Formation and Ember to Inferno (1999–2004) The band formed in 1999, choosing the name "Trivium" from a Latin three-way intersection to describe their music as combining
metalcore,
melodic death metal and
thrash metal. Singer Brad Lewter then saw Heafy performing a cover version of "
No Leaf Clover" by
Metallica at Heafy's eighth-grade talent show and later asked him to try out for his band as lead guitarist. The pair went over to drummer
Travis Smith's house where they played a rendition of Metallica's "
For Whom the Bell Tolls". Impressed with Heafy's performance, they accepted him into the band. Lewter played a number of local gigs with the band before departing about a year later. In mid-2001, Trivium parted ways with its bassist. Trivium asked Richie Brown from local black metal band
Mindscar 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. In 2001, the band played at a fundraiser for
Chuck Schuldiner. In late 2002, Trivium went into the recording studio to record its first high-quality demo disc. A copy of the demo was heard by German label
Lifeforce which signed Trivium, and the band entered a studio to record its debut album,
Ember to Inferno. Lead guitarist
Corey Beaulieu joined after the recording of the album. In 2004,
Paolo Gregoletto joined as the band's bassist, replacing Brent Young before a tour with
Machine Head.
Ember to Inferno managed to garner the interest of
Roadrunner Records representatives, who later signed Trivium to the label. The band then began writing songs for their major label debut. Produced by Heafy and
Jason Suecof, the album was released in March 2005. The album debuted at No. 151 on the
Billboard 200 and at No. 4 on the
Top Heatseekers chart.
Allmusic reviewer Johnny Loftus praised
Ascendancy, describing Trivium as a "ridiculously tight quartet, unleashing thrilling dual guitar passages and pummeling kick drum gallops as surely as they do melodic breaks and vicious throat screams." Rod Smith of
Decibel magazine praised "Smith's impeccably articulated beats, bassist Paolo Gregoletto's contained thunder, and, especially, Heafy and guitarist Corey Beaulieu's liquid twin leads." The album was also recognized as the "Album of the Year" by
Kerrang! magazine. Later in 2007 the band received their first Gold Record in the UK for more than 100,000 Sales. f In 2005, Trivium played the first Saturday set on the main stage at
Download Festival in
Castle Donington, England, credited by Heafy as the gig that really launched Trivium on the world stage. Singles and music videos were released for "
Like Light to the Flies", "
Pull Harder on the Strings of Your Martyr", "
A Gunshot to the Head of Trepidation", and "
Dying in Your Arms". The videos for these songs gained rotation on
Scuzz TV and
MTV2's
Headbangers Ball, and "Pull Harder on The Strings of Your Martyr" has become one of the band's most well known songs and the song that they usually close their sets with. In support of the album, the band opened for
Killswitch Engage,
Iced Earth,
Fear Factory, and
Machine Head, who were one of Heafy's largest influences. Trivium also played at Road Rage 2005 and
Ozzfest.
Ascendancy was re-released in 2006 with four bonus tracks and a DVD containing all of the band's music videos and live footage.
The Crusade (2006–2007) In April 2006, after a headlining tour with
Mendeed and
God Forbid as openers, Trivium entered the studio, with Suecof and Heafy producing again. The band played the Download Festival for a second time, again on the main stage, with
Korn and
Metallica. Trivium released
The Crusade in October 2006. Debuting at number 25 on the
Billboard 200, the album sold over 32,000 copies in its first week of sales. Heafy's vocals had changed from the
metalcore scream of the previous albums to clean singing. This new singing style, along with the band's
thrash metal music, were criticised as sounding too much like
Metallica, who were a major influence on the band. The band supported the album by touring with
Iron Maiden and
Metallica, appearing on the Black Crusade tour with
Machine Head,
Arch Enemy,
DragonForce and
Shadows Fall, as well as headlining a European tour with supporting acts
Annihilator and
Sanctity and acquiring an opening slot on the
Family Values Tour with
Korn. Trivium was named the best live band of 2006 at the
Metal Hammer Golden Gods Awards.
