Trivium‘s 11th studio album “Crown In The Grave” has newly been set for a November 20th release date on Roadrunner Records. That effort has also just been preceded by a music video for the title track, which was helmed by director Pavel Trebukhin (Imminence, Amon Amarth). Trivium also worked with the latter on their “Dead Inside Of Me” music video, which secretively launched this album cycle.
Bassist/vocalist Paolo Gregoletto had the following to say about this new full-length, which the outfit recorded with producer Josh Wilbur (Korn, Lamb Of God) and had Jacob Hansen (Volbeat, Amon Amarth) mix:
“‘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. 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.”
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.
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.”
He later went on to offer:
“Any band who has been around this long starts to ask: Where do we go from here? 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.”
Matt Heafy channeled his struggles with mental health and physical injury into the effort, stating:
“Facing yourself is the final quest. 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.”
“I cleared the plate. 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.”
Of course, in a sense, the band does have a new element in play with drummer Alex Rüdinger now sitting behind the kit. Heafy said of having him onboard, “Rüdi didn’t just kill it on the drums; his contributions as a writer made a huge difference.” Guitarist Corey Beaulieu meanwhile shared of his take on the band’s creative vision for this effort:
“We took all of the elements of Trivium, honed in on them, and focused on writing songs with big riffs and big hooks. We made the record we’d been dying to make. The late great Shaun Glass 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.”
“Crown In The Grave” track listing:
01 – “Jorogumo“
02 – “Crown In The Grave“
03 – “Dead Inside Of Me“
04 – “The Terror“
05 – “The Haunting Never Ends“
06 – “Lie Of It All“
07 – “Blackout The Dawn“
08 – “Paradise Of Sinners“
09 – “Death Throes“
10 – “The Agony“
11 – “Devour Your Dreams“
12 – “Serpent In The Flame“
For pre-orders, head over to trivium.lnk.to/shop. The band will be out around the album’s arrival with In Flames, Orbit Culture, Fit For An Autopsy and Frozen Soul on the following run.
With In Flames, Fit For An Autopsy & Frozen Soul:
11/05 St. Petersburg, FL – Jannus Live
11/06 Atlanta, GA – The Eastern
11/07 Louisville, KY – Old Forester’s Paristown Hall
11/08 Grand Rapids, MI – GLC Live at 20 Monroe
11/10 Silver Spring, MD – The Fillmore
11/11 New Haven, CT – College Street Music Hall
11/12 New York, NY – Terminal 5
11/14 Philadelphia, PA – Franklin Music Hall
11/15 Worcester, MA – The Palladium
11/17 Laval, QC – Place Bell
11/18 Toronto, ON – GCT Theatre
With In Flames, Orbit Culture & Frozen Soul:
11/20 Royal Oak, MI – Royal Oak Music Theatre
11/21 Chicago, IL – Aragon Ballroom
11/22 Madison, WI – The Sylvee
11/24 Nashville, TN – The Pinnacle
11/25 Chesterfield, MO – The Factory at The District
11/27 San Antonio, TX – Boeing Center at Tech Port
11/28 Houston, TX – Bayou Music Center
11/29 Dallas, TX – South Side Ballroom
12/02 Phoenix, AZ – Arizona Financial Theatre
12/03 Las Vegas, NV – The Pearl
12/04 Inglewood, CA – YouTube Theater
12/05 San Francisco, CA – The Masonic
12/07 Penticton, BC – Penticton Trade & Convention Centre
12/08 Vancouver, BC – Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre
12/09 Seattle, WA – Paramount Theatre
12/11 Reno, NV – Grand Sierra Resort – Grand Theatre
12/13 Denver, CO – Mission Ballroom
12/15 Tulsa, OK – Tulsa Theatre
12/16 Omaha, NE – Steelhouse
12/18 Pittsburgh, PA – Citizen’s Live at The Wylie
12/19 Charlotte, NC – The Fillmore
