With their fifth full-length album, In Waves, Trivium make a crucial statement. It's a statement about writing their own rules about what it means to be a contemporary metal band.

It's a statement that encompasses boundary-defying music, moods, movement, and visuals.

It's a statement that's emblematic of their evolution. It's a statement that's going to impact anyone open to it.

While on the road in 2009, the first rumblings of In Waves began. Trivium vocalist and guitarist Matt Heafy had already started pondering the direction the band would take for their fifth offering.

So far, they'd excelled at the standard hallmarks of the genre, and he wanted to do something new.

Each one of their albums-Ascendancy (2005), The Crusade (2006), and Shogun (2008)-garnered unanimous critical and fan acclaim.

Ascendancy cemented the band's place in the metal-verse, selling over half-a-million copies worldwide.