Trivium frontman Matt Heafy says the band’s upcoming full-length album will be a defining release for their career. Speaking with Rock Sound on June 13 at the Download festival in the U.K., Heafy provided an update on the unreleased record and the integration of their new drummer, Alex Rüdinger.
The tentatively titled late 2026 album marks the first Trivium record featuring Rüdinger, formerly of Whitechapel. He officially replaced previous drummer Alex Bent last October.
“We have Rudi now on drums, who we tried to get 10 years ago, and we couldn’t get him 10 years ago. And for those 10 years, he told us that he wondered and regretted every day not being in the band. And we wondered what that was supposed to be, and now we finally have him. We’re sitting on arguably our greatest album of all time. It’s not out yet. We’re still mixing it. So I think this is a new chapter,” Heafy stated.
Prior to the lineup change, Trivium released the three-track EP Struck Dead last October via Roadrunner Records. The EP served as the final recording with Bent. Produced by the band and Mark Lewis at Hangar Studios in Orlando, Florida, and mixed by Josh Wilbur, the tracks were initially planned for a full-length release.
“Yeah, we originally started the Struck Dead EP with the intent of it being part of a full record, and as plans kept shifting, things kept changing and we found ourselves evolving and growing very quickly once again, because I feel like there’s different stages of growth in life. Just like with children — they have these different brain leaps where all of a sudden they’re starting to use new words, new skills, trying new things out. I feel like as a band, we’re hitting that. And we felt inspired and started writing new material,” Heafy explained.
This creative shift carried directly into Rüdinger‘s first sessions with the band.
“I remember the first day that we jammed with Rudi, we flew him in to Florida and said, ‘Okay, welcome. This is day one. You’re gonna write new music with us.’ And so from the day one where he showed up expecting to play our set for the tour coming up, he had to write new music with us, and it really blossomed from there,” Heafy said.
Looking ahead to the band’s future live performances and the eventual album release, Heafy emphasized the clear difference in their current dynamic.
“When everyone sees us live [at the 2026 Download festival] today, they’ll see what’s happened. They’ll see this growth. They’ll see where only since we were… We played here [in the U.K.] last August [at the Bloodstock Open Air festival]. It’s a completely different Trivium now. Better than ever in every single facet of the way, and this new music is incredible. This new music, I can’t wait for the world to hear it,” he concluded.