Shogun and departure of Travis Smith (2008–2009) Trivium started working on a new album with producer
Nick Raskulinecz in October 2007. Heafy stated he wanted to bring back the screaming that was found on
Ascendancy, and the band said they chose not to work with Suecof again because they already recorded three albums with him and wanted to explore new ideas. In an interview with the UK's
Metal Hammer magazine in May 2008, Heafy said that their new album was to have "more thrash influences, more screaming." He told
Revolver magazine, "For the first time, we can't look at our songs and say who the riffs sound like. We're really making our own stuff and our own kind of music and art form, and that's exciting." In September 2008, Trivium released their fourth full-length album,
Shogun. The album sold 24,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release, debuting at number 23 on the
Billboard 200 chart as well as number 1 in the UK Rock Album Charts. Trivium toured extensively throughout 2009 in support of
Shogun, with two headline legs of the US, a headline slot on the
Mayhem Festival second stage, an Australia/Japan leg, as well as a conclusive UK run in March 2010. Throughout their headline runs, they were supported by
Chimaira,
Darkest Hour,
Dirge Within,
Whitechapel,
Rise to Remain and
Black Tide. They were also booked as a co-headliner for Australia's
Soundwave Festival in February 2010. Travis Smith unofficially left the band on the second leg of the "Into the Mouth of Hell We Tour" tour. On February 4, 2010, the band announced that Travis had indeed officially left the band and fill-in drummer, ex-drum tech, Nick Augusto, was replacing him. Augusto is a former member of Maruta and Metal Militia, in which he played with Gregoletto. While Trivium's relationship with Smith had deteriorated over the years, the band had no immediate plans to replace him when he announced in late October 2009 that he would be sitting out the tour to take care of "some personal business." However, Augusto's skill while filling in for the tour convinced the band that he could improve their creativity and live performances. Trivium contributed to the
God of War III soundtrack by recording the song, "Shattering the Skies Above". It is exclusively included on
God of War: Blood & Metal, a
digital EP that comes with the
Ultimate Edition of the game and is available from the
iTunes Store. The band has also recorded a cover of the song "
Slave New World" by
Sepultura. "Shattering the Skies Above" was also released exclusively to their fanclub (TriviumWorld) on February 12, 2010, and was released widely on February 15. The next day their Sepultura cover "Slave New World" was released as a free download for members of the UK via Metal Hammer UK. Both of aforementioned songs re-issued on their deluxe version of the album "In Waves".
In Waves (2010–2012) In an interview with
Guitar World, it was stated that for their next studio album, Trivium would "forgo the complex epic compositions, tricked-out leads and seven-string guitars that characterized its past two albums" and instead take an approach similar to that of
Ascendancy by using uncluttered riffs, Drop C# tuning, and more straightforward solos. Heafy stated "When we did
Ascendancy, we were writing specifically for the songs, not to show how well we could play. That wasn't exactly the case with our next two records." In the bonus content for the November 2011 issue of
Guitar World, Heafy said the lower tuning was to make his vocals easier due to the number of concerts the band plays. On June 6,
Metal Hammer revealed that the album would be titled
In Waves and that it would be released on August 9, 2011. On June 19, Trivium debuted two new songs live in Birmingham entitled "Dusk Dismantled" and "Black". On the June 28, "Dusk Dismantled" was released to TriviumWorld users only; it was released to general public on the 29th. On July 13, the premiere of "Inception of the End" was released to the general public on the website
Hot Topic.
In Waves was released in August 2011 worldwide and received generally positive reviews. Kerrang! described the album as "draws from the band's entire repertoire and shapes what it finds into a defining and definitive set". A special edition was released featuring bonus tracks "Ensnare the Sun", "A Grey So Dark", "Drowning in Slow Motion", the "Slave New World" cover, and the single from the God of War III soundtrack "Shattering the Skies Above". Trivium participated in a co-headlining trek with Swedish melodic death metal band
In Flames in both Europe and North America. European support came from
Ghost,
Rise to Remain and Insense. North American support came from
Veil of Maya and Kyng. Additionally, Miss May I and The Ghost Inside joined Trivium during the
In Waves 2011 European tour. They also performed at the
Metaltown Festival and
Download Festival in June 2012. From July 13 to August 28, 2012, Trivium took part in
Metal Hammer's "
Trespass America Festival" headlined by
Five Finger Death Punch with additional support from
Battlecross,
God Forbid,
Pop Evil,
Emmure and
Killswitch Engage. On October 15, 2012, Trivium commenced a European headlining tour, supported by
Caliban,
As I Lay Dying and
Upon A Burning Body.
Vengeance Falls and departure of Nick Augusto (2013–2015) in 2014 The band toured for
In Waves until the end of the year. Heafy stated that they would start recording a new album in February 2013 and they already have around 13 demos made. On January 14, 2013, Heafy announced via Twitter that the band had entered the studio. It was later revealed that they hired
David Draiman of the heavy metal bands
Device and
Disturbed as a producer. In an interview, David Draiman revealed to Thrash Hits that the title of Trivium's forthcoming sixth album was
Vengeance Falls.
