Trivium

Fri 8th May, 2009 in Features

This month, Trivium is bringing its brutal and dynamic stage show to venues across the country. The band’s fourth album Shogun was released in late-2008 and they’re raring to bring it down under.

FasterLouder got Trivium bassist and back-up vocalist Paolo Gregoletto on the phone to talk about the highs and lows of life on the road.

What excites you most about the upcoming tour?
Well it’s the first full-on headline tour in Australia. We are really looking forward to playing the new stuff and playing the old stuff as well, especially from Ember to Inferno. For some of the fans who think Ascendancy is the first album, it will be good to play them the older songs.

What’s it like to be on tour? How does it affect your personal life being away so long and so often?
When you join a band you have to be thinking that you have to be give up the personal life to a degree. You have to be able to balance a happy medium so you can keep the fans happy and also give it your best shot for the band’s sake. It’s easy for me as I’m now single, but I can see it’s hard for the bands who have wives and children back home.

Does touring give you inspiration for new material – and in what way?
Definitely. We don’t usually like having such a long break, but the one thing that’s been awesome about this break, especially after coming off a huge tour with Slipknot, is that they inspired me to write some great riffs. It’s been good to have a chance to record them because they have been just running around in my head.

Which is your favourite Australian city and why?
I have to say, because it was the first time I had been to Australia, the Gold Coast show that we did at Big Day Out. It reminded me a lot of home in Fort Lauderdale, being near the ocean and also with the mountains and stuff. But each city has its own great vibe and great things about it.

Who is your favourite band to tour with?
Probably Slipknot. They are an amazing band and were really good to us. In the US, we aren’t really that big yet, but with this latest tour we were pushed into mainstream. It was incredibly important as we don’t have a really large following in the States, but touring with Slipknot really helped push us into the light here.

What’s the craziest thing to ever happen to you on tour?
I remember in 2005, when Ascendancy had just come out, and we were on a Roadrunner tour, and the van had broken down. It was so important to the label that we had to be at this show in New York, at CBGB’s, that they flew us in from where we had broken down. We had time to just grab our guitars from the van, travel to New York, where we ran on the stage and had just enough time to tune up before we played.

Afterwards I got so hammered, I threw up in the cab and ran into a door at the hotel. This was back in the days were we had to bunk in and share a bed with someone. I was so blacked out in my sleep and was sharing a bed with Matt, and when he tried to move me, I punched him in the stomach. I don’t drink much when on tour anymore!

With the resurgence of – œ80s style thrash metal and the combination of hardcore, where do you think this new genre is going. How do you see Trivium evolving with it?
It’s so hard to pinpoint where metal is now, but straight on traditional metal has seem to run its course. That’s why hardcore, thrash and other new sounds have come into it. We are trying to take it to the next level, just trying to write better songs and hopefully time will tell what impact we will have had.

Your latest album, Shogun, is an extremely diverse piece of work and you seem to push the boundaries with every song. When you were writing it, did you ever expect it to be this successful?
Going into this album was a completely new experience. We knew it was time for a new producer and we were torn about leaving home to record it. The first run of demos was really solid. We felt that when we were recording The Crusade we didn’t really jam much as a band and get a real spark, but we wanted to try and do that with Shogun. When Nick came down, we had a lot of sessions where we just jammed and bonded. There was a great spark and we really had our whole hearts into it.

What is your opinion on the critics comparing your new sound to Metallica.
I don’t think that it’s a fair assessment of our band. That’s not really listening to us and breaking us down. We don’t let that influence us and I especially don’t take that personally. You can’t let it get under your skin and you just got to take it with a grain of salt really.

When can we expect the next Trivium album?
Well, the next full length album I can probably in say late 2010 or early 2011, but our fans wont have to wait that long to hear new Trivium stuff. Our fans just need to just keep checking the site because there will be new stuff on their all the time. Without digressing too much, I think musicians need to continually pump out new music, because the longer you wait to put out albums, your fans will lose interest. Their attention spans are becoming shorter and shorter.

Do you have any final words for your fans?
I just want to say a massive thanks to all the Trivium fans in Australia for continuing to support us. Thank you so much, because without you, we wouldn’t be here. We can’t wait for the tour!

Trivium will fire up the following venues this month, proudly presented by FasterLouder.

Wednesday 13 – Brisbane, The Tivoli (All Ages)
Thursday 14 – Sydney, UNSW Roundhouse (Licensed A/A)
Friday 15 – Melbourne, Palace Theatre (18+)
Sunday 17 – Adelaide, HQ (Licensed All Ages)
Tuesday 19 – Perth, Capitol (18+)