Since they began touring a few years ago, Trivium have built an astonishing resume of accomplishments, considering that they were teenagers when their Roadrunner Records debut and second album, %Ascendancy%, came out in 2005. Trivium has played an amazing 350 shows around the world in the past two years. They headlined a sold-out U.K. tour and were one of the headliners at the Download Festival, held in the U.K. and the biggest annual rock festival in the world. They have opened for Metallica and shared a magazine cover with Kirk Hammett, did a summer-long Ozzfest, and were one of the headliners on the 2006 Sounds of the Underground tour. Trivium just completed their first major U.S. headlining tour and are currently doing a world tour with Iron Maiden.

      Trivium includes Matt Heafy - vocals and guitar, Corey Beaulieu - guitar, Paolo Gregoletto - bass and Travis Smith - drums. Their debut album, %Ember To Inferno%, was released in 2003 by independent label Lifeforce Records. Since signing with Roadrunner, Trivium has received the highest accolades and top honors from metal publications worldwide. Their third album, %The Crusade%, was released on October 10, and was one the most anticipated albums of the year. Bassist Paolo Gregoletto tells us why.

     InsideCX: I understand that the title of your new album reflects all the relentless touring over the last two years. What surprises came your way on this outing?

     PG: This was defiantly the test of what the last two years of touring as a support act in the U.S. has done for us. We did not really know what to expect because we have never headlined in the U.S. We could tell that we are bringing in a lot of new people; some shows are bringing in up to a thousand people.

     InsideCX: Even with 185,000 Myspace friends, 150,000 copies of %Ascendancy% sold in the U.S., and the album going Gold in the U.K., it still seems like you are finding your audience.

     PG: Every show [played] has been to such diverse groups of people. We don't cater to any one scene. The people that come out are young and old. Last night a whole family came over for autographs after the show—a mom and a dad with their kids. That is really cool to see.

     InsideCX: From what I hear, as big as you are here, you are that much bigger in the U.K.

     PG: We did the Roadrunner Road Rage tour over there and every night was just unreal. Kids were chanting our name and the CD had just come out. Before the tour was over we were asked to play the main stage at the Download Festival and 40,000 people showed up at 11:00 in the morning to see us. It was crazy! Up until that point that was the most people we had played for, and that was probably the start of it all. There really is nothing like that in the U.S.

     InsideCX: What do you think it is about the band and its music that has attracted so many fans so quickly?

     PG: It's so weird for us. It does not feel like that, but having put out a record two years ago, I think our music and our performance have a lot of integrity.

     InsideCX: How do you think that you are growing as musicians and as people, having started so young and now barely into your 20s?

     PG: Playing every night, you get better. I think that our new CD is a step in the direction we want to go. Hopefully the next few CDs will have that masterpiece, that amazing CD! That takes time. It's not the "be all, end all" of what we will ever do. Touring has defiantly changed us and our lifestyle for the good.