)
Singles from The Crusade
  1. "Detonation"
    Released: June 2006[2]
  2. "Entrance of the Conflagration"
    Released: September 6, 2006[3]
  3. "Anthem (We Are the Fire)"
    Released: October 2, 2006[4]
  4. "The Rising"
    Released: April 2007[5]
  5. "Becoming the Dragon"
    Released: October 2007[6]

The Crusade is the third studio album by American heavy metal band Trivium. It was released on October 10, 2006, through Roadrunner Records and was produced by Jason Suecof and the band themselves. The album marked a significant musical change from the metalcore sound of their preceding album Ascendancy, with the band utilizing thrash metal influences. Accordingly, vocalist/guitarist Matt Heafy sings with primarily 'clean' vocals throughout The Crusade, rather than utilizing the 'screaming' style heard on Ascendancy.

The Crusade peaked at number 7 in United Kingdom and was later certified silver in for sales in excess of 60,000 copies. In the United States, the album debuted at No. 25 on the US Billboard 200 albums chart on its release, selling 31,000 copies in the US in its first week.[7] It has sold over 100,000 copies in the United States.[8]

Background

[edit]

Before the album was released, three songs from the album were released on the band's MySpace: "Detonation", "Anthem (We Are the Fire)", and "Entrance of the Conflagration". Music videos for "Entrance of the Conflagration", "Anthem (We Are the Fire)", "The Rising", "To the Rats", and "Becoming the Dragon" were produced and released on Roadrunner's website.[9]

"Anthem (We Are the Fire)" was a hit for the band in the United Kingdom, with the track debuting at number 1 on the UK Rock & Metal Singles Chart and spending several further weeks in the top 10.[10] As of 2019, the single is also the band's only track to break into the UK Singles Chart, peaking at number 40.[11]

The track "Detonation" is available on the Xbox 360 release of the video game Guitar Hero II as downloadable content while the track "Anthem (We Are the Fire)" is featured on Burnout Dominator, Sleeping Dogs and Saints Row 2.[12][13]

Composition

[edit]

The album represents a drastic change in style from their previous album, Ascendancy, abandoning the metalcore genre and featuring a style described generally as thrash metal[14][15][16][17][18] and reminiscent of thrash metal band Metallica's 1980s albums,[19] along with progressive metal[1] and speed metal.[18] As a result, vocalist Matt Heafy used much less screaming and more of a clean vocal style similar to James Hetfield throughout most of the record.[19] Heafy justified this by noting that "the four of us were never into bands that scream and we don't like any of the current bands that scream, so we asked ourselves why we're doing it."[20] Screamed vocals (along with the metalcore genre itself) would return as a regular attribute on the band's proceeding album, Shogun, although screaming can occasionally be found in The Crusade, most notably in "Becoming the Dragon".

Lyrical themes on the album include famous killings. "Entrance of the Conflagration" is about Andrea Yates' murder of her five children, "Unrepentant" is about Nazir Ahmad's murder of his three daughters and stepdaughter, "Contempt Breeds Contamination" is about the death of Amadou Diallo, and "And Sadness Will Sear" is based upon the murder of Matthew Shepard.[21] Many of the lyrics on the album are more direct political and personal critiques than those on Trivium's other albums. In a 2022 interview with Primordial Radio, Heafy revealed this aspect was influenced by Against Me!, particularly their 2005 album Searching for a Former Clarity.[22]

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Blabbermouth.net8.5/10[18]
IGN8.1/10[23]
Sputnikmusic[24]

Track listing

[edit]

All music and lyrics by Matt Heafy, except where noted.

No.TitleMusicLength
1."Ignition" 3:54
2."Detonation" 4:28
3."Entrance of the Conflagration" 4:35
4."Anthem (We Are the Fire)"Heafy, Paolo Gregoletto4:03
5."Unrepentant"Corey Beaulieu4:51
6."And Sadness Will Sear" 3:34
7."Becoming the Dragon" 4:43
8."To the Rats"Gregoletto3:42
9."This World Can't Tear Us Apart" 3:30
10."Tread the Floods"Beaulieu3:33
11."Contempt Breeds Contamination" 4:28
12."The Rising"Gregoletto3:45
13."The Crusade" (instrumental) 8:21
Total length:57:27
iTunes and "Anthem (We Are the Fire)" single bonus tracks
No.TitleMusicLength
14."Broken One"Gregoletto5:50
15."Vengeance"Beaulieu3:38
Total length:66:55

Personnel

[edit]

Trivium[25]

