Skip to main content
MusicRadar MusicRadar The No.1 website for musicians
Sign in
  • View Profile
  • Sign out
  • Artist news
  • Guitars
  • Guitar Pedals
  • Synths
  • Keyboards & Pianos
  • Controllers
  • Guitar Amps
  • Drums
  • Software & Apps
  • More
    • Recording
    • DJ Gear
    • Acoustic Guitars
    • Bass Guitars
    • Tech
    • Tutorials
    • Reviews
    • Buying Guides
    • About Us
More
  • Radiohead theory
  • Steely Dan's drum machine
  • Deep Purple in the dungeon
  • Prince's drummers
  • 95k+ free music samples
Don't miss these
Zach Myers of Shinedown plays a hunter green PRS NF53 live onstage at Download Festival 2025.
Artists Zach Myers on Shinedown’s secret weapon, the limits of shred guitar, and getting schooled by BB King
Debbie Gough of Heriot demoes the new Jackson Pro Plus Metal Phase II Warrior on a darkened studio set.
Guitars Jackson adds Warrior, King V and Concert Bass to its limited edition Pro Plus Pure Metal range
Orbit Culture's guitarists
Electric Guitars Orbit Culture show us their ESP guitars – and tell us why the EverTune bridge is a game-changer
Zach Myers of Shinedown is bathed in blue stage lights and plays his custom-relic'd Silver Sky.
Artists Shinedown’s Zach Myers on Paul Reed Smith, signature model updates, and that relic’d Silver Sky
Jackson Pro Series Misha Mansoor Juggernaut HT7 and HT7P
Artists Misha Mansoor spills blood as a home shopping TV presenter to unveil new signature Jackson 7-strings
Daron Malakian of System of a Down performs live in a wide-brimmed had with a custom Flying V with an open-book Gibson headstock.
Artists Daron Malakian on how synth leads the guitar on his new album and why he doesn’t stick to one style
Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi perform live in 2023, with Trucks playing his Dickey Betts Artist Series SG, Tedeschi playing her Les Paul Standard.
Artists Derek Trucks says Tedeschi Trucks Band have completed new album and have been sneaking in some of the tracks live
Adrian Smith and Steve Harris of Iron Maiden lock in onstage as they perform Long Beach in 2003. Smith plays his Olympic White Fender Strat. Harris is on his trusty Precision Bass.
Artists Adrian Smith on how Steve Harris is the secret behind Iron Maiden’s triple-guitar attack
Colin Brittain of Linkin Park performs at the I-Days Festival at Ippodromo Snai La Maura on June 24, 2025 in Milan, Italy
Drummers “I love this band, I love the people and the music": Colin Brittain on life behind the kit with Linkin Park
PRS Mark Holcomb: previously only a limited edition run, the Periphery guitarist's Core Series signature model is now part of the PRS Guitars catalogue, as the Maryland high-end brand continues its 40th Anniversary celebrations by keeping the releases coming each month.
Artists Mark Holcomb’s limited run PRS is officially added to the Core series – and it ships in Drop C
Eloy Casagrande in Slipknot
Drummers Slipknot’s Eloy Casagrande reveals the secret lessons he gave his Sepultura replacement
Exodus Gary Holt
Bands "It might have been like 12 people there”: Exodus’ Gary Holt pulls zero punches in his new autobiography
Charvel Angel Vivaldi Signature Pro-Mod Nova-7 NAT: The new S-style is eight years in the making and in some of the promo pictures it looks like Angel Vivaldi has been on horseback for much of that time.
Artists Angel Vivaldi and Charvel unveil state-of-the-art 7-string for levelling up your shred game
The Sterling By Music Man Kaizen is a more affordable version of the Animals As Leaders guitarist Tosin Abasi's signature model, and is offered here in Firemist Purple Satin and Stealth Black.
Artists Sterling By Music Man unveils affordable version of Tosin Abasi’s futuristic Kaizen signature model
Troy Van Leeuwen of Queens of the Stone Age plays a red/orange Gretsch onstage, and is framed by a triangle of yellow-green stagelights.
Artists “It was the most bizarre musical experience”: QOTSA’s Troy Van Leeuwen on playing Paris's Catacombs
  1. Artists
  2. Singles And Albums

Trivium's Paolo Gregoletto talks Vengeance Falls

News
By Rich Chamberlain published 23 October 2013

Bass player gives us the word on album six

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

Trivium's Paolo Gregoletto talks Vengeance Falls

Trivium's Paolo Gregoletto talks Vengeance Falls

When Avenged Sevenfold smashed their way to the top of the charts worldwide with their latest album, they did so by adding hefty dollops of classic rock to their early hard-edged sound.

