10 Metal Albums That Shouldn't Have Been Great (But Totally Were)

Shogun (2008) is a masterwork. Easily the best album by American metalcore prospects Trivium, it's progressive, hard-hitting, diverse, intelligent, intriguing and, much like Carolus Rex, raised the bar for the sub-genre to which it belonged.

However, a great deal of fans were sceptical when it was time to dive into Shogun. After all, it was following on from The Crusade (2006), which was derided by many as being an over-simplistic, cringe-inducingly melodic and radio-friendly affair that distanced itself from what made Trivium so great to begin with.

However, with inspiration from Japanese and Greek mythologies, experimental compositions and a more-than-fair share of mind-bending heaviness, Shogun quickly became recognised as Trivium's greatest release, daring to go further than any metalcore record that had ever come before it.