TRIVIUM Announces 11th Album ‘Crown in the Grave,’ Releases Title Track
Photo Credit: Rob Aboltins
TRIVIUM will release its 11th studio album, Crown in the Grave, Nov. 20 through Roadrunner Records, with the band launching the next phase of its career alongside new drummer Alex Rüdinger.
The Florida metal veterans have also released the album’s title track and an accompanying video directed by Pavel Trebukhin. The visual draws from Japanese Noh theater and places the song inside a post-apocalyptic setting inspired by the broader aesthetic developed for the record.
That Japanese influence extends considerably deeper than the video. Bassist Paolo Gregoletto said Akira Kurosawa’s 1957 film Throne of Blood — itself an adaptation of Shakespeare’s Macbeth set in feudal Japan — provided an early creative reference point for the album.
“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,” Gregoletto said. “With this record, we wanted to find the space between those two things.”
The band subsequently explored Japanese horror and cinema from the 1950s through the ’70s, developing what Gregoletto described as a darker, ghostly atmosphere that eventually influenced the music, lyrics, artwork and overall identity of Crown in the Grave.
The album also marks a significant personnel change for TRIVIUM, with Rüdinger officially joining the band in the studio. He nearly became a member approximately a decade earlier but chose a different path at the time.
“It happened when it was meant to,” vocalist and guitarist Matthew K. Heafy said. “Rüdi didn't just kill it on the drums; his contributions as a writer made a huge difference.”
For the first time, TRIVIUM created an album at its own Orlando headquarters, The Hangar, giving the band greater control over the writing and recording process. Longtime producer Josh Wilbur returned for the project, while Jacob Hansen mixed the record.
The band also looked backward while determining how its next record should move forward. Gregoletto cited METALLICA’s The Black Album, MEGADETH’s Countdown to Extinction and SOUNDGARDEN’s Superunknown as examples of ’90s albums where strong choruses and relatable songwriting remained central despite the heaviness surrounding them.
“Any band who has been around this long starts to ask: Where do we go from here?” Gregoletto said. “We decided to challenge ourselves to top everything we've done.”
For Heafy, the record arrived during a period of personal reassessment involving anxiety, physical injuries and mental health struggles. He said therapy, medication and changing his expectations of himself as a performer helped remove some of the pressure that had accumulated around playing live.
“I stopped trying to be safe and perfect at every show,” Heafy said. “Instead, I was actually enjoying the experience and living.”
The 12-track Crown in the Grave follows 2021’s In the Court of the Dragon.
TRIVIUM will begin a North American headlining tour Nov. 5 in St. Petersburg, Florida, joined by IN FLAMES, ORBIT CULTURE, FIT FOR AN AUTOPSY and FROZEN SOUL. The run includes stops at New York’s Terminal 5 on Nov. 12 and Philadelphia’s Franklin Music Hall on Nov. 14 before concluding Dec. 19 in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Crown in the Grave track listing
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“Jorōgumo”
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“Crown in the Grave”
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“Dead Inside of Me”
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“The Terror”
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“The Haunting Never Ends”
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“Lie of It All”
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“Blackout the Dawn”
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“Paradise of Sinners”
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“Death Throes”
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“The Agony”
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“Devour Your Dreams”
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“Serpent in the Flame”
WATCH "Crown In The Grave" below!