Vengeance Falls was produced at a studio in Austin, Texas and was mixed by
Colin Richardson, who has previously worked with
Fear Factory,
Cannibal Corpse,
Machine Head,
Napalm Death,
Slipknot and
Bullet for My Valentine. On July 23, 2013, Trivium announced a United States headlining tour, co-headlining with
DevilDriver, with supporting acts
After the Burial and
Sylosis, which would reveal the first information of the new album.
Vengeance Falls was released on October 15, 2013. On July 31, 2013, the new song "Brave This Storm" was released for streaming and made available to download for free. On August 23, 2013, it was announced that Trivium would be playing at Australia's Soundwave Festival in late February and early March 2014. Trivium recorded a music video for the single "Strife" with director Ramon Boutviseth (
All That Remains,
For Today,
Fear Factory) which was made available for free download to anyone who pre-ordered
Vengeance Falls. On May 7, 2014, it was announced that drummer Nick Augusto had departed from the band. He was replaced by
Mat Madiro, who had been the band's drum technician. Heafy blew out his voice at the 2014
Rock on the Range festival, forcing the band to cancel shows.
M. Shadows of
Avenged Sevenfold recommended his singing teacher,
Ron Anderson, and Heafy ended up relearning both his singing and screaming technique, which had been incorrect for around 15 years and was damaging his voice.
Silence in the Snow and departure of Mat Madiro (2015–2016) In fall of 2014, Beaulieu announced that the band would be working on the follow-up of
Vengeance Falls in 2015, and that he hoped that the album would be released in Fall of the same year. On July 17, 2015, the band launched a website "snow.trivium.org" teasing the new album. They also changed their Facebook profile to the same picture as on the website, hinting at the release of the new album. On July 24, the band posted a six-day countdown on their website. This information was confirmed on July 30 when the band premiered the music video for the title track once the countdown ended. On July 31, 2015, the band revealed the track list and the album artwork, and
Silence in the Snow was made available for pre-order. On August 7, the band premiered two new songs, "Silence in the Snow" and "Blind Leading the Blind" during their performance at
Bloodstock Open Air. On August 27, Trivium premiered the music video for their third single "Until the World Goes Cold", and the album was released on October 2.
Silence in the Snow did not feature screamed vocals, with a major reason being concerns around Heafy having to relearn his vocal technique. On December 2, Trivium re-released
Ember to Inferno, titling it
Ember to Inferno: Ab Initio. The deluxe version of the release contained two discs. The second disk included 13 bonus tracks which consisted of the early demos
Ruber (the "Red Demo"),
Caeruleus (the "Blue Demo") and
Flavus (the "Yellow Demo"). On December 5, the band performed at
Knotfest Mexico, where it was revealed that drummer Mat Madiro had been replaced by Paul Wandtke. The band didn't make an official announcement until three days later, on their Facebook page. Paul Wandtke joined the band after Heafy asked
Dream Theater's
John Petrucci for suggestions; Petrucci then asked
Mike Mangini, who recommended Wandtke.
Arrival of Alex Bent and The Sin and the Sentence (2016–2019) 2016 On October 14, 2016, Trivium headlined at the Rock And Shock festival at The Palladium in Worcester, Massachusetts. In late 2016, Beaulieu stated that the band would spend most of 2017 working on their new album. In an interview, Gregoletto stated that new material will be more 'extreme' and that the band will return to featuring screaming vocals on the new album. The band was announced as one of the acts on the 2017 edition of
Wacken Open Air. In early 2017, the band parted ways with Wandtke. The replacement
Alex Bent, formerly of
Battlecross, was announced on January 23. On July 26, 2017, the band began teasing on their web page with the message "VIII. I.", indicating the date "August 1". On August 1, 2017, the band released the new single "The Sin and the Sentence", accompanied with a music video for their forthcoming new album, which aimed to be released later that year. To promote the album, the band announced a co-headlining North American tour with
Arch Enemy in fall 2017 with
While She Sleeps and
Fit for an Autopsy as support acts. On August 24, the band released the second single "The Heart From Your Hate" and revealed the track listing and release date of their new album.
The Sin and the Sentence released on October 20, 2017, and was received positively by both fans and critics alike. On October 25, 2018, just over a year after the album's release, Heafy announced that he had to fly home to Orlando to be with his wife for the birth of their children, and as a result, would be sitting out the remainder of Trivium's ongoing North American tour with
Light the Torch and
Avatar. He announced that the band would be working with Light the Torch and ex-
Killswitch Engage frontman
Howard Jones and Avatar frontman Johannes Eckerström, as well as
YouTube personality and musician
Jared Dines to continue the tour without him. Dines would take over Heafy's guitar parts, while Beaulieu, Gregoletto, Jones and Eckerström would handle vocals. The band received a Grammy nomination for the song "Betrayer" at the
61st Annual Grammy Awards in 2019 for the
Best Metal Performance, but lost to
High on Fire's "Electric Messiah".
