Trivium - Roadrunner Records Australia

There's no such thing as a band born to greatness. To succeed in the world of music there's a whole energy-sapping storm of hard work to plough through. Florida's Trivium has surely earned the major contender status that has been afforded them by the international media. After spending the last few years up to their necks in blood, sweat and tears, the formidable foursome, whose 2005 sophomore release (and Roadrunner debut) Ascendancy made them a hit with discerning music fans everywhere, have paid their dues. Relentless touring around the world with over 350 shows in the past two years has sharpened the band's live prowess, making their new album, The Crusade, one of the most hotly anticipated hard rock albums of 2006. The level of charisma and energy that they've harnessed since hitting the global gig circuit has built Matt Heafy, Corey Beaulieu, Paolo Gregoletto and Travis Smith a huge international fan base that is as devoted as it is ever growing. Formed in Orlando, Florida at the dawn of the 21st century, Trivium was soon picked up by small independent label Lifeforce Records, which released their debut album Ember To Inferno in 2003. One track from this album appeared on a magazine compilation CD, which fell into the lap of Roadrunner Records Senior VP of A&R Monte Conner (Slipknot, Sepultura) who immediately heard the potential in the band. "Monte heard the song, gave our manager a call," recounts the now 20-year-old Heafy. "Of course, we all know who Monte Conner is so we started freaking out. It felt like fate because every time I turned on the radio or the TV, there was a Roadrunner band playing. It felt like some kind of omen." To drive it home for Monte, the band recorded a new demo and shot a video for the song "Like Light to the Flies" and sent them to him. "He almost immediately responded, saying 'This is what we're looking for. Let's do this!' It was pretty mind-blowing." In March 2005 the band released Ascendancy a bold and dynamic statement of intent that confirmed the potency of these young men's precocious talents and charisma. The album garnered a large number of frothing, ultra-positive reviews throughout the music press around the world, including the NY Times, Stuff Magazine, Revolver, Decibel and Metal Hammer, Rock Sound and Kerrang! in the UK, who declared Ascendancy 2005's album of the year. Trivium soon graced the covers of a lot of these magazines and picked up a fistful of coveted awards in the UK, including 'Best International Newcomer' at the 2005 Kerrang! Awards ceremony and several Metal Hammer Golden God statuettes. Suddenly it seemed that the sky was the limit! "The UK just rocked, right off the bat," smiles Heafy. "It all happened so quickly. The first show we had in Wolverhampton, we were the first of three bands. We took the stage to this huge Trivium chant, something we never experienced before. When we finished our set the whole room cleared out and people were running out to get our signatures. It was an amazing feeling. The next thing we know, we were given the offer to play at Download." Globally renowned, the Download Festival takes place on the hallowed turf at Donington Park - one-time home of the legendary 'Monsters Of Rock' festival. Trivium were eager to make their mark in front of such a huge audience... "We were booked to play on the third stage, playing to maybe two or three thousand people," recalls Heafy. "Then they swapped us to the main stage. We were all really stoked, but I remember that at 10:59am there was no one there at all. 30 seconds after that, 40,000 people came swarming across the hill towards the stage. We were thinking 'What the fuck do we do now?' The next thing I know we've played the biggest show of our lives." Trivium didn't slow down after that tremendous accomplishment. Instead they continued to traverse the globe seeking to spread their metallic gospel. Festivals and headlining shows around the world followed. They even returned to Download in June of 2006, this time as one of the festival's headliners. In the U.S. they were one of the headliners on the Sounds of the Underground Tour. Upon the release of The Crusade, the band will embark on their first U.S. headlining tour and later, be direct support to Iron Maiden on their world stadium tour. "The ride has been completely awesome," states Heafy. " "Everything that's happened in America, everything that's happened in the UK, all that has allowed us to make an album like this," says Heafy. "As we got to the end we realized we were making something really special. To me, The Crusade is still Trivium. As a band, you can either release the same album again, keeping the same number of people interested and not really branch out, or you can evolve. I feel that The Crusade is the next logical step in our evolution. We took one big step between the first two albums, but this time we've taken about ten huge leaps forward." "Every album title has been a statement about the band and where we were at that time," furthers Heafy. "'Ember To Inferno' meant that we went from a spark to something special. Ascendancy was about the dream of domination and a gradual rise to success. The Crusade is literally what we've been doing for the last two years, crusading