AN NCS VIDEO PREMIERE: TRIVAX –“ALPHA PREDATOR”

On September 29th the UK label Cult Never Dies will release Eloah Burns Out, the second album by the black/death band Trivax. The group have already made a notable name for themselves since their recording debut in 2012 with a scattering of demos and EPs and an impressive first album, 2016’s SIN (which we praised here as “a rip-roaring assault of burly (yet melodic) riffs, slithering tremolo runs, and punchy drum work topped off with Shayan’s surprisingly comprehensible mid-range snarl”).

The Shayan referred to there is the band’s Iranian-born founder and guitarist as well as vocalist. The founding occurred under challenging circumstances, as Shayan planted the seeds of Trivax‘s fruition in Iran, whose theocratic government has been hostile (to put it mildly) to the music and lyrical themes of extreme metal bands like Trivax.

Shayan managed to exit Iran and put down new roots in the UK, where he established the band with bassist Sully (himself an immigrant from Syria, where we’re told he faced imprisonment for his metal associations) and drummer Matthew Croton.

Photography by Ester Segarra

Simply put, the concept of the new album is one of Death. Trivax have described it as “a thunderous and rabid journey in Death’s exaltation, from all accounts of the killer, the dead and the creator, a heavily violent, yet retrospective take on Black and Death Metal – Eastern Death Magick at its finest.”

The album begins with “Azrael ( عزرائیل )“, which was also the first song released to the public, with a music video. When we first encountered it, we gave this advice here:

“Prepare for: a misanthropic exaltation of death, which begins with an overture performed on traditional Persian instruments and then converts into thrashing black metal to rage and blaze with martial ferocity, and to soar and jolt, but without abandoning the distinctive melodies.”

Like all songs on the new album, Shayan wrote the original lyrics to “Azrael” in his own native language of Farsi. They represented an exaltation of the Angel of Death within Middle Eastern religious traditions.

The track that immediately follows “Azrael” is one that’s the subject of the lyric video we’re premiering today — “Alpha Predator“, which includes backing vocals by J. Wilcox (of Funeral Throne and Master’s Call). As you’ll see, the lyrics of this one express the perspective of a murderer of all life, an eater of worlds devoted to nothing but darkness and death.

Consistent with the words, which are expelled in gritty, ferocious roars and maniacal, spine-tingling howls, the song is in many respects a vicious black metal assault, propelled at its heights of frenzy by blasting and methodically hammering drums, frantically ripping and roiling riffage, chords that blare and blaze sky-high, and deranged soloing.

But the song also stomps, and includes music of imperious and sinister haughtiness — the protagonist, after all, is an eater of worlds — as well as melodies that seem to express agony and distress on a sweeping scale.

All in all, the song is absolutely electrifying, and another vivid sign of a powerhouse of an album that’s headed our way.

After “Alpha Predator“, Eloah Burns Out proceeds through six more tracks, concluding with a song whose Farsi title translates to English as “At the End of the World”. As Trivax explain, it “paints the picture of the death of God, which is in metaphysical alignment with the sun imploding on itself and thus causing the end of all life in our solar system.”

Themes of Death dominate the album, but both in the words and in the music there is also a feeling of rage and rebellion, igniting fires of resistance, rebellion, and liberation from oppression.

MORE DETAILS:

J. Wilcox also contributed guest backing vocals to a second song, and other guest backing vocalists on the record include Wraath (Darvaza, Fides Inversa, Behexen, ex-One Tail One Head) and Russell Dobson aka Naut (Necronautical, Winterfylleth). The album’s cover art was created by Waguna Wiryawan.

Cult Never Dies will release Eloah Burns Out on LP vinyl, CD, cassette tape, and digital formats, with apparel. Find the pre-order options via the first link below.

PRE-ORDER:
https://linktr.ee/trivax

TRIVAX:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/trivaxband
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/trivax_official/
Bandcamp: https://trivax.bandcamp.com/