What the Dead Men Say and In the Court of the Dragon (2020–2023) Trivium was announced as an opening act for
Megadeth and
Lamb of God on their summer 2020 tour called "The Metal Tour of the Year", which was rescheduled for the summer of 2021 due to the
COVID-19 pandemic.
In Flames was originally slated as an additional opening act, but were forced to withdraw from the tour due to international visa issues caused by the pandemic, and were later replaced by
Hatebreed. In February 2020, the band started posting cryptic images and videos possibly pertaining to their new upcoming album on their social media pages. On February 25, the band posted a teaser video on their social media pages teasing a new song titled "Catastrophist", which was released on February 27. At the same time, the band announced their upcoming ninth studio album titled
What the Dead Men Say set for release on April 24, 2020. On March 9, the band previewed "IX" and "Scattering the Ashes" in a new "
Spawn" trailer for
Mortal Kombat 11. On March 26, the band released their second single and title track "What the Dead Men Say" and its corresponding music video. On April 16, a week before the album release, the band released their third single "Amongst the Shadows & the Stones". On April 22, the band released the final single "Bleed Into Me" before the album release along with its visualizer video. In June 2020, Beaulieu revealed the band was already working on the follow-up to
What the Dead Men Say while being in COVID-19 pandemic quarantine, saying the material they've been working on sounded "really pissed-off". On September 25, the band's former guitarist and bassist Brent Young died at the age of 37. At the time of his death, he was in the band BlackNova founded with another former Trivium member, drummer Travis Smith. On July 7, 2021, the band teased that they were planning to release new music on July 9, with a two-minute video trailer hinting at some potentially new music. On that day, the band officially released the single "In the Court of the Dragon" along with its music video. On August 12, the band released the second single "Feast of Fire" from their tenth studio album,
In the Court of the Dragon, along with a corresponding music video, along with the album cover and track list. The album was released on October 8, 2021. On August 19, a collaboration between Trivium and
Bethesda Game Studios has been announced that will include a
The Elder Scrolls Online-themed music video. On October 1, one week before the album release, the band unveiled the third single "The Phalanx" along with an accompanying music video. The single is the album's final track and a re-recording of a scrapped song from the
Shogun sessions. A music video for "The Shadow of the Abattoir" was released on November 17, 2022. On January 13, 2023, Trivium released their cover of
Heaven Shall Burn's "Implore the Darken Sky" on
music streaming services. It is part of a split single to commemorate both bands touring together in Europe and the UK, released on January 27, 2023, on which Heaven Shall Burn covered "Pillars of Serpents" from Trivium's 2003 debut album,
Ember to Inferno.
20th anniversary tour of Ascendancy, Struck Dead EP, departure of Alex Bent, and upcoming album (2024–present) In celebration of the 20th anniversary of
Ascendancy, the band announced 'The Poisoned Ascendancy' Tour with
Bullet for My Valentine co-headlining for 2025, in which Bullet for My Valentine would also be celebrating the 20th anniversary of
The Poison. Trivium also announced that they would be writing their eleventh studio album, which would feature a guest appearance by Bullet for My Valentine vocalist
Matt Tuck. Heafy has stated that the upcoming album will show the band "getting back in the headspace of
Ascendancy." The band planned to work on the album, set to be released in 2026, after finishing the tour. However, Bullet for My Valentine pulled out of the tour in May 2025, finishing the North American leg, despite initial plans to tour regions such as South America and Australia into the end of 2025, with Gregoletto putting the blame on Tuck. Heafy released a statement telling fans "there was an initial plan, and the plan's changed [...] they've got other plans to go do a record, so I respect that", urging fans to "pull back on the negative stuff". On August 7, 2025, the band officially released the single "Bury Me with My Screams", along with its music video, to be part of a new EP,
Struck Dead, scheduled for release on October 31, 2025. On October 3, 2025, the band announced that they had amicably parted ways with drummer Alex Bent, with
Greyson Nekrutman of
Sepultura initially set to replace him for the remainder of their 2025 Struck Dead tour in North America. Nekrutman was only able to perform at the Aftershock festival, and it was then announced on October 24, 2025, that former
Whitechapel drummer
Alex Rüdinger would be joining Trivium on their tour as well as working with them on their next album. Rüdinger was previously asked to join the band in 2016, but he could not due to issues with timing. On October 31, 2025, Trivium released the
Struck Dead EP, along with a music video for the title track. ==Artistry==