Note: This interview was supposed to occur at Bloodstock however due to some issues on the day for which several transportation pixies have been disembowelled and their remains left to remind the others of the penalties of failure, Corey kindly gave us an email interview instead.
Corey Beaulieu
With Trivium gearing up to release their 7th album in a few weeks, I had the opportunity to send some questions over to guitarist and backing harsh vocalist, Corey.
Huge thanks to Kirsten at Cosa Nostra for organising this and Corey for taking the time to answer my questions.
Photo Credits: Cosa Nostra PR for header image and Will Tudor Photography for all other images.
MT: You recently played at Bloodstock open-air festival in England. How did that go?
Corey: Bloodstock was amazing! We were honoured to be asked to be one of the headliners for the festival. The crowd was amazing and we couldn’t have asked for a better first show back in almost a year. Definitely a festival we would love to play again in the future.
MT: You’ve got a series of US tour dates coming up as well. Are you excited for them?
Corey: For sure! After having so much time off making an album and being away from touring it’s always fun to come back and get back on the road especially with a new album coming out – makes it even better. I’m stoked to play for our North American fans and get back out hanging out with the guys and the crew.
MT: You recently released a single from your upcoming album, Silence in the Snow. How do you think the response has been to it?
Corey: The response to Silence… has been amazing. The energy and excitement around this album is something I haven’t sensed around the band releasing an album in a while, we are beyond proud of this album and it’s nice to see the fans enjoying the music as well.
MT: How different would you say the new album is musically to your previous albums?
Corey: Musically it’s a more traditional metal vibe with our own modern take on it. Less non-stop lock-up double bass stuff than we did on the last 2 albums. It’s very powerful and melody driven with the vocals and guitar hooks. I really wanted to take the melodic guitar aspect of our band to new heights that I feel the last album lacked a lot of.
MT: Was the production of the upcoming album any different to previous albums?
Corey: We didn’t record any differently but the approach to the mix/master sonics of the record we did differently. Most modern albums are mixed and mastered really loud and we personally don’t like that approach to sound. We mixed and mastered the album lower then the typical modern album to preserve the dynamics of the album so when it is turned up there is headroom for everything to grow and get bigger – not get compressed and crushed from having nowhere for the music to go.
Corey
MT: Who normally writes the music in the band?
Corey: Paolo, Matt, and myself all write – whoever brings in a song or riff idea, we all work on it together to make it a true Trivium song. Everyone putting their stamp on a song really what brings out what Trivium is. Having 3 songwriters in the band is great because we never are short of material.
MT: A little while ago, Matt had to have throat surgery. I noticed that at the festival you were doing most of the harsh vocals. Is this related to Matt’s surgery?
Corey: Matt didn’t have surgery, he blew his voice out on tour but not serious enough to have to get surgery. After the issue, he started taking vocal lessons and the way he was screaming for years was damaging his vocal chords and interfering with his singing. He didn’t scream for the last part of touring while he learned a new, safer way of doing it. He’s had over a year of practice developing the new technique and this last run we did in Europe he’s back to doing harsh vocals live again.
MT: Trivium has been going for 15 years now. Do you think much has changed in the music industry in that time?
Corey: It’s definitely changed with how people get music, with YouTube, Spotify, iTunes etc. It’s in transition – when we first came out in 2005, CD sales were still doing well and over the years the whole amount of CDs being bought has kept going down. People still love music, more than ever – it’s just finding the new platform that gets people to legally have access to it and not download it for free. The internet and social media has really changed the way bands and fans interact and how content is released to the public.
MT: With it being 10 years since the release of Ascendancy are you going to be doing anything special for it?
Corey: When the anniversary came around earlier in the year we gave it a shout out, released some video content to celebrate the album, but that’s about it. No re-release or full album played live stuff. We’re focused on our new album and continuing pushing the band into the future . Maybe if people care as much for 20-25th we would do something more.
MT: What’s the wildest thing you’ve seen or done whilst on tour/at a gig?
Corey: We are a pretty tame band on tour, just hanging out, joking around, having some drinks. Back in the early days we definitely wanted the full rockstar experience of what it’s like being on tour so indulged in looking for chicks all the time (haha) so there’s probably some good stories from that era but I won’t go into detail on the shenanigans!
MT: What inspired you to start playing guitar?
Corey: Metallica! Guns N Roses got me into hard rock/metal which lead me to discover Metallica and when I heard riffs and songs that they did the idea of wanting to play guitar came pretty quick.
MT: Without mentioning Metallica, which 80’s thrash band would you like to have been a member of?
Corey: Ha! Definitely Megadeth. Mustaine and Friedman were huge influences growing up so that would have been a fun band to be a part of.
MT: What’s your live setup like? I seem to recall you saying in another interview that you use Kemper amplifiers and Jackson guitars. Is that correct?
Corey: Yes, my Jackson Signature guitars and a Kemper is my whole live setup. Very basic and simple but sounds amazing . Kemper is an amazing piece of gear.
MT: Finally, what advice would you give to a young band that is just starting out?
Corey: Being in a band is hard work and it takes real dedication to make it in a very tough business. Starting a band you gotta have a vision of what you want to do with it. Take your influences and take it to a new place, try to put your own twist on it to give your band something unique and special to bring to the table.
Trivium’s new album, Silence in The Snow comes out on October 2nd via Roadrunner Records.
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