Many expected Trivium, now on their sixth studio album, to follow suit. But the Floridan foursome aren’t playing ball. Vengeance Falls is a brutal dose of 21st century thrash metal, a stunning example of how a band’s sound can naturally evolve.

We spoke to bass player Paolo Gregoletto about tracking the record, working with producer David Draiman and how Trivium have hit top gear while staying true to their their raw as hell roots…

Page 1 of 6
Page 1 of 6
Writing and David Draiman

Writing and David Draiman

“We started writing around when [2011 album] In Waves came out. We were on tour and always had guitars lying around. So we would write riffs and we started demo-ing.

"We were writing and working together for just over a year before we started working with [producer/Disturbed frontman] David [Draiman], so we had a good headstart.

“We first talked about working with David on the Mayhem tour we were on with Disturbed. We gave David a copy of In Waves. A few days later he came back and was blown away by the record. He said he was going to have some time in 2013 and would love to work with us.

"We met up with him a couple of times on tour, and every time we met up with him it just seemed like the right idea. What he said he could do with Trivium on our next record just made sense.”

Page 2 of 6
Page 2 of 6
Pre-production and vibe

Pre-production and vibe

“One big thing David had us do was to come into pre-production and not be overly rehearsed. That has always been our thing: rehearsal is huge.

"He said we could know the parts but we should be open to them being able to change. When we did pre-production I think we had 14 songs, and he really dove into every aspect of the song.

"Usually in pre-production we would work a lot on the music, and the vocals would be kind of written or worked on in the studio. This time, vocals were worked on from day one. Matt [Heafy] and David would work out the melodies and cadences so that when we got to recording we knew how the vocals were going to sound.”

“I wanted it to have the vibe like when you’re playing live, and you’re in the moment and just vibing off the show and the crowd. In the studio it was very relaxed and we weren’t focused on rehearse, rehearse, rehearse.

"It was all about the music and the excitement of seeing a song come together. It was nice to come up with basslines on the spot and try them.”

Page 3 of 6
Page 3 of 6
Honing the tracks

Honing the tracks

“We set up in this area at David’s house with an electronic drum kit and small PA. David was there, our engineer was there and we just played through the songs.

"I’d say at this point 80% of the riffs and ideas were done. In pre-production David really focused in on Nick [Augusto, drums] and the vocals. But then on things like Brave This Storm and To Believe, on the original versions it was the same riff through the verse, but David suggested that it should change every time around.

"That was something we’d never done - where a riff is expanded upon, and there is so much detail to a verse part. He tried to push us where it felt like we were just repeating and repeating. He got us out of our comfort zones.

"He told us we were great musicians and we didn’t need to settle on something and just repeat it and repeat it because it is easy; we should put layers into the song, not just double things for the sake of it. You need dynamics. He did that with the vocals, too. It’s something we had never done before.”

Page 4 of 6
Page 4 of 6
Drums 'n' bass

Drums 'n' bass

“I played with Nick back in the day. Obviously it's different now. He has improved playing live - he is such a solid drummer.

"He does some really intricate stuff with his kicks, so it’s really nice to be able to lock in and follow that. I think in general it has changed us and we’re more into being a tight unit and locking up because Nick is really on top of that.”

Page 5 of 6
Page 5 of 6
Profiling and keeping it raw

Profiling and keeping it raw

“When we did the mix we went over to the UK for two weeks with Colin Richardson and Carl Bown. When they re-amped stuff they were using Kemper [Profiling Amps]. I had never seen one before.

"Carl was like, ‘OK, we’re going to re-amp this song'. I was looking around for the cab and head! He explained how the Kemper works - it’s crazy stuff. When he got those tones I thought it was insane. That’s how we got turned onto those [amps] and now we’re using them live.”

“That was a big thing that sold me on working with David. He sat us down and said that he knew we’d been building this for years and we couldn’t sacrifice what we are and what our roots are. He wanted to build upon that and take it to the next level. That made me comfortable working with David. He didn’t want to make something that wasn’t us.

“Melody has always been a big part of this band and we really wanted to push that. We wanted it to be powerful and have the aggression to back it up when it needed the next level. I was so happy to be able to keep that as a fan of melodic and extreme metal.”

