TRIVIUM Guitarist: Our New Album 'Sets Us Apart From Other Bands Out There Today'

Away-Team.com recently conducted an interview with guitarist Corey Beaulieu of Florida metallers TRIVIUM. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

Away-Team.com: Your musical style has changed over the years you are no longer thought of as metalcore, which I never pegged you as, but more straight-forward thrash. Was that a conscious decision on your part, or was it just maturing and stretching as musicians?

Corey Beaulieu: We just play every record as we just play whatever we feel like playing. It's all very natural for us, we don't go, "Oh let's do this record this way, and then we'll do the next record sounding like that." We just start writing the songs and in that moment and time it just takes its own shape and sound. The style just dictates itself we don't consciously decide, "Oh, on 'The Crusade' we're going to do this." Musically, it just came out naturally. We always find new influences to incorporate into the new album; we don't want to keep churning out the same shit every album, so we're always pushing the boundaries of what we can do with our songwriting. This last album ["In Waves"], we decided we needed to define our sound. Because the last couple of albums we were experimenting with different tunings, different sounds, and different styles of songs and just seeing what we could do. On this record, we just knew what the record had to be and we just wanted to write a record that was a career-defining moment. Just put our foot down, like we're fucking serious here, this is a serious fucking metal album, and just solidify our sound. So you're like, "Oh, that's TRIVIUM! That's their sound, that's what they are all about." The other thing we wanted was to make the album sound cohesive, we wanted the songs to flow, to have the same style and sound, so that none of the songs were like an odd man out and didn't fit the record, they all have the same. vibe or sound or feel to them, that they belonged on that record. We just wrote a lot of songs and made sure that the songs worked well and fit with the other songs on the record. And we also made the heaviest record we have ever done. The heavy stuff is heavier and more intense than anything else we've ever done.

Away-Team: The band came out after "Shogun" and said that it was what it was, that you couldn't describe what/or who it sounded like. It was TRIVIUM and it stood on its own. Were you guys really that concerned about the comparisons to METALLICA or other bands then? Isn't there some sense of flattery of being compared to one of the biggest metal bands in the world?

Corey Beaulieu: When people listen to music, they are always gauging shit, always comparing them to someone else. If you read a review it is always, "For fans of this," or "If you like this band, you'll love this." I guess being compared to the biggest metal band of all time is not a bad thing. I just felt it was kind of limiting as far as Take "The Crusade" record, I listen to that and there are influences on there, riffs, songs, tones, styles, that are just in no way comparable to METALLICA. And Matt's [Heafy] vocals may style wise remind you of James [Hetfield], but he doesn't sound like James. I just think a lot of the songs and riffs on that record are just very un-METALLICA. I think "Shogun" stepped away from that more and [on "In Waves"], that "Oh, they sound like METALLICA clones" has been put to rest, at least by us. If people say that now, then they are fucking idiots. You're obviously not listening to what we are playing. Don't get me wrong, they are obviously a big metal influence, but so are MEGADETH, TESTAMENT, SLAYER, and IRON MAIDEN. There are a lot of stuff in there. Over the years we have found a way to take those influences, with other elements outside that style of music, and put our own twist on it, so that now what you hear is TRIVIUM only. I think "In Waves" sets us apart from other bands out there today, it ensures that we don't sound too much like anyone else, it sounds like TRIVIUM in vocals, and in guitar riffs, so that if we are to be compared, it is them to us.

Read the entire interview from Away-Team.com.