Matt Heafy has revealed he came close to quitting Trivium last year during what he called a “quiet explosion” within the band.
Amid the heavy metallers' North American tour marking the 20th anniversary of Ascendancy in 2025, things got pushed to near breaking point.
He explained to Metal Hammer: "[Our] chemistry starts falling apart a little bit.
"Not from one person, not from me, but it's just the sum of its parts. Things aren't going right. Quiet explosion. I'm tracking guitars. I stand up. I leave. I call [my wife] Ashley. I'm like, 'I'm done with this f****** band. I can't do this s*** anymore. It's 26, 27 years of this s*** that just keeps happening.'"
It was his wife, Ashley, that convinced him to give it another go.
Recalling the moment he felt ready to walk away, he continued: "[I was] at the Hangar [a converted hanger Trivium now use as a rehearsal and writing space]. I just start driving home, get home, turn my phone off. Like, 'I'm not going [back] in.' And then Ashley lets the dust settle, and she's like, 'You're not quitting the band. You can't quit the band. You're part of this band. You've got to figure this out. Go back to the studio.'"
Although Matt never called it quits, drummer Alex Bent did.
The frontman took a positive approach to his departure, insisting we are "tighter live than we've ever been" with Alex Rüdinger behind the drumkit.
He said: "Sometimes, when there's a change, when your favourite married couple gets divorced, you break up with your girlfriend, you get fired from your job, you fire someone from your company, sometimes things have to happen for the survival of the 'whole', or the 'whole' will not survive anymore.
"[Trivium] would have been gone. It would have been done. We made the correction, and now we are tighter live than we've ever been."
Fortunately, the band live to tell the tale and their new album, Crown In The Grave, is set to drop on November 20. Next month, Trivium are hitting the road with In Flames for a North American run with Orbit Culture, Fit For An Autopsy and Frozen Soul. A separate European run kicks off in spring 2027.