Jan. 25, 2012 - Issue #849: Blind Date

Coming In Waves

Trivium's latest came after a rediscovery process

Fri, Jan 27 (7 pm)
Trivium
With In Flames, Veil of Maya, Kyng
Edmonton Event Centre, $43.75
 

Trivium's latest album, In Waves, came as a palate cleanser of sorts for the band: foregoing the seven-string guitars of the past couple albums, In Waves returns Trivium to the drop-d tunings and uncluttered riffs of previous work. The album is also the first to feature new member Nick Augusto on drums. Bassist Paolo Gregolleto gave Vue Weekly the lowdown on the album's genesis.
 

Vue Weekly: How long did it take to make In Waves from the initial songwriting through to the end of the recording?
Paolo Gregolleto: We started writing new material just after Shogun was released. It gave us about two years to compile tons of ideas and riffs. There is hardly a day that goes by on tour where one of us isn't writing new material.

VW: When you were writing the songs, did you come at them in a particular way? Lyrics first? Music first?
PG: We usually have the music sorted out before vocals are put on them, but I am sure that Matt [Heafy, vocalist] had a lot of lyrics beforehand. I always try to sing along to songs I am writing just to make sure that vocals will fit well over the riffs. That's probably the biggest lesson I have learned over time with writing.

VW: What were the recording sessions like for this album? Did you record live off the floor or track by track? Why?
PG: The recording session was probably the most fun we have had making an album ever. There was no real stress, no internal band problems, and it was a very creative environment. When we record we always go track by track, starting with drums first. I love when bands do live recordings, but I don't think it would fit the way we want our albums to sound. Tuning wise it saves time and headaches to track things like rhythm guitars before bass and solos.

VW: Were there any other songs written that were left off the album?
PG: We had about five or six songs we decided weren't the right vibe to record. They were all about 70 – 80 percent finished and some didn't have vocals at all. The biggest growth for Trivium from a writing perspective is definitely the ability to look at our music objectively and know when something isn't right.

VW: How did you decide which songs to include on the album? Did you have an idea of what you wanted In Waves to be when you started, or did the finished shape emerge as the writing and recording went along?
PG: We didn't have a very clear cut idea about what we wanted In Waves to be when we started writing. It sort of fell into place after months and months of jamming in the warehouse. The writing process for In Waves was sort of a rediscovering of who we were as a band, especially since this was Nick's first album with us. It was nice to have a full year away from the whirlwind of touring and get our focus back as a group.

VW: You tapped Colin Richardson to produce the album. What drew you to him and what did he bring to the process?
PG: We had worked with Colin as a mixer, but the timing was never right to work with him. When we started to discuss the potential people to work with, Colin quickly made his way to the top of the list. Our goal was to make an album that sonically matched the energy we wanted in all of the songs. He was very meticulous in getting every tone perfect, sometimes tuning the drums more then twice before a take was even done. He probably has one of the best ears for getting tones, and his mixes are second to none.

VW: If you were to trace the musical map that led you to In Waves, what would it look like?
PG: If you mix the heaviness and brutality of modern metal with the melodic sensibility of classic metal songwriting, throw in that "x" factor of all the other influences each one of us brings to the table and you get In Waves.
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