Trivium has officially welcomed Alex Rüdinger (formerly of Whitechapel) as their new drummer, and the musician has revealed that this opportunity is actually the culmination of a story that began nearly a decade ago.
Rüdinger, who replaces the recently departed Alex Bent, shared a detailed and heartfelt statement on social media, explaining that this new gig is a “second chance” at a job he regretted turning down years ago.
The drummer posted his full reflection alongside a photo of his new setup, which he will be using on Trivium‘s current tour.
He wrote:
“Quick shot of the setup I’ll be using on this run with @triviumband !
“Last couple of weeks have been pretty crazy (in a good way!). As [Trivium] mentioned in their initial post, there’s some history between us. Nearly 10 years ago, I was asked about playing with Trivium, & it was honestly one of the most conflicting situations of my career. My band at the time, Good Tiger, had just launched, & we had just completed this crowdfunding campaign that raised us a ton of money to start this new band.
“I honestly didn’t know what to do. Part of me was worried about how it would look — start this new band, then bail to join an already established band. That was definitely one thought that I had. But more than anything, at the time — I didn’t want to let my friends down. The whole reason I did GT was because we were friends, first & foremost.
“I was totally upfront with GT — they even encouraged me to go & meet Trivium. They didn’t want me to leave, but they didn’t want me to stay and regret it. So I did — I flew down to Florida, & spent some time with Matt, Corey, & Paolo.
“In the end, I made the decision that I thought was right, & not what was truly best for myself. If I had been honest with myself, the truth was that I wanted to do this back then. But that’s not the decision that I made, & it’s something I did in fact come to regret (quite a lot).
“But life goes on, & while I often looked back on it & wondered what might have been, you can’t change the past. So I did my best to move on, & life took me where it took me.
“Then two weeks ago, that all changed. I saw that they parted ways with their drummer, I immediately reached out, & here I am.
“To say I’m thrilled to be doing this is truly an understatement. I feel as though I have an incredibly rare opportunity — a second chance at something that I always wanted. It’s honestly quite surreal.
“I’m just incredibly thankful, excited, & can’t wait to play these 13-14 songs that I’ve learned thus far (& in time, even more!).
“Thank you Matt, Corey, & Paolo for trusting me to do your music justice, & welcoming me (again) with such enthusiasm.
“That’s all for now, ya’ll – hope to see you at a show!”
Trivium frontman Matt Heafy commented on Rüdinger‘s post, reinforcing their shared history: “Thank you so much Rudi-san. It took us a decade — but we’re finally making music together. Here’s to the future!”
To showcase his skills, Rüdinger also released a video of himself performing the Trivium track “Bury Me With My Screams.”
