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
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
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
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
JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE! "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" airs every weeknight at 11:35 p.m. ET and features a diverse lineup of guests that include celebrities, athletes, musical acts, comedians and human interest subjects, along with comedy bits and a house band. The guests for Monday, September 8 included Spinal Tap (Nigel Tufnel aka Christopher Guest, David St. Hubbins aka Michael McKean and Derek Smalls aka Harry Shearer) and Marty DiBergi (aka Rob Reiner) ("Spinal Tap II: The End Continues"), and musical guest Spinal Tap. (Disney/Randy Holmes) SPINAL TAP  (Photo by Randy Holmes/Disney via Getty Images)
Bands Five basses! Spinal Tap recruit Tal Wilkenfeld and Thundercat for bottom-heavy Jimmy Kimmel performance
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
  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
Ronnie Wood, Mick Jagger and Keith Richard of The Rolling Stones perform during the final night of the Hackney Diamonds '24 Tour at Thunder Ridge Nature Arena
“They’re all hyped up”: Marlon Richards says that the Stones have been recording a new album in London
 
 
LONDON, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 10: Birdy performs at the VIP Opening of the David Bowie Centre, V&A East Storehouse, on September 10, 2025 in London, England. (Photo by Dave Benett/Getty Images for David Bowie Centre at V&A East Storehouse)
Jeff Beck, Roxy Music and Miles Davis all make the list of David Bowie’s 15 favourite tracks
 
 
JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE! "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" airs every weeknight at 11:35 p.m. ET and features a diverse lineup of guests that include celebrities, athletes, musical acts, comedians and human interest subjects, along with comedy bits and a house band. The guests for Monday, September 8 included Spinal Tap (Nigel Tufnel aka Christopher Guest, David St. Hubbins aka Michael McKean and Derek Smalls aka Harry Shearer) and Marty DiBergi (aka Rob Reiner) ("Spinal Tap II: The End Continues"), and musical guest Spinal Tap. (Disney/Randy Holmes) SPINAL TAP  (Photo by Randy Holmes/Disney via Getty Images)
Five basses! Spinal Tap recruit Tal Wilkenfeld and Thundercat for bottom-heavy Jimmy Kimmel performance
 
 
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
 
 
Latest in News
ELMONT, NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 07: Sombr performs during the 2025 MTV Video Music Awards at UBS Arena on September 07, 2025 in Elmont, New York. (Photo by Arturo Holmes/Getty Images for MTV)
“In the actual song you hear today, the guitars, the riff, the bass, the drums and all the vocals are from those initial takes I did in my bedroom”: Sombr on the making of viral hit Undressed, and his formula for creating "a legendary indie rock song"
 
 
Adrian Sherwood
Dub pioneer Adrian Sherwood on embracing AI and playing the studio like an instrument
 
 
Jacob Collier
Using his signature ‘DAEAD’ tuning, Jacob Collier recorded a 5-string acoustic guitar album in just four days
 
 
Deals of the week
MusicRadar deals of the week: Score a mind-blowing $1,000 off the stunning D'Angelico Excel SS, $500 off the gorgeous Heritage Standard H-535, and so much more
 
 
English band Radiohead performs live on stage at I-days Festival. June 17th, 2017
“An attempt to deliver tickets as fairly as possible”: Radiohead defend ticketing system
 
 
A robot band in 1958
Deezer report that it’s now receiving over 30,000 fully AI-generated tracks every day
 
 

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...