Review by Jeger on May 24, 2025.

There is no religion more oppressive than Islam… It's tyrannical grip upon the Middle East sees people stoned to death, dismembered and hanged for failing to comply with Sharia Law. It sees women disgraced and children condemned to abuse and violence. And there's probably been no fiercer oppressor than one Ayatollah Khomeini - a key figure in the 1979 Iranian Revolution. He was responsible for countless deaths, torture and even the slaughter of innocent children. His vision for Iran was a nightmarish one; brought to life through heinous travesties against humanity. Now, there's a band known as Trivax that is here to cast light upon these atrocities…

Trivax is a Black Metal project that got its start in Tehran. In those days, Trivax risked imprisonment and even death for the cause. Trivax visionary, Shayan, before beginning his project, was known for challenging his teachers and their ideals. He knew at a young age that there was something way wrong with Islam. In 2011, Shayan, made his way to the United Kingdom to build a lineup for Trivax. He began the project in 2009 as a solo venture. In Birmingham, he found drummer Matthew Croton, guitarist Benjamin Sheldon and bassist Thomas Bushell. In 2012, Trivax released their demo, Set The Torch. There were a couple of lineup changes up until 2018. That year, Shayan encountered one Sully, who was actually imprisoned by the Syrian Regime at the age of 18 and tortured because of his passion for Heavy Metal. And so the band's first concrete lineup was formed. In 2023, Trivax released their second LP, Eloah Burns Out, via Cult Never Dies, and to the enthrallment of critics and enthusiasts. Now, two years later, we await Trivax's third LP, The Great Satan, which is scheduled for a May 30 release via the legendary Osmose Productions.

This is what BM is all about: rebellion, liberation and confrontation. Within The Great Satan (a title given to the Ayatollah as a way to personify evil), you'll encounter deep cultural influences, but mainly, you'll take in Black Metal of the most brutal consort: nasty riffs, bludgeoning rhythms and savage vocals. Aside from the aforementioned cultural elements, The Great Satan also bears semblances to some of the greats to include Watain during "To Liberation And Beyond" with its fierce momentum and Gaahl era Gorgoroth during "Here Comes The Flood", as it unfolds to complex yet swift progressions. God damn is this good… A power trio at their apex, and unrelenting is their onslaught.

The titular track - a deeply contemplative number; not what you would expect, especially considering the intense nature of the preceding cuts. Production quality is of a world-class kind, and it's a nice compliment to the music, which is reflective of this band's artistic maturation/class. This record is much more of a straight Black Metal affair when compared to Eloah Burns Out that leaned closer towards the Black/Death sub-genre. "Daemon's Melancholia" is a prime example: melodic and enchanting - slightly redolent to the Golden Age of the early '90's Melodic Black Metal movement when bands like Dissection and Sacramentum reigned. There are a number of clips that play out during the album that I assume are verbal accounts of some of the oppression that took place during the Ayatollah's scourge. These convey an air of importance, almost to the point of urgency for the recording. The soulful "Operation Ramadan", following its heartfelt sequences, gives way to the closer, "Tamam Shod". It's here in these closing moments of the album when it all becomes clear as to how meaningful this record is to Trivax. Like a funeral in its somberness, like a tribute to the fallen and like the death of freedom does this closing chapter play out. An elegy for those whose names have been forgotten, but whose sacrifices are forever etched into the pages of history.

As the brutality of the Islamic Extremist religious machine continues its course throughout the Middle East - grinding its way through innocence and turning up the rotten soil of degradation, Trivax make their voices heard: brave, profound and victorious. The voice of the voiceless have they become. A new kind of Black Metal movement is upon us! A new enemy. Aeons old yet feared until now. Bands like Trivax are of the utmost importance to today's Black Metal climate. Give Islam the slander it deserves! Make its horrors known and stand boldly against it in the adversarial Black Metal way. This is freedom, this is opposition… This is Trivax.

Rating: 10 out of 10

Review by Vladimir on September 28, 2023.