Additional performers

Production

Charts

[edit]
Chart (2006) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[26] 14
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[27] 54
Canadian Albums Chart 23
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[28] 64
French Albums (SNEP)[29] 115
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[30] 23
Irish Albums (IRMA)[31] 12
Italian Albums (FIMI)[32] 86
Japanese Oricon Albums Chart 46
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[33] 31
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[34] 61
Scottish Albums (OCC)[35] 8
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[36] 41
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[37] 92
UK Albums (OCC)[38] 7
UK Rock & Metal Albums (OCC)[39] 1
US Billboard 200[40] 25

Certifications

[edit]
Region Certification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[41] Gold 100,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d Jurek, Thom. "The Crusade - Trivium". Allmusic.
  2. ^ "Trivium Detonation (Single)". Spirit of Metal. Retrieved July 8, 2014.
  3. ^ Entrance of the Conflagration (track listing). Trivium. Roadrunner Records. 2006. RR PROMO 953.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  4. ^ "Trivium Anthem (We Are The Fire) (EP)". Spirit of Metal. Retrieved July 8, 2014.
  5. ^ "Trivium The Rising (Single)". Spirit of Metal. Retrieved July 8, 2014.
  6. ^ "Trivium - Becoming the Dragon". Metal Archives. Retrieved May 19, 2014.
  7. ^ "TRIVIUM's 'Vengeance Falls' Cracks U.S. Top 15". October 23, 2013.
  8. ^ "TRIVIUM Guitarist Says Next CD Will Be Mixture Of 'Crusade' And 'Ascendancy'". BlabberMouth. April 7, 2007.
  9. ^ "Roadrunner Records Trivium". Roadrunner Records Official Website. Retrieved January 18, 2018.
  10. ^ "Official Rock & Metal Singles Chart Top 40 | Official Charts Company". Official Charts.
  11. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100 | Official Charts Company". Official Charts.
  12. ^ "Saint's Row 2 Soundtrack". 1UP.com.
  13. ^ "Burnout Dominator Soundtrack". About.com.
  14. ^ "Trivium - The Crusade Review". Last Rites. October 11, 2006. Retrieved September 27, 2006.
  15. ^ Whish, Bill (February 19, 2007). "Trivium The Crusade". Exclaim!. Retrieved September 27, 2017.
  16. ^ "Album Review: Trivium - The Crusade". Archived from the original on September 26, 2017. Retrieved January 18, 2018.
  17. ^ "The Crusade - TRIVIUM". October 9, 2006. Retrieved January 18, 2018.
  18. ^ a b c Kaye, Don (October 9, 2006). "CD Reviews - The Crusade Trivium". Blabbermouth.net.
  19. ^ a b Schiller, Mike (October 24, 2006). "Trivium: The Crusade". PopMatters. Retrieved November 26, 2020.
  20. ^ "Matthew Heafy: "Our Crusade Is To Make Trivium Something Enormous In The World"". Blabbermouth.net. September 24, 2006. Archived from the original on February 22, 2008. Retrieved March 19, 2008.
  21. ^ Thompson, Ed (October 12, 2006). "Trivium - The Crusade: Trivium - The Crusade". IGN.
  22. ^ Matt Heafy, Pete Bailey (November 25, 2022). Revisiting The Crusade with Trivium (Matt Heafy) (Podcast). Primordial Radio. Event occurs at 38m25s. Retrieved September 22, 2023. At the time was really, really listening to... I was listen to Against Me a lot for lyrical inspiration. That was when the Searching for a Former Clarity record came out. And Laura Jane Grace's lyrics on that record were always super specific and super pointed and I think I was very influenced by that.
  23. ^ "The Crusade - Trivium". IGN. Archived from the original on October 17, 2007.
  24. ^ Stagno, Mike. "The Crusade - Trivium". Sputnikmusic.
  25. ^ "Trivium: Vengeance Is Fine". October 27, 2013. Retrieved January 18, 2018.
  26. ^ "Australiancharts.com – Trivium – The Crusade". Hung Medien.
  27. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Trivium – The Crusade" (in German). Hung Medien.
  28. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Trivium – The Crusade" (in Dutch). Hung Medien.
  29. ^ "Lescharts.com – Trivium – The Crusade". Hung Medien.
  30. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Trivium – The Crusade" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved November 17, 2021.
  31. ^ "GFK Chart-Track Albums: Week 41, 2006". Chart-Track. IRMA.
  32. ^ "Italiancharts.com – Trivium – The Crusade". Hung Medien.
  33. ^ "Charts.nz – Trivium – The Crusade". Hung Medien.
  34. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Trivium – The Crusade". Hung Medien.
  35. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 17, 2021.
  36. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Trivium – The Crusade". Hung Medien.
  37. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Trivium – The Crusade". Hung Medien.
  38. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 17, 2021.
  39. ^ "Official Rock & Metal Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 16, 2021.
  40. ^ "Trivium Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard.
  41. ^ "British album certifications – Trivium – The Crusade". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved November 22, 2022.
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