around the planet and getting our music out to everyone." Recorded at Audiohammer Studio in Sanford, Florida, The Crusade is a faithful account of a great young band's swift and bewildering evolution, from up-and-comer to world-beating behemoth. With long-time engineer Jason Suecof at the controls sharing co-production credits with Trivium, the album is as distinctive and immense as any other metal record in recent memory. It is a dazzling explosion of neck-snapping riffs, grandiose scream-along choruses and outstanding musicianship from all four members of the band. Drummer Travis Smith underpins the sharp brutality of his band's songs with a startlingly dextrous percussive attack, all machine-gun kick drums and octopoid bursts of round-the-kit athleticism. Bassist Paolo Gregoletto reveals a hitherto unheard depth and maturity to his playing through the album as well his inspired note-heavy runs and earthshaking bottom end providing a devastating counterpoint to his band mates' deft compositions. Finally, both frontman Heafy and his six-string counterpart Corey Beaulieu have reached a new plateau of blurred-finger brilliance, with instantly memorable riffs and ear-searing fret-melting solos. Additionally, on the album, Heafy sounds more raw, aggressive and emotive than ever before. From the opening future-thrash twin-blast of "Ignition" and "Detonation," with their anthemic refrains and blizzards of lacerating lead work, The Crusade is clearly a body of work that could raise the bar for rock bands around the world. There's the staggering, precocious "Anthem (We Are The Fire)," which blends the scathing thrash riffs of Megadeth with the infectious swagger of Motley Crue at their succinct best. The intricate, rumbling bludgeon of "Becoming The Dragon" has a pummelling, cyclical rhythmic drive and soaring, left-of-centre chorus. The doom-laden, emotion-stuffed "And Sadness Will Sear", reveals a new, darker, edgier side to Trivium's otherwise hook-laden chops. The deceptively accessible "The Rising" is a sumptuous hymn hewn from the juiciest licks that boasts a phenomenal crowd-rousing chorus... imploring the faithful to "Raise your voices with me...and sing this song of unity!' This collection of gems culminates in the album's monumental, shape-shifting title track a nine-minute instrumental monstrosity that twists, turns and torments the listener with rapid-fire tempo shifts, immaculate musicianship and a thrilling sense of adventure. It's an obscenely brave and ambitious end to a glorious collection of songs that seems destined to cement Trivium's reputation as the heaviest, sharpest, smartest and hardest working band of their generation. "We're four very determined people," concludes Matt Heafy. "When I was 12 years old and got into metal, I wanted to be in a huge band. That will never change. We don't take anything for granted and will work hard to make that dream come true. And we've only just started." 30/06/2009 - Trivium at Download (video) 'Pull Harder on the Strings of your Martyr" live at Download, filmed right on Paolo's own camera! 04/06/2009 - Trivium @ Tivoli review by Tsunami Mag Trivium @ Tivoli 13/5/2009Walking down an empty Costin Street occupied only by a single police car, I was wondering where the hell everyone was. The ... 02/06/2009 - Golden Gods - Part One The Golden Gods Awards are in America now, and the video below showcases a bit of the action on the red carpet, with our very ... 01/05/2009 - Trivium want you to check out the Shogun Wheel! The Trivium boys don't know what the f*** it is but they want to you check it out anyway! See the video below and then ... 01/05/2009 - TRIVIUM - Travis checks in on upcoming tour Travis Smith from one of metal's finest bands Trivium, has sent this message to Aussie fans eagerly awaiting the upcoming Into The Mouth Of Hell ... 09/04/2009 - TRIVIUM - Special Ticketek Offer! If you haven't got tickets to see Trivium on the 'Into The Mouth Of Hell We Tour' tour that will be rocking through Australia in ... 08/04/2009 - New Trivium prizes added to Shogun Wheel! We have just added 2 free tickets to the Trivium show in your city as a new prize to the Shogun Wheel. That means that ... 25/03/2009 - TRIVIUM - Shogun Wheel to be unleashed this Friday! For those who are not in the know, we will be celebrating the announcement of Trivium's world tour 'Into The Mouth Of Hell We Tour' ... 19/03/2009 - Tickets for Trivium tour now on sale Dates and purchase options below! Don't forget the Shogun Wheel is going live next Friday (27th March). It can be found at www.roadrunnerrecords.com.au/shogunwheel 17/03/2009 - Matt Heafy breaks up a mosh pit fight Trivium are touring Australia in May but if you are a bit worried about going in the mosh pit, you don't have to be.... check ... 13/03/2009 - TRIVIUM announce Australia headlining tour! Following up from a short press trip where they squeezed in a show in Sydney, Trivium are returning to Australia for their first headlining tour ... 02/03/2009 - Trivium - Live in Philadelphia We've got some new live photos of Trivium playing in Philadelphia. Head over to the Trivium gallery to check them out. There's nothing like a ... 