Page 6 of 6
Page 6 of 6
Rich Chamberlain
Rich Chamberlain

Rich is a teacher, one time Rhythm staff writer and experienced freelance journalist who has interviewed countless revered musicians, engineers, producers and stars for the our world-leading music making portfolio, including such titles as Rhythm, Total Guitar, Guitarist, Guitar World, and MusicRadar. His victims include such luminaries as Ice T, Mark Guilani and Jamie Oliver (the drumming one).

Read more
Zach Myers of Shinedown plays a hunter green PRS NF53 live onstage at Download Festival 2025.
Zach Myers on Shinedown’s secret weapon, the limits of shred guitar, and getting schooled by BB King
 
 
Debbie Gough of Heriot demoes the new Jackson Pro Plus Metal Phase II Warrior on a darkened studio set.
Jackson adds Warrior, King V and Concert Bass to its limited edition Pro Plus Pure Metal range
 
 
Orbit Culture's guitarists
Orbit Culture show us their ESP guitars – and tell us why the EverTune bridge is a game-changer
 
 
Jackson Pro Series Misha Mansoor Juggernaut HT7 and HT7P
Misha Mansoor spills blood as a home shopping TV presenter to unveil new signature Jackson 7-strings
 
 
Zach Myers of Shinedown is bathed in blue stage lights and plays his custom-relic'd Silver Sky.
Shinedown’s Zach Myers on Paul Reed Smith, signature model updates, and that relic’d Silver Sky
 
 
Daron Malakian of System of a Down performs live in a wide-brimmed had with a custom Flying V with an open-book Gibson headstock.
Daron Malakian on how synth leads the guitar on his new album and why he doesn’t stick to one style
 
 
Latest in Singles And Albums
Graham Smyth
“I wanted to save my sister the torment of listening to songs about coconuts and infant fish”: Meet the DJ who’s made a babies' rave album
 
 
Bruce Springsteen, circa 1982
“It was kinda like punk rockabilly”: Springsteen to release electric versions of Nebraska tracks
 
 
Fred Durst of Limp Bizkit performs onstage during Leeds Festival at Bramham Park on August 24, 2025 in Leeds, Englan
"Please don't put it on the internet": Limp Bizkit tease new song with the help of a young social media drummer
 
 
Biran May and friends
"It's a classic... one of the best rock songs ever”: Which 2013 track could Brian May be talking about?
 
 
Damon Albarn in 2001
“A crazy amount of falsetto… definitely related to the drugs I was taking”: Damon Albarn let slips secret about debut Gorillaz album
 
 
Paul Mccartney Smoking A Cigarette At London In England On June 19Th 1967
“We decided that our audiences would come along with us”: Paul McCartney on how the avant garde influenced the Beatles
 
 
Latest in News
The new Gibson Murphy Lab Light Aged Acoustics released on 9 September 2025, all lined up in a wood-panneled show room with round windows and a rural landscape outside.
Gibson expands acoustic Murphy Lab collection with five Light Aged classics – including a Nick Lucas 1929 reissue
 
 
A mac book being closed
Transform your MacBook into a theremin! Or a creaking door!
 
 
TORONTO, ON - AUGUST 04: (EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NO STANDALONE PUBLICATION USE (NO SPECIAL INTEREST OR SINGLE ARTIST PUBLICATION USE; NO BOOK USE)) Taylor Swift, Swift and Bryan Adams rehearse onstage during the Taylor Swift reputation Stadium Tour at Rogers Centre on August 4, 2018 in Toronto, Canada. (Photo by Jason Kempin/TAS18/Getty Images for TAS)
Bryan Adams explains why the only person to do justice to Summer of '69 was Taylor Swift
 
 
Stu Mackenzie of King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard Rock band performs in a concert at Alcatraz in Milan
King Gizzard albums dominate the Bandcamp album chart after bold ‘name your price’ move
 
 
PRS S2 Mira 594: lined up against a PRS head and cab, the relaunched and refreshed Mira 594 is presented in blue, Matcha Green, red and Antique White
“I don’t think it found its true voice until now”: Revived, refreshed, PRS adds the Mira 594 to the S2 range
 
 
Walrus Audio Canvas Power USB: The compact pedalboard power supply can be charged via USB.
Walrus Audio’s Canvas Power USB is the super-compact device for powering your rig with a laptop charger
 
 

MusicRadar is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

  • About Us
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Terms and conditions
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Advertise with us
  • Accessibility Statement
  • Careers

© Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All rights reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885.

Please login or signup to comment

Please wait...