TRIVIUM's PAOLO GREGOLETTO On ALEX BENT: 'He's Not Only A Great Drummer But A Really Good Dude'

TRIVIUM's Paolo Gregoletto says that Alex Bent is "a phenomenal drummer" who makes his bandmates' jobs easier.

In December 2016, TRIVIUM parted ways with Paul Wandtke and welcomed Bent, a former member of BATTLECROSS and DECREPIT BIRTH who had previously played with TESTAMENT as a fill-in for that band's longtime drummer Gene Hoglan.

Asked by Silver Tiger Media in a brand new interview if Alex will accompany his bandmates when they play Australia's Good Things festival in December, Paolo said: "Yeah. He's not only a great drummer but a really good dude. After years of playing with people who have not been the right fit, it feels good to just have everything settle into place. If there's any testament to that relationship working, it's the [latest TRIVIUM] record [2017's 'The Sin And The Sentence']. I feel like our abilities to translate our ideas on to a record have just improved ten-fold. It seems like now, with Alex, he writes on our level already. He's now been with us for only two years or so, but he's just a phenomenal drummer and it makes our jobs easier, 'cause we just write the cool riffs and he's ready to go with drums. That's what we needed."

As a bass player and one half of TRIVIUM's rhythm section, Paolo says that it was "tough to have had" all the drummer changes over the years. But "I never minded playing with different people, 'cause I feel like you kind of learn new ways to play," he explained. "Everyone has their own style, and I feel like every drummer we played with had a different take on playing with TRIVIUM. If anything, I got to learn a lot more playing with different people and kind of tailoring my bass playing to whoever the drummer was in the band."

Two years ago, TRIVIUM frontman Matt Heafy admitted to the That's Not Metal Podcast that it has been difficult for the band's core trio — Heafy, Gregoletto and guitarist Corey Beaulieu — to keep a drummer prior to Bent's addition in 2016.

"The drumming is what the band is built upon, it's the foundation for which all the music is built upon, and if you don't have a strong foundation for a house or a building, it eventually collapses," Matt explained. "And I'm so thankful that the stars finally aligned, after eight records, to find the guy that we needed to find. And I think that when people hear Alex, it's not a question of 'Why?' It's more like an observation, like, 'Oh, I see you did it again, but I know why.' Because he's that freakin' good."

"The Sin And The Sentence" was recorded with producer Josh Wilbur (LAMB OF GOD, GOJIRA) at Santa Ana, California's Hybrid Studios.