Trivium holds something of a special place in my heart.
At Rock On The Range in 2012, I jumped into my first mosh pit (admittingly a bit late in life) during Trivium’s performance. And in 2008, the Shogun record was a regular listen after being introduced by some friends. So when I saw Trivium was making a stop just a few short miles down the road from me and were bringing along a current favorite of mine in Jinjer, I had to be there.
The venue: Hard Rock Casino in Gary, Ind. on Friday, November 14.
Opening the show was Heriot, who is touring the United States for the first time alongside Trivium and Jinjer. Their set was energetic though short, playing just six songs packed full of fast-paced guitars and drumming. A great start to an evening of heavy music.
Up next was Jinjer. Despite being a current regular listen of mine, this was my first time seeing them live and their performance did not disappoint.
Jinjer’s nine-song set was predominantly filled with songs of Duél, released earlier this year. They opened with the title track and moved into “Green Serpent,” “Fast Draw” and “Hedonist” before jumping into the Micro era with “Teacher, Teacher!”
Vocalist Tatiana Shmayluk showcased her vocal prowess, switching between clean and screams with ease as the rest of the band played their brand of metal. Guitarist Roman Ibramkhalilov was seemingly bathed in darkness during the first three songs, avoiding my camera almost intentionally. Jinjer ended on “Pisces” which sounded even better live.
Trivium took the stage around 9:30 PM and played a 14-song set that seemingly touched on every era of the band, including three songs from Shogun that just so happen to be my favorite — “Into The Mouth Of Hell We March,” “Throes of Perdition” and, near the end of the show, “Down From The Sky.”
For the first time all night, the crowd seemed to come alive as Trivium got started. Up to that point, the crowd seemed bored with the concert. There’d be some head banging here and there, some singing along, but mostly just a bunch of people standing in an auditorium playing on their phones. To be fair, I couldn’t see the full crowd from where we stood, but I finally saw fists in the air and more general dancing during Trivium.
This has been a grudge I’ve had against these crowds I’ve seen in Indiana. But Trivium broke them out of their shells a bit.
At some point, Monte the Monster, Trivium’s giant inflatable, rose from the darkness behind drummer Alex Rüdinger and loomed large over the latter half of the performance. I somehow missed his entrance, having looked away and being shocked when I looked back. Monte looks imposing and real, adding to the theatrics of the show.
Matt Heafy, Corey Beaulieu and Paolo Gregoletto were all over the stage as the energy never went away. They played fan favorites from Ascendancy and ended on “The Sin and the Sentence.”
While the venue and even the crowd left a lot to be desired, the performances were top-notch and well worth the price of admission.
Check out photos from the show below!
