Trivium (band)

2000

Trivium was formed in 2000 in Altamonte Springs Florida - Travis Smith, Matt Heafy and two other band mates met at Travis's house to learn and cover "For Whom the Bell Tolls" for his high schools' "Battle of the Bands” competition. Even though an inexperienced, quickly formulated band - the aggression of Trivium was popular among the high school crowd. Shortly after the “Battle of the Bands” show Trivium performed in a local music contest, "Indiefest," taking 2nd place overall. After a couple local party gigs, Trivium’s original singer left the band.

The end 2000 called for a new singer. It was decided that Matt would take on the lead vocal duties as well as being the lead & rhythm guitarist and a search was underway for a rhythm guitarist. An old band mate of Travis’s, Brent Young was called on to try out for the rhythm guitar spot. Brent was selected and joined the band. With the new line up, Trivium played several garage gigs, party gigs, and small clubs, gaining experience and writing more originals. Early in 2001 Trivium performed at their high schools "Battle of the Bands" show as well as other high school level competitions. Trivium’s ever growing sound was that of old school Metallica, Testament, Megadeth, and Slayer. Gaining a little notoriety in and around the local club scene, Trivium’s thrash metal style was unique with a fresh sound. Soon, Trivium headed into a local studio to record a three-song demo.

2001

In mid 2001 Trivium parted ways with its bassist. Trivium asked Richie Brown from a local Black metal band to fill in on bass duties until a full time member could be brought in. A string of successful shows followed and then a search was conducted for a permanent bassist. Brent, at the time was the Trivium rhythm guitarist, Brent decided to try out on bass and as it turned out Brent was amazing on bass! So there it was the new line up for Trivium, a three piece (Matt - Guitars/Vocals, Travis - Drums and Brent on Bass).

2002

As 2002 progressed Trivium’s fan base began to grow, the band began to receive more local buzz and awards in the bands name, more and more people become curious about Trivium’s sound and began to check out their shows. Carrying a full set of originals, Trivium tore up club after club during the summer, opened for national acts - placed 1st for "Battle of the Bands" in high school and Matt was awarded The Best Metal Guitarist Award for 2002 presented by The Orlando Metal Awards.

Heading into the studio, Trivium recorded four originals for their next demo. After this demo was recorded the musical direction of the band changed. Trivium’s thrash metal style was morphed into something that the band and critics categorize as Melodic Death Metalcore. Trivium’s music has been described & reviewed as sounding something along the lines of In Flames, Killswitch Engage, Shadows Fall, Pantera, old Metallica, Testament and others in that vein. With that, Trivium recorded several live performances in preparation for heading into the studio to record a demo CD.

Trivium went to work with Jason Suecof from Audio Hammer Studios (God Forbid, Burning Inside) to record a 7-track high quality demo CD. With the completion of their self-financed, self-titled demo CD - Trivium began to shop for reviews and labels. The reviews were positive with several features, interviews and band spotlights on numerous fan/music news/webzines nationally & internationally. International Label - LifeForce records from Germany signed the band in May of 2003. LifeForce along with Trivium’s production company MKH arranged for the band to head back into the studio to begin work on a LifeForce Records debut album.

2003

In June of 2003 Trivium went back to Jason and Audio Hammer Studios to record their 12-track debut CD, released in October 2003 and distributed worldwide “Ember To Inferno” is just the beginning of what Trivium has to offer.

In September of 2003 Corey Beaulieu was asked to join the band as its 2nd guitarist. Landing a bassist was even more difficult. Numerous players came and went before Paolo Gregoletto, who has jammed with Iron Maiden drummer Nicko McBrain, was brought in just in time for the tour with Machine Head. Feeling so strongly about the group, their music and their dedication to their craft, Paolo left another group to be a part of Trivium.

2004

On April 2004 Trivium joined Roadrunner Records.

Ascendancy, the group's second album, their first on Roadrunner Records, like Ember To Inferno, is rooted in ‘80s and 90's thrash, recalling the glory days of Metallica, Slayer, Pantera and Testament. However, Ascendancy also incorporates aspects of melodic death metal and even prog-rock. Twin guitar harmonies and point/counterpoint dynamics abound, twisting around vocals that alternate from melodic and pained to caustic and full of rage. "We had so much more to work with this time," says Heafy of the disc produced by Jason Suecof. "I had great guitar sounds, Travis is playing like a machine and the vocals are so much more multi-dimensional."

While the first album, lyrically, addressed romantic disillusionment and child abuse, this time the songs confront spousal abuse, suicide, depression, tyranny and freedom of speech. However, even at his most poignant, Heafy prefers expressing gut emotion to preaching. "I've found that when you have a negative aspect in your life, you can find so much negativity in other people's lives around you, and in the world. For me, it's good to write about the negativity to get some of it out of my system."

By July 2004, Trivium had 80 percent of the material for Ascendancy written and fine-tuned. Then in September, the band headed into Audiohammer and Morrisound Studios with Suecof, where they recorded the songs. In the past year they've embarked on tours with Machine Head and Iced Earth as well as played dates with Killswitch Engage, Fear Factory and others, and won over new fans with every show. "What's cool about a tour is every night's a party," Heafy says. "It's not always because everyone's drinking, but people are getting along well and hanging out. The energy from the crowds is amazing."

With their second album finished and on the shelf, Trivium look forward to spending most of the year on the road – which doesn't mean they're not constantly working on new material. While they're currently working their way up the thrash metal totem pole, they're not planning to settle for reaching any level but the summit of the mountain.

Current Line-Up

• Matt Heafy: Guitar, Lead Vocals
• Corey Beaulieu: Guitar, Vocals
• Paolo Gregoletto: Bass, Vocals
• Travis Smith: Drums

Discography