Trivium is an American
metal band from
Orlando, Florida, formed in 2000.
[1] Signed to
Roadrunner Records, the band has released
five studio albums, eleven singles, and twelve music videos. Their latest album,
In Waves was released on August 9, 2011.
Formation and debut album (2000—2004)
At his
Lake Brantley High School talent show, frontman
Matt Heafy performed a cover version of "
No Leaf Clover" by
Metallica. Vocalist Brad Lewter noticed Heafy and asked him to try out for his band. The pair went over to drummer
Travis Smith's house where they played Metallica's "
For Whom the Bell Tolls".
Impressed with Heafy's performance, they accepted him into the band
known as Trivium. After several shows at bars and local clubs, Lewter
quit the band and Heafy took over his position as vocalist. In early
2003, Trivium went into the recording studio to record its first
high-quality
demo disc.
[3] A copy of the demo was heard by German label
Lifeforce, who signed Trivium. The band entered a studio to record its debut album,
Ember to Inferno.
[4]
As time went on,
Corey Beaulieu joined for the recording of the album. In 2004,
Paolo Gregoletto joined as the band's bassist to replace Brent Young, before a tour with
Machine Head.
[5] The album
Ember to Inferno managed to garner the interest of
Roadrunner Records representatives, who later signed Trivium to a record deal. They then began writing songs for their major label debut.
Ascendancy (2004—2006)
In 2004, Trivium recorded its second album,
Ascendancy, in Audiohammer Studios and Morrisound Recording in
Florida.
[6] Produced by Heafy and
Jason Suecof, the album was released in March 2005. The album debuted at No. 151 on the
Billboard 200 and at No. 4 on the
Top Heatseekers chart.
[7] Allmusic reviewer Johnny Loftus stated on
Ascendancy,
Trivium are a "ridiculously tight quartet, unleashing thrilling dual
guitar passages and pummeling kick drum gallops as surely as they do
melodic breaks and vicious throat screams"
[8] and Rod Smith of
Decibel magazine
praised "Smith’s impeccably articulated beats, bassist Paolo
Gregoletto’s contained thunder, and, especially, Heafy and guitarist
Corey Beaulieu’s liquid twin leads."
[9] The album was also recognized as the "Album of the Year" by
Kerrang! magazine. Later in 2007 the band received their first Gold Record in the UK for more than 100,000 Sales.
[10]
In 2005, Trivium played the first Saturday set on the main stage at
Download Festival in
Castle Donington,
England, credited by Matt Heafy as the gig that really launched Trivium
on the world stage. Singles and music videos were released for "
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". The videos for these songs gained rotation on
MTV2's
Headbangers Ball
and Pull Harder on The Strings of Your Martyr has become one of their
most well known songs and has become the song that they usually close
their set with.
[11] In support of the album, Trivium played on numerous tours with well known artists. The band opened for
Killswitch Engage,
Iced Earth,
Fear Factory, and Machine Head, who were one of Heafy's largest influences.
[12] Trivium played at Road Rage 2005,
[13] Ozzfest,
[14] and made an appearance at the
Download Festival.
[15] Ascendancy was re-released in 2006 with four bonus tracks and a DVD containing all of the band's music videos and live footage.
[16]
The Crusade (2006—2008)
In April 2006, after a headlining tour featuring
Mendeed and
God Forbid as openers, Trivium entered the studio with Suecof and Heafy producing again.
[17] The band played the Download Festival again, this time on the main stage with
Korn and
Metallica. Trivium released
The Crusade in October 2006. Debuting at number 25 on the
Billboard 200, the album sold over 32,000 copies in its first week of sales.
[7][18] The album was a critical success, with Andy Greene of
Rolling Stone claiming "Nothing mars a good metal record like so-called harsh vocals"
[19] and Don Kaye of
Blabbermouth.net stating
The Crusade "is one of the best metal releases of 2006 and quite possibly the heavy music album of the year."
[20] On
The Crusade, Heafy's vocals changed from the
metalcore
scream that was featured on the band's previous albums, to more singing
on this album. This new singing style, along with the band's
thrash metal music were criticised of sounding too much like
Metallica, who was a major influence on the band.
[21] Heafy commented on the change:
"If anyone is wondering why the screaming is gone
it's because the four of us were never into bands that scream and we
don't like any of the current bands that scream, so we asked ourselves
why we're doing it. This time around I wanted to be a better singer
because that's what we wanted to hear, so we dropped the screaming and
did a lot of vocal training and vocal work."
