TRIVIUM North American “Ascend Above The Ashes Tour” Hits Connecticut

11/12/2025

Photos By: Holly Roy Photography
Review By: Kat Gullage

We caught the eighth stop of Trivium’s thirty four date tour. The tour was marketed here as “Ascend Above The Ashes Tour” but I saw another date calling it the “Struck Dead Tour”. Regardless, the hard blitzing line-up assaulted fans with heavy riffs and waves of metalcore.

The British hardcore four-piece Heriot kicked off the night with a five-song set, three of them pulled from their studio LP Devoured by the Mouth of Hell. Guitarist and singer Debbie Gough asked “What the fuck is up Wallingford?!” midway through the first song “Foul Void”. “Let’s show em what rock and roll looks like! Make some fucking noise!” was the intro to “Demure”. “Yo what’s good?! Thank you so friggin much. Honor to be on tour with Jinjer and Trivium!” “I wanna see some movement down here! Are you ready to bang your heads?! We’re playin a new song tonight.” It was “Commander At Bay”. She tries to get a “Hey, Hey” chant going, but the crowd’s half-hearted response made me question if the show should’ve been in the venue’s smaller room, The Dome, rather than the main Theater. Heriot wrapped with “Mourn” and “At The Fortress Gate”. The
audacious frontwoman was joined by Erhan Alman (guitar), Jack Packer (bass) and Julian Gage (drums). The mix leaned heavy on the bass, enough to muddy the rest of the music. However, I did appreciate their bare bones, raw, garage band vibe. Need a dose of new in your face metal? Keep an eye out for Heriot.

As Heriot’s gear got swapped out for the Jinjer set, holy shit did the place fill up. At the first note of the not- loud-enough prerecorded intro, everyone got on their feet. The crowd welcomed each member individually with cheers and applause. Roman Ibramkhalilov (guitars), Eugene Abdukhanov (bass), Vladislav Ulasevich (drums) and frontwoman Tatiana Shmayluk on vocals. She looked like a fashionista ready to slay a runway with her vogue worthy threads and long ass ponytail. Jinjer has five studio albums but their nine song set pulled heavily from Duél, with six tracks. They opened with the title track before launching into “Green Serpent”. Tati’s rapid switch from melodic vocals to full-throated growls was nothing short of a magic trick. I saw it with my own eyes and it was still hard to believe. The singer addressed their adoring fans. “Are you doing good tonight? You people like some hardcore?” she teased. After a resonating roar back from the crowd, still on their feet, she added “Are you fucking sure?” She grinned before tearing into “Fast Draw” and “Hedonist”. The fans shouted their praises in between songs as the band dove into two from their EP Micro with “Teacher, Teacher!” and “Perennial”. “Can I see those beautiful hands? And now clap for me!” She commanded and the loyals obliged without hesitation. They serve up “Rogue” and “Someone’s Daughter”. “We’re gunna make you guys believe right now!” she hyped us up for the closer, “Pisces” (King Of Everything). Jinjer delivered an impactful performance, but the mix again leaned heavy on the bass. It didn’t ruin the set, but it wasn’t proportionate to the rest of the music. Tati wrapped with “You guys are so cool, thank you very much” then she tripped over her words “I cannot talk tonight! We’re glad to be here and on this tour!”. The flub just made her more endearing. Jinjer is a progressive metalcore band from Ukraine. They are raising awareness as they represent their war torn country while on tour. They have a devoted following, so give em a listen.

Hailing from Orlando FL, Trivium has been thrashing for twenty-five years with no sign of slowing down. The word Trivium translates to “three ways” in Latin and appropriately describes their sound, a fusion of metalcore, melodeath and speed metal. The band has ten studio albums and their fourteen song career spanning set pulled from eight of them. Trivium opened with title track “In Waves” and the crowd sang it word for word. “Like Light To The Flies” (Ember To Inferno) and “Strife” (Vengeance Falls) were followed by two from Shogun with “Into The Mouth Of Hell We March” and “Throes Of Perdition”. Matt kept the energy high as he encouraged the fans to start a circle pit and one was attempted. Heafy was backed by Corey Beaulieu (guitar), Paolo Gregoletto (bass) and Alex Rudinger (drums). I’ve seen Trivium before and their guitar playing was a real stand out. This gig was no exception, their trademark precision was displayed. The sound mix was good. Loud, clear and punishing in all the right ways. “Thank you! How the fuck y’all doin tonight?” Matt shouted during one of his guitar swaps. “Everybody move some part of your body!!” The band launched into a spot on rendition of their most well known song, fan favorite, “When The World Goes Cold” (Silence In The Snow) and the theater, packed from pit to rafters, let em know it. A track from their new EP Struck Dead, kept the momentum with “Bury Me With My Screams” followed by “A Gunshot To The Head Of Trepidation” (What The Dead Men Say). Fans quieted and took a breath between songs but were met with “My friends, there ain’t no point during this set that you need to be quiet.” He talked a bit about going through a hard time. “Thank you for helping me as I wrote the lyrics to get out.” “Heads are bangin, fists are pumpin, let’s see some action down here (pit)!!” Finally a pit opened up and a lone crowd surfer rose above the chaos for title track “Struck Dead”. Heafy gets a strong “Hey!” chant going with the loyals before he announced “We’re gunna take you back twenty years. This is “Dying In Your Arms”. Another track from Ascendancy followed with “Pull Harder On The Strings Of Martyr”. Trivium’s commanding set wrapped with “The Heart From Your Hate” (The Sin And The Sentence), “Down From The Sky” (Shogun) and title track, “The Sin And The Sentence”. Need a shot of heavy metal with blazing guitars?

Check out my boys from Orange County FL, Trivium, even though you’re more than twenty years
late. We won’t hold it against you.