TRIVIUM officially kicked off a new chapter this past Friday, October 31, with their first live performance featuring new drummer Alex Rüdinger (ex-WHITECHAPEL). The band tore through the opening show of their “Struck Dead” North American tour at the House Of Blues in North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, delivering a night fans won’t soon forget. Fan-filmed footage from the performance has already started circulating online, giving a glimpse of the band’s electrifying return to the stage.
On October 27, Rüdinger posted a photo of his current drum setup on social media, accompanied by the following message: “Quick shot of the setup I’ll be using on this run with @triviumband !
“Last couple of weeks have been pretty crazy (in a good way!). As [TRIVIUM] mentioned in their initial post [announcing Rüdinger‘s addition to the band], there’s some history between us. Nearly 10 years ago, I was asked about playing with TRIVIUM, & it was honestly one of the most conflicting situations of my career. My band at the time, GOOD TIGER, had just launched, & we had just completed this crowdfunding campaign that raised us a ton of money to start this new band.
“I honestly didn’t know what to do. Part of me was worried about how it would look — start this new band, then bail to join an already established band. That was definitely one thought that I had. But more than anything, at the time — I didn’t want to let my friends down. The whole reason I did GT was because we were friends, first & foremost.
“I was totally upfront with GT — they even encouraged me to go & meet TRIVIUM. They didn’t want me to leave, but they didn’t want me to stay and regret it. So I did — I flew down to Florida, & spent some time with Matt, Corey, & Paolo.
“In the end, I made the decision that I thought was right, & not what was truly best for myself. If I had been honest with myself, the truth was that I wanted to do this back then. But that’s not the decision that I made, & it’s something I did in fact come to regret (quite a lot).
“But life goes on, & while I often looked back on it & wondered what might have been, you can’t change the past. So I did my best to move on, & life took me where it took me.
“Then two weeks ago, that all changed. I saw that they parted ways with their drummer, I immediately reached out, & here I am.
“To say I’m thrilled to be doing this is truly an understatement. I feel as though I have an incredibly rare opportunity — a second chance at something that I always wanted. It’s honestly quite surreal.
“I’m just incredibly thankful, excited, & can’t wait to play these 13-14 songs that I’ve learned thus far (& in time, even more!).
“Thank you Matt, Corey, & Paolo for trusting me to do your music justice, & welcoming me (again) with such enthusiasm.
“That’s all for now, ya’ll – hope to see you at a show!
TRIVIUM frontman Matt Heafy responded in the comments on Alex’s post: “Thank you so much Rudi-san. It took us a decade — but we’re finally making music together. Here’s to the future!”
TRIVIUM parted ways with longtime drummer Alex Bent earlier in October.
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