This marks the first Trivium album to feature guitarist Corey Beaulieu and bassist Paolo Gregoletto.

The album spawned four singles: "Like Light to the Flies", "Pull Harder on the Strings of Your Martyr", "A Gunshot to the Head of Trepidation" and "Dying in Your Arms".

An earlier version of the video for "Dying in Your Arms" was also filmed (inspired by The Phantom of the Opera), but was scrapped for unknown reasons.

[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.

In a very positive review, Johnny Loftus of AllMusic said about the album, "Ascendancy aligns real-deal thrash with powerful modern influences.