Grammy-nominated Trivium has announced its eleventh album, Crown in the Grave, for release Nov. 20 through Roadrunner Records. The lineup is vocalist/guitarist Matthew K. Heafy, guitarist Corey Beaulieu, bassist Paolo Gregoletto and drummer Alex Rüdinger.
The title track is out now. It starts with layered riffs that stack up gradually before exploding into a full wall of metal, mixing heaviness with the melody and technical chops Trivium has built its name on for more than 20 years. Galloping riffs, big solos, pounding drums and three-part vocals are all present, and the band pushes that formula toward new territory.
The video, directed by Pavel Trebukhin, takes its cues from Japanese Noh theater and a post-apocalyptic setting. It places the album’s artwork and themes inside a smoke-filled dojo, where the characters get ready for a showdown through tense, moody scenes. The look reflects the band’s long-running interest in classic Japanese theater and martial arts.
Gregoletto explained the thinking behind the record. “Crown In The Grave is our eleventh record, and when you get this far into a career, it’s easy to rest on what you’ve already done — or to reinvent yourself just for the sake of it,” says Gregoletto.
“With this record, we wanted to find the space between those two things: Take everything we’ve learned and everything that makes Trivium what it is, but present it in ways we hadn’t before.”
He continued: “We also wanted the record to exist within its own world. That began with the title track, inspired by Akira Kurosawa‘s Throne of Blood, and led us deeper into Japanese horror and cinema from the ’50s, ’60s, and ’70s. That influence grew into this darker, ghostly atmosphere that became a set of guardrails for the music, lyrics, artwork, and overall identity of the record.”
The bassist wrapped up, “We built our studio so we could give ourselves the time and space to figure out exactly what an eleventh Trivium record should be, and ‘Crown In The Grave’ is the answer we arrived at.
“It honors where we’ve been without living in the past, and pushes into new territory without abandoning what makes us Trivium. I think when you hear it, it’ll somehow feel both new and like a return.”
The press materials describe a band that has reached a peak after two decades of writing, touring and refusing to quit. The riffs hit hard, the solos burn, the screams are raw and the hooks are enormous.
Personal change played a role too. Heafy said that facing yourself was the last big challenge.
“Facing yourself is the final quest,” Heafy observes. “We had to do it as a band, and I had to do it in my personal life. I freed my mind from the constraints of being worried. I made a decision to just sing.”
He reached a crossroads after a mix of mental health struggles, physical injuries and heavy anxiety. He chose to go to therapy, settled on a medication regimen and shifted how he approached things.
“I cleared the plate,” the frontman admits. “I stopped trying to be safe and perfect at every show. Instead, I was actually enjoying the experience and living. If I messed up, it was okay because I’m human. With all of the changes Trivium went through, it’s like a brand new band.”
For the first time, Trivium made an album at its own creative home base in Orlando, a studio called The Hangar. The sessions were also the first with Rüdinger, known as Rüdi, who came close to joining in 2015 but pursued other projects instead. He answered the call a decade later.
“It happened when it was meant to,” Heafy declares.
“Rüdi didn’t just kill it on the drums; his contributions as a writer made a huge difference.”
Longtime producer Josh Wilbur, known for work with Korn and Lamb of God, returned for the sessions. Jacob Hansen, who has mixed Volbeat and Amon Amarth, handled mixing duties for the first time.
Beaulieu said the band zeroed in on what makes it tick.
“We took all of the elements of Trivium, honed in on them, and focused on writing songs with big riffs and big hooks,” notes Beaulieu.
“We made the record we’d been dying to make. The late great Shaun Glass [Soil] was a big Trivium fan. He’d always say, ‘You guys don’t cook the same meal.’
“Even though we use the same ingredients, we always make a new dish.”
Gregoletto said the band asked itself where to go next, and the answer led to the 1990s.
“Any band who has been around this long starts to ask: Where do we go from here?” says Gregoletto.
“We decided to challenge ourselves to top everything we’ve done. We referenced a lot of ’90s albums. If you look at The Black Album by Metallica, Countdown to Extinction by Megadeth or Superunknown by Soundgarden, the choruses are so important, and the songs are relatable. That’s what we strived for.”
Gregoletto also brought Throne of Blood to the group, and the film became the record’s guiding reference point.
“Kurosawa took Macbeth and set it in a feudal Japan,” the bassist elaborates.
“There’s minimal dialogue, yet the storyline is powerful. There are these haunting elements of being tempted by fate and this man’s downfall.”
Trivium starts a North American headlining tour Nov. 5 in St. Petersburg, Fla., and finishes Dec. 19 in Charlotte, N.C. In Flames, Orbit Culture, Fit for an Autopsy and Frozen Soul are along for the ride.
When the dates were announced earlier this year, the band said, “This fall’s Trivium tour is a huge one for us. The lineup is stacked from top to bottom, and we’re honored to have special guests In Flames, who not only influenced our early years but continue to prove time and again why they’re one of the greatest metal bands of all time.
“With Orbit Culture, Fit for an Autopsy and Frozen Soul rounding out the bill, we can’t wait to get out there, kick off this next era of Trivium with Rudi behind the kit, and give you a taste of the new music we’ve been working on. We’ll see you soon!”
Crown in the Grave is available to pre-order here.
The post TRIVIUM Unveils “Crown in the Grave” & Drops A Title Track Built On Galloping Riffs & Japanese Horror appeared first on Sonic Perspectives.
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