Trivium: The Mark of Perseverance
by Joe Shooman
(Independent Music Press)

'The Mark of Perseverance' is a fast moving book that tells the story of Trivium's rise from a local school talent show to their upcoming tour with Iron Maiden in autumn 2006. Although the band have only been around for a fairly short time, the 163 page book is packed full of facts and quotes, and only goes off the subject once or twice.

The author, Joe Shooman, tells you of the good times when Matt Heafy was awarded 'Best Lead Guitarist' at the Orlando Metal Awards in 2002, and when Trivium signed up with the legendary Roadrunner Records, and the bad times such as when bassist Brent Young left the band shortly after their God Forbid tour, just as things had started to improve for the band. The name of the book says it all. The author emphasises how the band persevered through good and bad and never gave up, and their hard work and dedication led them to where they are now.

Trivium have been talked about a lot in the music press since their second album 'Ascendancy' was released in 2005. Joe Shooman has put the story of Trivium's success into a book full of unusual detail, which has been gathered from press articles and websites, and also the author's own interviews with former band members and the band's personal contacts. It includes eight pages of photos, including some new ones, but it is an unofficial book and has no exclusive interviews with the existing four band members, and you sometimes get the feeling that the author lacks emotion and is simply putting together a series of quotes.

This is the first book to be published about Trivium, and comes just before the release of their third album 'The Crusade' in October 2006, which is likely to cause a fresh wave of interest among metal fans. Joe Shooman tells the story of the band's rise to success convincingly. He has researched thoroughly to put all the information together to show why Trivium is one of the most influential metal bands of this century, and why they bear 'the mark of perseverance'.

7/10

Steff

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