The music video for "Like Light to the Flies" debuted at MTV2's Headbangers Ball on September 25, 2004[1] and features the original demo of the song, which was included on the MTVcompilation albumHeadbangers Ball Volume 2.[9] Likewise, demos of songs "The Deceived" and "Blinding Tears Will Break the Skies" were included on the re-release of Trivium's debut album Ember to Inferno, nearly a year before Ascendancy was released.
Speaking to Kerrang! about the songs' lyrics, Matt Heafy said: "Definitely, some of the lyrics are about my personal insecurities and my social issues and disorders, and there's a thing about quietness in the music industry – people assume you're a dickhead if you don't want to talk, and that was definitely said about me. Being in a band forced me to have to get over my awkwardness around people and you can really see what I was going through in there."[10]
Upon its release, the album received critical acclaim. In a very positive review, Johnny Loftus of AllMusic said about the album, "Ascendancy aligns real-deal thrash with powerful modern influences. But at all times it's a platform for Trivium's own crazed talent."[4]
Accolades
In 2005, Ascendancy won the "Album of the Year Award" from Kerrang! magazine.[11]
In August 2009, Ascendancy ended up No. 22 in Kerrang!'s "21st Century's Greats" list.[10]
In October 2018, Ascendancy ended up No. 11 in Metal Hammer's The 100 Greatest Metal Albums of the 21st Century list.[13]
Commercial performance
Since its release, Ascendancy has sold over 500,000 copies worldwide.[14] In the U.S., the album peaked at No. 151 on the Billboard 200 and at No. 4 on the Top Heatseekers charts, and has sold over 140,000 units.[15] In the UK, it peaked at No. 79, and shipped over 100,000 copies, attaining Gold status, without entering the UK top 75.[16]
A demo of the song "Blinding Tears Will Break the Skies" was included on the Ember to Inferno re-release and later re-recorded and included as a bonus track on the re-release of Ascendancy.
A demo of the song "The Deceived" was also included on the Ember to Inferno re-release and was later re-recorded and included as a track on Ascendancy.
The entire Ascendancy album was originally recorded in Drop D♭ tuning. However, because of an error, everything ended up out of tune, so the band tuned up to Drop D.[18]
^Pull Harder on the Strings of Your Martyr (track listing). Trivium. Roadrunner Records. 2005. RR Promo 813.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^A Gunshot to the Head of Trepidation (track listing). Trivium. Roadrunner Records. 2005. RR Promo 868.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