The band supported the album by touring with
Iron Maiden and
Metallica, appearing on the Black Crusade tour with
Machine Head,
Arch Enemy,
DragonForce and
Shadows Fall, as well as headlining a European tour with supporting acts
Annihilator and
Sanctity and acquiring an opening slot on the
Family Values Tour with
Korn.
[23][24][25] Trivium was named the best live band of 2006 at the
Metal Hammer Golden God Awards.
Shogun (2008—2009)
Trivium started working on a new album with producer
Nick Raskulinecz in October 2007.
[27] Heafy stated he wanted to bring back the screaming that was found on
Ascendancy.
The band stated they did not choose to work with Suecof again because
they already recorded three albums with him and they wanted to explore
new ideas.
[28] Recording ended June 2008.
[29] In an interview with the UK's
Metal Hammer
magazine in May 2008, Matt Heafy stated that their new album was to
have "more thrash influences, more screaming and more raptors. Possibly
more screaming because of the raptors."
[30] He told
Revolver
magazine, "For the first time, we can't look at our songs and say who
the riffs sound like. We're really making our own stuff and our own kind
of music and art form, and that's exciting."
[31] In September 2008, Trivium released their fourth full-length album,
Shogun. The album sold 24,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release, and debut at number 23 on the
Billboard 200 chart as well as Number 1 in the UK Rock Album Charts.
[32]
On August 14, Metal Hammer posted the following message on their
blog, as stated by Matt Heafy: “We have some stuff not as a whole band
but each individual guy has maybe ten to twenty songs. I have done about
fifteen, but I have gotten rid of all but six because I kept the good
ones as I kept going on, the newer songs I was writing were stronger and
better so I got rid of the ones that weren’t as good. Paolo
(Gregoletto, bass) has a bunch of songs, like twenty or so, but he keeps
cutting back as well. Everyone keeps writing as many as they can, but
then cutting back the weak ones and not worrying about trying to make
them better songs.”
[33]
However, it was confirmed on November 7, at the Theatre of the Living
Arts in Philadelphia, that the band would "not be returning to
Philadelphia for awhile or touring as much" due to plans to return to
the recording studio's to record their 5th studio album during mid-2010.
[34]
Trivium toured extensively throughout 2009 in support of
Shogun, with two headline legs of the US, a headline slot on the
Mayhem Festival
second stage, a Australia/Japan leg, as well as a conclusive UK run in
March 2010. Throughout their headline runs they have been supported by
Chimaira,
Darkest Hour, Dirge Within,
Whitechapel, Rise to Remain and
Black Tide. They were also booked as a co-headliner for Australia's
Soundwave Festival in February 2010.
Travis Smith unofficially left the band on the second leg of the
"Into the Mouth of Hell We Tour" tour. On February 4, 2010, the band
announced that Travis had indeed officially left the band and fill-in
drummer, ex-drum tech, Nick Augusto, was replacing him. Augusto is a
former member of Maruta and Metal Militia, in which he played in with
Gregoletto. The band has not yet stated the reason of his departure.
[35]
Departure of Smith and God of War III contribution (2010)
A couple of days after the release of Trivium's "Shattering the Skies
Above", the band's first release that does not feature original drummer
Travis Smith, frontman Matt Heafy opened up about why Trivium no longer
includes Smith, and how former drum tech Nick Augusto was made into his
replacement.
"We were coming to the point where the band was – not necessarily
dissolving – but dissolving in creativity and maybe in live fire and
energy, so we had to make a change for the positive," Heafy told
Noisecreep. "Thankfully, we were able to find Nick, who was able to step
it up and really be that guy to take us to the next level."
While Trivium's relationship with Smith had deteriorated over the
years, the band had no immediate plans to replace him when he announced
in late October 2009 that he would be sitting out the 'Into the Mouth of
Hell We March' tour to take care of "some personal business." It was
not until after the band members started playing with Augusto on the
tour that they realized the injection of new blood served Trivium well.
"I was familiar with Nick's stuff with Maruta, and I knew he could
play really fast, but I was really curious on how he'd do with our
band," Heafy said. "I remember stepping out of the car and hearing him
practicing 'Into the Mouth of Hell We March,' and I'd never heard the
song played with that ferocity. It sounded like the album, but it was a
little faster, harder and angrier. The first song we played [with him]
was 'Rain' [from 2005's
Ascendancy] and I remember him playing
the end section and it was so effortless it almost looked fake. I looked
at Corey and we both started laughing at the same time. I could tell we
were both just thinking, 'Who the fuck is this guy?' So it's very cool
he was able to bring that intensity to stuff that already existed and
bring his own flair as well."
To this day, Heafy insists he has no idea exactly what 'personal
issues' prevented Smith from touring, but he is grateful for the
opportunity to play with Augusto, and wishes Smith the best of luck with
his future endeavors.