These days it’s hard to find black or death metal outfits that can truly shock, inspire or even express themselves musically. However, one of the bands that truly manages to do all of these is the death/black metal band Trivax, originally from Iran but later relocated to the UK. The band certainly proved to be a big attraction as of lately with their latest singles 'Azrael' and 'Alpha Predator', but the release of their second full-length album Eloah Burns Out on September 29th via Cult Never Dies, made an even bigger impact than their aforementioned singles. I have not been following this band from the very start, though I was lucky to come across the podcast show Iblis Manifestation which is hosted by the band’s founding member, guitarist and vocalist Shayan, through which I would also end up discovering Trivax. This album might be one of my most anticipated releases of 2023, because the two singles really hyped me up and going into this album, I had nothing but high expectations. Was it worth it? Let’s find out… 

The opener track 'Azrael' kicks things off with the Persian stringed instrument Setar, until suddenly all hell breaks loose once the destructive main riff is carried over to the guitars and blast beats. Once Shayan’s guttural vocals join in, the musical aggression is on a whole new level, pretty much giving this song even more steel and shrapnel that shreds like hot knife through butter. On top of all this shredding and grinding, you’ll find other treats such as wicked death-thrashing moments, evident on the following track 'Alpha Predator', with some blasphemous and war-like riffs backed up with double-bass drumming or blast beats, all of which created this overwhelming wall of sound like you’re suddenly surrounded with nothing but chaos and distortion. The entirety of this song is a total banger, but I have to say that the song’s finale is incredibly catchy and absolutely banging to the core. Alongside all the chaos and destruction, they even managed to throw in some musical beauty, in acoustic or in ambient form. The first example would be the third track 'Silent Contemplation', which is filled with wonderful acoustic guitars and keyboards, while the other example is the sixth track 'Memento Mori' which is more ambient and soothing with clean vocals and clean guitars. Even though both songs serve as great interludes between songs, I personally think that they also succeed at being great instrumental pieces on their own. If you were by any chance looking for something epic and melodic on this album, then the fourth track 'Serpent’s Gaze' is exactly what your heart desires. This time, the band included some powerful epic choir backing vocals and melodic guitar work in the style of Dissection and Watain, while also being backed up by keyboards that just add more to the overall greatness of this song. Luckily the epic choir vocals would make a triumphant return on tracks 'Against All Opposition (By Aeshma's Wrath)', even though it was just for a brief moment. The songwriting on this album is very effective and dynamic, providing so much aggression and power that would probably give Marduk a run for their money. The most frequent elements on this album are the aggressive tremolo picking riffs, blast beats and double-bass drumming, but you also have acoustic guitar and some sections that include dissonant open string riffs, which remind you of bands like Watain or Necrophobic. Each song has its sharp edge that is successfully carried over from one track to another, with such strong dedication and focus that it refuses to let go at any given moment. You can truly tell that there was hard work put into each bit of every song when the entirety of this album still holds up during its total length of 50 minutes. Something that truly amazed me was this particular part of the album, which is the transition from the sixth song 'Memento Mori' to the next song 'Twilight Death'. As the ambient track 'Memento Mori' ends with an ambient sound of rainfall and church bells, the following track kicks in with a slow, eerie and doomy riff that reminds me of the main riff from the song “Black Sabbath” by Black Sabbath. I am not sure if this was intentional or merely coincidental, but considering the fact that Trivax relocated to Birmingham where Black Sabbath is from, I wouldn’t be surprised if this was actually done on purpose. The cover art for this album by the Indonesian artist Waguna Wiryawan deserves some mention too, because it is truly a fantastic artwork and I think it perfectly symbolizes what this album would look like if it took an actual physical form. The sound production for this album is incredibly heavy and massive, where the biggest highlight would have to be the extreme chugging sound of the guitars, along with the loud banging on drums. 

I have to say, this album left me beyond words so much that I could barely describe what I have just witnessed. It is by far one of the heaviest, if not the heaviest album I have heard this year, which as I said before, would probably give bands like Marduk a run for their money. Eloah Burns Out is truly an extreme work of art like no other and it’s definitely perfect for fans of black and death metal, because I can guarantee that you won’t find anything as well-thought and well composed as this album. Trivax certainly managed to surpass my expectations and it was definitely worth it. Hail master Death indeed! 

Rating: 9.3 out of 10