16/12/2008 - See Trivium behind the scenes at their secret MySpace show. If there was ever one secret MySpace show to be at then this would be it! Trivium once again proving they are a fans band, ... 16/12/2008 - Joey Jordison on front cover of Drumscene this week! The new Drumscene Magazine is out tommorow (16th December) and features Joey Jordison from Slipknot on the front cover. As if this wasn't enough of ... 20/11/2008 - Want to see another full length Roadrunner United Live DVD song? The release date of the Roadrunner United - The Concert DVD is getting closer, and today we have a full length version of Trivium playing ... 17/10/2008 - TRIVIUM - Who Wants To Be A Millionaire Quiz If faced with 16 music based questions, do you think you could win the million? For now the question is will Corey and Paolo from ... 10/10/2008 - TRIVIUM - The Making of 'Down From The Sky' So now that you have seen Triviums new video for Down From The Sky (or have you?), we now have the making of for you ... 08/10/2008 - TRIVIUM - 'SHOGUN' Guitar Riffs Part 11 Here we are at our final lesson by Matt and Corey from Trivium. Today they show us the riff from Shogun, and we also go ... 06/10/2008 - TRIVIUM - 'SHOGUN' Guitar Riffs Part 10 All you Trivium nuts out there who are also guitar nuts, what better way to start the week than to learn a riff from Triviums ... 03/10/2008 - TRIVIUM - 'SHOGUN' Guitar Riffs Part 9 Today you learn 'Of Prometheus And The Crucifix', taken from Trivium's new album Shogun. Shogun is in stores now! 30/06/2009Trivium at Download (video) 'Pull Harder on the Strings of your Martyr" live at Download, filmed right on Paolo's own camera! 12/08/2008TRIVIUM - 'Down From The Sky' Artwork Revealed Here's the cover artwork for Trivium's first single 'Down From The Sky' taken from the new album SHOGUN. Exact release date for 'Down From The ... 16/12/2008Joey Jordison on front cover of Drumscene this week! The new Drumscene Magazine is out tommorow (16th December) and features Joey Jordison from Slipknot on the front cover. As if this wasn't enough of ... 30/09/2008TRIVIUM - 'SHOGUN' Guitar Riffs Part 6 Today Matt and Corey show us 'Insurrection' taken from their band Trivium's new album SHOGUN. It was released last Saturday (27th September) so help the ... 29/09/2008TRIVIUM - 'SHOGUN' Guitar Riffs Part 5 Today we learn Throes Of Perdition, taken of course from our teachers (Matt and Corey) bands new album SHOGUN! The album is now instores so ... 01/10/2008TRIVIUM - New Shogun Site Trivium has launched a special page featuring various content related to their new album such as photos, videos and lyrics. You can find the page ... 01/10/2008TRIVIUM - 'SHOGUN' Guitar Riffs Part 7 Today Matt and Corey show you 'The Calamity', taken from their new album Shogun. 20/11/2008Want to see another full length Roadrunner United Live DVD song? The release date of the Roadrunner United - The Concert DVD is getting closer, and today we have a full length version of Trivium playing ... 02/03/2009Trivium - Live in Philadelphia We've got some new live photos of Trivium playing in Philadelphia. Head over to the Trivium gallery to check them out. There's nothing like a ... 17/03/2009Matt Heafy breaks up a mosh pit fight Trivium are touring Australia in May but if you are a bit worried about going in the mosh pit, you don't have to be.... check ... 09/04/2009TRIVIUM - Special Ticketek Offer! If you haven't got tickets to see Trivium on the 'Into The Mouth Of Hell We Tour' tour that will be rocking through Australia in ... 26/09/2008TRIVIUM - 'SHOGUN' Guitar Riffs Part 4 Today your guitar workshop tutors Matt and Corey from Trivium are going to teach you the riff from 'Into The Mouth Of Hell We March' ... 04/06/2009Trivium @ Tivoli review by Tsunami Mag Trivium @ Tivoli 13/5/2009Walking down an empty Costin Street occupied only by a single police car, I was wondering where the hell everyone was. The ... 07/11/2007Corey from TRIVIUM on post gig madness What do Trivium get up to after a show? Here’s your chance to find out! 30/09/2008TRIVIUM takes the hard road Trivium takes the hard road 07/11/2007TRIVIUM start pre production Recent Roadrunner signing Trivium have commenced pre-production on their RR debut. The Trivium site reads, “We'll be hitting Audiohammer Studios this weekend to begin pre-production ... 13/03/2009TRIVIUM announce Australia headlining tour! Following up from a short press trip where they squeezed in a show in Sydney, Trivium are returning to Australia for their first headlining tour ... 01/05/2009TRIVIUM - Travis checks in on upcoming tour Travis Smith from one of metal's finest bands Trivium, has sent this message to Aussie fans eagerly awaiting the upcoming Into The Mouth Of Hell ... 08/04/2009New Trivium prizes added to Shogun Wheel! We have just added 2 free tickets to the Trivium show in your city as a new prize to the Shogun Wheel. That means that ... 07/11/2007TRIVIUM complete 'The Crusade'? According to a posting at MTV.com, the recording process of 'The Crusade' has is near completion. On Thursday (May 11), frontman Matt Heafy started tracking ... Shogun Shogun Shogun Special Edition Shogun Special Edition Down From The Sky Down From The Sky Into The Mouth Of Hell We March Into The Mouth Of Hell We March The Crusade The Crusade Ascendancy Ascendancy Live in Philadelphia Trivium Live in Amsterdam