Trivium to Begin Recording New Album in 2011

Florida metallers Trivium are set to enter Sanford, Florida's Audio Hammer Studios on January 2, 2011 to begin recording their new album. The band will be joined by a production/mixing team consisting of Martin "Ginge" Ford and Colin Richardson. The album is slated for an early 2011 release via Roadrunner Records.

During an interview with the WMHB 89.7 FM metal radio show Metal Mutilation on July 18, 2010, Trivium guitarist Corey Beaulieu discussed the songwriting process for the follow-up to 2008's Shogun:

"We got done [touring in support of Shogun] at the end of March [2010], and we weren't planning on the [new] record coming out until February or March of next year, so we had the rest of the year to just work on it. And it's worked out really good for us — we didn't feel rushed and we were able to take the time to make sure everything is right." He added, "We did more work on this record than we've done on any other record. The stuff is sounding really awesome and we're having a lot of fun doing this."

In reference to the addition of drummer Nick Augusto and his influence on Trivium's sound, Beaulieu said:

"I think he fits more of our writing style, 'cause we play a lot of fast, heavier stuff and his drumming is kind of really on the heavier, aggressive side, so, really, just writing the Trivium songs we [normally] do it, his drumming style adds a lot of energy and intensity to the music - he adds a lot of really cool, creative stuff that makes it really interesting and brings the music to the next level. And just working with him, everything is moving pretty fast. He's like a sponge, like the rest of us - he can grasp new songs really fast. If we have a new song, we can start jamming it really quick and kind of move forward and get to the point where we can just focus on the details of the song instead of just trying to get the song down in the first place. It's really helping propel the songwriting to another level where we can move along quicker and get a lot more work done in a shorter amount of time.

"When people actually get a chance to hear the record, I think they'll be pretty impressed with what's going on, 'cause he's doing some really cool stuff and adding a new flavor to what we do and giving it a new twist. Compared to the last couple of records, the intensity and the energy has really gone up a lot."

Beaulieu was later asked if the new tracks will be as "shred happy" as Trivium's more recent material. Beaulieu replied:

"We've been concentrating more on [making] more to-the-point, catchier songs without going off too much — there's no seven- or eight-minute songs on this one. There's a lot of really cool riffs and a lot of really cool parts, and, obviously, there's guitar solos all over the place. It doesn't sound like Shogun, but it sounds like Trivium. It's a got a different feel than Shogun - it's a lot more in your face and heavier and faster. It kind of balances out everything - we've got four or five songs that are all screaming, we've got a couple of songs that are all singing, and huge songs that are kind of a mix - kind of Acendancy [2005] kind of vocal style, [with both] screaming and singing, so there's a good variety, which makes it really interesting to listen to, because each song has its own thing going on, so they all stand out really well and fit together, too. It's got a good balance of everything, but the energy and the intensity is just a lot more up there. I guess if you compare it to anything as far as being aggressive, it's probably more towards Ascendancy than anything else."

Reagrding the new Trivium lyrics and their direction, Beaulieu went on to say:

"Everything is not finished, but [guitarist/vocalist Matt Heafy is] further along in the lyrics than he has been on the last few records. I think there are six or seven songs where the lyrics are pretty much there and then there's some of the newer songs that we've put together that he's still piecing together and figuring out what the songs are. All the lyrics are really cohesive and really kind of all fit together, have the same kind of vibe. It makes the whole record one cohesive piece instead of each song being just randomly about something else."

The song "Shattering the Skies Above" was featured on the EP soundtrack for the popular PlayStation3 game, God of War III. God of War: Blood & Metal was released on March 2, 2010 via Roadrunner Records as part of the God of War III Ultimate Edition. The EP also featured unreleased tracks from other Roadrunner artists, including Dream Theatre, Taking Dawn, Opeth, and Killswitch Engage.