Let's get the negative out first. My only disappointment was that the booklet had no lyrics. But the art is amazing and some mysterious girl on the cartridge.
This album is the definitive album from Trivium. It's almost to mature for their sake! Aside from The Crusade hinting at the usage of 7-strings ("This World can't Tear us Apart" & "The Crusade"); this a solid release from the band itself. This album, though the cover may be deceiving, is not at all Japanese themed. Except for the first and last tracks, being "Kirisute Gomen" and "Shogun." The rest is obviously Greek mythology spilled all over the Japanese slate.
The production in here is amazingly crisp and thick. The bass in track two is so loud and chunky! Paolo definitely gets a lot more attention in this album than the previous three records. The guitars have a flesh grinding tone that kicks you right out of your seat. With another string in play, things can get a little rough. With the seventh string being very active in this album, it's not over done at all. They keep the same "Trivium" formula without completely losing touch of the sound. The vocals, unlike The Crusade or Ember to Inferno, aren't tracked... as much as they should be. Tracks like "Callisto" or "Prometheus" have an appropriate amount of tracks. The only problem, when you'd see them live, some things couldn't be pulled off... such as vocals (but aren't too important).
NOW THE BIGGEST PROBLEM IN THIS ALBUM......................
Unfortunately, Travis Smith doesn't give listeners a big slap in the face with his drumming. It sounded more like Igor Cavalera took a chill pill. But then again, his footwork makes me shut up (Tracks: Insurrection. Scylla and Charybdis). His drumming from Ascendancy "died out" and couldn't make the ropes to Shogun. But he still makes a good groove (Throes of Perdition, Spawned Furies).
In a nutshell, this album isn't Trivium giving it's full punch, but it's a big original-full-on-metal masterpiece that should be preserved! I mean this is one hour of blood and whoop-ass! I fully recommend this album to any metalhead