"We told him over the phone [that we were continuing with Augusto,]
and it was hard for everyone involved," Heafy said. "But I hope it's
going to be something Travis recognizes was for the better for him in
years to come. For his own health and well-being as well and for our
own. I heard that he's doing very well now and that's the best you can
wish for. And we hope he does amazingly, no matter what he picks in life
to do next."[36]
In an interview with OneMetal.com, guitarist Corey Beaulieu added,
"...over time, things just kinda weren’t working out, and we did a
headline tour of the US and about halfway through Travis just said he
wasn’t going to do the next tour, so regardless we had to think about
getting someone to fill in, then once we started playing with Nick we
just knew it was the right thing." On the nature of Smith's dismissal
from the band, Beaulieu stated
"...things were falling apart, and we just kind of pulled the trigger
first, just to get it done, move forward and get the new guy settled in
and comfortable. It’s been working really great with Nick and when
people see the show they will see why." [37]
Trivium contributed to the
God of War III soundtrack by recording the song, "Shattering the Skies Above". It is exclusively included on
God of War: Blood & Metal, a
digital EP that comes with the
Ultimate Edition of the game and is available from the
iTunes Store.
[38] The band has also recorded a cover of the song "Slave New World" by
Sepultura.
"Shattering the Skies Above" was also released exclusively to their
fanclub (TriviumWorld) on February 12, 2010 and was released widely on
February 15.
[39]
The next day their Sepultura cover "Slave New World" was released as a
free download for members of the UK via Metal Hammer UK. Both of
aforementioned songs re-issued on their deluxe version of the album "In
Waves".
In Waves (2010—present)
In an interview with STV, Heafy has said: "Things are great and its
definitely preparing us for our next record which is what we have been
prepping for and we have been writing for it. It's going to be and has
to be the best record we have ever done. Every record we say that but
this is going to be definitive, this is going to be the one." Bassist
Paolo Gregoletto adds: "We have been rehearsing full new songs at
soundchecks and stuff. We have a lot of new ideas and every year we talk
about what we want the album to be and we are still in the stages of
finding where I think it's going to be and it's starting to shape up
right now. We just have tons of material written already and after this
tour, [we'll] take a small break and then we're hitting the warehouse
where we rehearse and write the music and we're going to start demoing
and hopefully we'll get it started by the summer and finished by the
fall."
[41]
In an interview with
Guitar World, it was stated that for
their fifth studio album, Trivium will move forward by looking back. The
group will forgo the complex epic compositions, tricked-out, leads and
seven-string guitars that characterized its past two albums. Trivium
will take an approach similar to that of its second album
Ascendancy (2005) by using uncluttered riffs,
drop-D tuning, and more straightforward solos. "When we did
Ascendancy,
we were writing specifically for the songs, not to show how well we
could play," says frontman and guitarist Matt Heafy. "That wasn't
exactly the case with our next two records."
[42]
Adds Heafy’s co-guitarist, Corey Beaulieu, "We're making sure every
part in every song needs to be there and is super-catchy and doesn't go
over people's heads."
[42] Heafy stated via Twitter that they will be entering the studio on January 2.
[43] Matt Heafy stated on December 11, that there are going to be 10–13 songs on the new album.
[44]
In the bonus content for the November 2011 issue of Guitar World,
Matt Heafy talked about why the band decided to record this album in
Drop Db as opposed to Drop D. "For the whole record of 'In Waves' we're
in Drop Db, so it's kind of like (Ascendency), just a half step lower,
and everything that we do from all of the albums is half a step flat.
It's mainly for the vocals. (It's) not that I can't sing higher, it's
just easier with the amount of shows we do."
[45]
On June 6,
Metal Hammer revealed that the band have decided to entitle their upcoming album
In Waves and that it would be released on August 9, 2011.
[46]
On June 19, Trivium debuted two new songs live in Birmingham entitled
"Dusk Dismantled" and "Black". On the June 28 "Dusk Dismantled" was
released to TriviumWorld users only; it was released to general public
on the 29th. On July 13, the premiere of "Inception of the End" was
released to the general public on the website
Hot Topic.
[47]
In Waves was released on August 2011 worldwide, and while receiving
generally positive reviews, it has also drawn some mixed reactions from
both fans and critics. Kerrang! described the album as "draws from the
band's entire repertoire and shapes what it finds into a defining and
definitive set". A special edition was released featuring the tracks:
"Ensnare the Sun", "A Grey So Dark", "Drowning in Slow Motion", "Slave
New World" cover and the single from the God of War III soundtrack
"Shattering the Skies Above".
