TRIVIUM are deep into work on their next album — their first with new drummer ALEX RÜDINGER — and bassist Paolo Gregoletto says the addition has pushed the band to a new level. "He's a phenomenal drummer. He's a machine," Gregoletto said of Rüdinger in a recent interview.
Rüdinger, best known for his stint in deathcore heavyweights WHITECHAPEL, joined TRIVIUM in October 2025, replacing Alex Bent. The move closed a long-running loop: the Florida metallers had tried to recruit Rüdinger roughly a decade earlier, only for circumstances to get in the way. This time the timing finally aligned, and Gregoletto says the drummer's precision and perfectionism have raised the entire band's game both in the studio and on stage.
Bent's final recording with TRIVIUM was the three-song "Struck Dead" EP, released in October 2025 and tracked at the band's newly built Hangar Studios in Orlando, Florida. With Rüdinger now behind the kit, the band has been writing and recording simultaneously, extending their timeline to make difficult decisions about which songs make the cut.
The results, by the band's own account, are special. Frontman Matt Heafy has repeatedly hyped the material, saying TRIVIUM are "sitting on arguably our greatest album of all time" — a bold claim from a band whose catalogue includes modern metal landmarks like 'Ascendancy' and 'Shogun.' Gregoletto echoed the optimism, crediting Rüdinger's playing with elevating the songs.
The as-yet-untitled record is tentatively slated for early 2027, with the band still mixing and finalising artwork. For a band more than two decades into its career, the energy around the new lineup suggests TRIVIUM are entering this next chapter with something to prove — and a drummer they believe can help them prove it. Fans should expect more concrete details — including a title, first single and tour plans — as the release window draws closer.