After two decades, eight albums, and hundreds of sold out shows, GRAMMY® Award-nominated Trivium actualize the all-encompassing ambition they first set in motion back in 1999. On their ninth full-length album, What The Dead Men Say [Roadrunner Records], the Florida quartet—Matt Heafy [vocals, guitar], Corey Beaulieu [guitar], Paolo Gregoletto [bass], and Alex Bent [drums]—ascend to an inimitable nexus of masterful melody, hypnotic hook-craft, tight thrash, metal scope, and cinematic extremity. Maximizing nonstop momentum and tireless commitment, the musicians sharpen every side of their signature style. Our Staff Writer Jason “Supes” Mesa not only reviewed their new album (HERE), but he also got the opportunity to sit down one-on-one with Trivium guitarist Corey Beaulieu. Pull up a chair and listen in as the two of them talk about the new album and more!
Hey Corey, this is Jason from I’m Music Magazine. How is your day going? Where in the world are you calling from today?
Corey Beaulieu/Trivium: Like everyone else these days, I am hanging out at home.
Me: How are you adjusting to life with the Corona Virus pandemic? Has life changed drastically for you?
When I am not on tour, I like to hang home and enjoy life anyways. Just taking everything as it comes. Everyone is in good spirits and no one is sick. We’re supposed to be on tour right now, but tours are being cancelled because of this recent pandemic. For the time being, we’re just going to wait and see what we’re going to do in future.
Your band has a killer new album that is dropping this Friday called What the Dead Men Say. Congratulations on your 9thstudio release! I was fortunate enough to be able to review the album for the magazine, and it is absolutely stellar. The way you guys blend melody and madness is truly remarkable. Where did the inspiration for the album title come from?
Thank you so much! Most of the time, we let the music dictate album title once the record starts coming together. Our bass player, Paolo (Gregoletto) had an idea from a science fiction short story entitled What the Dead Men Say, written by author Phillip K. Dick. It touches on the in-between of life and death. Paolo also incorporated his own thoughts of how we as humans deal with our emotions when people pass on.
This your second release with your current drummer, Alex Bent. He is an absolute beast on the drums. How has his drumming style influenced your sound in studio and in concert?
Alex (Bent) is a very well-rounded drummer and consummate musician. Whenever we are not on tour, he is always playing in cover bands or with church groups. He’s into everything. Samba, salsa, metal, pop, and even country. When we first met Alex, the band had a tour coming up. On the first day, he learned all the songs, and we just starting writing music for the Sin and the Sentence album. He’s always practicing and contributing ideas to the songs. When we go into the studio, the band is able to create and develop songs faster. We don’t have to do a million takes to capture that energy. Matt is also always practicing and nailing the emotions of the songs. We go in and record in no time because everyone is well prepared. There are three guys in the band writing and no one has burden of writing an entire album by themselves.
Before I get to my next question, the instrumental opening “IX” is such an amazing piece of music. I want that as a ringtone for my phone. LOL!
Thank you, the Idea actually came from A&R guy at our label, Roadrunner Records. He threw out an idea that we create an intro that we could perform rather than a big pre-recorded orchestral piece. When the time comes, and we play it live, the clean portion will be play as a prerecorded piece, and then we’ll come out and perform the electric part live!
I’ve been a fan of Trivium since I first heard “Dying In Your Arms” and I have always leaned more towards the band’s more melodic material. This is definitely more apparent with a song like, “What the Dead Men Say.” What is your process for songwriting and do you always go in with a plan?
We looked at catalog of music to see what we have done that has worked really well and the things that have not. We did the same with Sin and Sentence. Matt has said that that album had the best elements of albums 1 through 7. This new album has all the best of records 1 through 8. We have learned as musicians what defines who we are.
“Sickness unto You” is one of my absolute favorites on the new album.
That song was actually the first song written and recorded for the new album.
It is one of the heavier songs on the album, and what is really cool is that it starts off really somber, and then WHAM! The song hits you like a ton of bricks, and it’s all over the place. The band is totally firing on all cylinders musically, and Matt is killing it vocally. With so many options available to connect with your fans, how does Trivium stay connected with their fans, and how do you plan to use that in the future? Acoustic shows, Q&A’s
We have an archive of over 100 shows on our Twitch channel. Matt is always posting content to his Twitch account. Our original plan was to have an in-store singing for the album, but with everything going on, we decided on a virtual in-store via our Twitch account. If you pre-ordered the album, you could watch us sign it before it gets sent to you. There will be a Zoom chat with producer to chat talking about the making of WTDMS. Going into detail about mixing and producing for those who want to know about that aspect of the release.
Some time ago, you guys covered the Metallica classic, Master of Puppets, and it came out phenomenal. It is easily one of my Top 5 Trivium tracks ever! Has the band considered doing a covers EP or full album?
The band was asked to do that for Kerrang magazine. They released a Metallica tribute CD to be included with a special issue of their magazine. We decided instantly that we wanted to do the title track. We generally will do cover tracks to be released as bonus tracks for our albums released in markets overseas. They’re fun and easy to knock out. You can usually find our covers on various playlists on Spotify.
That is awesome. You just gave me a great idea for a new playlist. Going off topic for our last question, what do you miss the most during this lockdown period? Favorite food, places, etc.
Most definitely, we miss touring. Trivium was scheduled to start touring Japan and parts of Asia. When we’re on tour, it’s always about looking for the best local cuisine from restaurants in whatever country we are in. You know, going to see what the country specialty is. In Germany, it’s always about the beer.
Thank you so much for taking the time to talk with I’m Music Magazine. Is there any parting words or message you have for our readers?
Stay safe and thank you all for listening. Go pick up the album and catch you on tour when we are able to go out again.
Make sure to pick up What The Dead Men Say. The album is out now and it is seriously one of the best metal albums released this year. You can get it on all digital music retailers, or order direct from the Trivium website.
I’m Music Magazine Writer Jason “Supes” Mesa