In March 2012, Trivium bassist Paolo Gregoletto told Australian
magazine "Loud", “I think it’s going to be heavier. We’ve been talking
about it a lot, just a lot of stuff, like where we want to go with the
next record. I think we’ve definitely learned to write better on the
road and we’re learning that writing with a more focused vision
musically is the way to go. Not just all of us just writing as many
songs as we can. I think we’re all trying to be conscious of how much
we’re writing, what we’re writing and really just spending the time with
a smaller batch of songs, rather than writing like 40 songs and kinda
being all over the place musically. But it’s definitely I think going to
be a heavier record.
“I mean, the last record, we had so much time; we had like two years
and we wrote an album over the course of two drummers, so it was like,
when we started writing we were in a different headspace than when we
actually recorded. So we had a lot of material, which was great. But I
think now that things have smoothed out on the personal side of things
for the band, I think we can focus solely on just the musical vision of
what Trivium is and really have no, outside of the musical stuff we have
nothing going on that’s kinda like drawing from that."
[48]
Trivium participated in a co-headlining trek with Swedish melodic death metal band
In Flames in both Europe and North America. European support came from
Ghost,
Rise to Remain and Insense. North American support came from
Veil of Maya and Kyng. They also performed at the
Metaltown Festival and
Download Festival in June 2012.
From July 13 – August 28, 2012, Trivium took part in
Metal Hammer's "
Trespass America Festival" headlined by
Five Finger Death Punch with additional support from
Battlecross,
God Forbid,
Pop Evil,
Emmure and
Killswitch Engage.
[49]
On October 15, 2012, Trivium will commence a UK headlining tour, supported by
Caliban,
As I Lay Dying and
Upon A Burning Body.
Musical style and lyrical themes
Trivium's style has known to be melodic metalcore with some strong influence and elements of
thrash metal,
groove metal,
hardcore and old school
heavy metal. Although, their
Crusade album was more
thrash metal than their typical sound. Trivium are referred to multiple heavy rock styles such as
metalcore,
[50][51][52] thrash metal,
[53][54][55][56] progressive metal,
[57] alternative metal,
[51] groove metal,
[58] and
death metal.
[55] Their style has evolved over the years from their earliest work on
Ember to Inferno right through to
Shogun, there is a clear thrash influence from
Metallica and Machine Head, as well as some early
In Flames.
[59] Trivium has stated that in general they are influenced by musical groups such as
Metallica,
Machine Head, and
Iron Maiden.
[60]
Upon the release of their second album
Ascendancy,
[61] Trivium were identified as melodic metalcore with strong elements of thrash metal,
[51][52] with the third track on the album “
Pull Harder on the Strings of Your Martyr” becoming a permanent fixture in the band's set lists and the rest of the album selling itself to gold status.
[61] Ascendancy was even featured as one of
Metal Hammer’s Albums of the Decade.
[59] Later releases have marked changes in the band.
The Crusade
was seen as a major shift in musical direction due to the change in
vocal style, namely the absence of screaming, and some of the melodies
[62] featured.
The Crusade is a much more thrash-oriented album and lyrical content was also different in direction, citing current affairs, such as the
Yates murders, the 1999
Amadou Diallo killing, and the murder of Matthew Shepard. In Autumn 2008, Trivium released
Shogun, which has a heavy Japanese influence on its title track as well as the first single release "
Kirisute Gomen", which translates to "
authorization to cut and leave". Acknowledging Matt Heafy’s Japanese heritage,
[63]
the album also was described more favorably as more their own style, as
previous references to Trivium sounding like Metallica had been made on
the back of
The Crusade.
[64] The Crusade made sparing use of
7-string guitars, which were featured heavily on
Shogun.
Many of the songs on
Shogun draw lyrical inspiration from
Greek mythology. "
Into the Mouth of Hell We March" and "Torn Between Scylla and Charybdis" detail the story of
Odysseus choosing whether to face the giant whirlpool
Charybdis or the 6-headed monster
Scylla. "He Who Spawned the Furies" is about the
Titan Cronos devouring his children and castrating his father
Uranus, creating
Aphrodite and the
Erinýes (the Furies). "Of Prometheus and the Crucifix" references the daily torment of
Prometheus and alludes to
crucifixion of
Jesus Christ,
serving as a metaphor for enduring torment by the public for daring to
contribute something new to society. "Like Callisto to a Star in Heaven"
is written from the perspective of the
nymph Callisto, detailing her
rape and
impregnation by
Zeus and her transformations into a bear and into
Ursa Major. "Down from the Sky" features a contemporary theme, chastising those who spark wars for
profit or
religion, and warning of
nuclear holocaust.
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