Trivium are bringing thrash-metal back Friday night in Cleveland. PHOTO COURTESY OF ROADRUNNER RECORDS

Credit: Jason Hall

Metal, the musical genre that spawned big hair and heavy sound, has had its share of one-hit-wonders and underground legends.

However, with The Crusade, the new album from Florida’s Trivium, the scene may lean toward stardom once more.

That’s at least what drummer Travis Smith hopes for.

Smith said the band’s emphasis on talent is what separates it from all other acts in any musical genre, and that The Crusade itself is a journey to start musical revolutions.

“I hope it makes a killer statement about bringing back musicianship of music and playing ability,” he said.

The sophomore album, 2005’s Ascendancy, became a fan favorite for the same reason Smith explained: The band had carved their own sound into the metal framework because of instrumental prowess.

But fans hoping for Ascendancy Part II will be disappointed.

“There’s a huge difference,” he said. “The vocals are different. The music is a little more technical, a little heavier. We’ve got a totally different style of writing going on between records. It’s a total transformation of where Trivium is right now.”

The stylistic change Smith hinted at is a concentration on thrash metal, the genre that spawned bands such as Slayer and Metallica.

“We’ve always been a thrash-influenced band, but this is where we really went back to our roots and put down a record that we would want to buy and we would want to listen to,” he said.

The purpose of Trivium’s sound is to engage listeners with sincere and nostalgic music, Smith said. Anyone, metal fan or not, could enjoy The Crusade.

“I think for newer fans of heavy metal music, we can open their eyes to a new world,” he said.

Though Trivium has only been in the music industry since 2003, members have been perfecting their sound since an early age – Smith is currently the oldest member of the band at 24 years old.

At this young age, the band is an inspiration for college students who want to enter the recording industry, and dedication was the advice Smith offered to young people.

“Practice your damn instrument like there’s no tomorrow,” he said. “A lot of people think that this kind of thing happens over night. I know there’s a few out there who think this happened over night for us, and it’s not the case at all. In a hard, eight pounding years of going at it, we are finally getting to a really good place.”

Contact building and grounds reporter Kevin Kolus at [email protected].