TRIVIUM Recruits Drummer PAUL WANDTKE

December 5, 2015

TRIVIUM has tapped Chicago native Paul Wandtke as the band's new touring drummer.

Wandtke made his live debut with TRIVIUM earlier today (Saturday, December 5) at Knotfest in Toluca, Mexico.

Commented TRIVIUM guitarist/vocalist Matt Heafy: "I'll keep this short and sweet. Any change we've ever made in TRIVIUM has been necessary for the very survival of the band."

Matt Heafy's father Brian Heafy, who used to manage TRIVIUM, wrote on Instagram: "I had the pleasure meeting Paul Wandtke (TRIVIUM drummer) at the TRIVIUM in-store signing event and we had him over for Thanksgiving dinner! Paul and I also hung out for a bit at the TRIVIUM beer-tasting event.

"I know Matthew, Corey [Beaulieu, guitar], and Paolo [Gregoletto, bass] are excited about what Paul brings to the team. Incredible timing, vigorous work ethic and loves to practice. A player's player, from what I have seen. Hopefully everything works out positively.

"Many of you know I've been in the TRIVIUM camp (1999-2010) for quite a awhile and I've seen three drummers come and go, like the rest of you. During my time, one of the weakest links in the group has always been the drumming. All solid people, but not quite up to the standards [Matt, Corey and Paolo] place upon themselves. We wish them all well, never personal."

Wandtke has previously drummed for the hit musical "Rock Of Ages" and sat behind the kit for KILL HANNAH during the band's main-support run with the SMASHING PUMPKINS.

TRIVIUM in May 2014 parted ways with drummer Nick Augusto due to personal differences. Stepping in for him on TRIVIUM's recent dates and on the band's latest album, "Silence In The Snow", was the group's drum tech, Mat Madiro.

"Silence In The Snow" debuted at No. 19 on The Billboard 200 chart, having shifted 18,000 equivalent album units in the week ending October 8.

The Billboard 200 ranks the most popular albums of the week based on multi-metric consumption, which includes traditional album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA).

"Silence In The Snow" was released on October 2 via Roadrunner. The follow-up to 2013's "Vengeance Falls" was produced by Michael "Elvis" Baskette (SLASH, ALTER BRIDGE, THE AMITY AFFLICTION) and was mixed by Josh Wilbur (GOJIRA, LAMB OF GOD).

brianheafydrummer

I had the pleasure meeting Paul Wandtke (Trivium drummer) at the Trivium in-store signing event and we had him over for thanksgiving dinner! (Yoshiko) as usual prepared the best meal always delicious. Paul and I also hung out for a bit at the Trivium beer tasting event. I know Matthew, Corey, and Paolo are excited about what Paul brings to the team. Incredible Timing, vigorous work ethic and loves to practice. A players player from what I have seen. Hopefully everything works out positively. Many of you know I've been in the Trivium camp (1999-2010) for quite a awhile and I've seen 3 drummers come and go like the rest of you. Welcome Paul, hope you enjoyed the show!! (Paul 's first show just ended he jammed to 15,000+ in Mexico city.) Thank you Slipknot!!

A photo posted by Brian Heafy (@brianheafy1) on

Said what up to Chris Adler from Lamb of God

A photo posted by Paul Wandtke (@paulemusic) on

Find more on Trivium
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • reddit
  • email

Comments Disclaimer And Information

BLABBERMOUTH.NET uses the Facebook Comments plugin to let people comment on content on the site using their Facebook account. The comments reside on Facebook servers and are not stored on BLABBERMOUTH.NET. To comment on a BLABBERMOUTH.NET story or review, you must be logged in to an active personal account on Facebook. Once you're logged in, you will be able to comment. User comments or postings do not reflect the viewpoint of BLABBERMOUTH.NET and BLABBERMOUTH.NET does not endorse, or guarantee the accuracy of, any user comment. To report spam or any abusive, obscene, defamatory, racist, homophobic or threatening comments, or anything that may violate any applicable laws, use the "Report to Facebook" and "Mark as spam" links that appear next to the comments themselves. To do so, click the downward arrow on the top-right corner of the Facebook comment (the arrow is invisible until you roll over it) and select the appropriate action. You can also send an e-mail to blabbermouthinbox(@)gmail.com with pertinent details. BLABBERMOUTH.NET reserves the right to "hide" comments that may be considered offensive, illegal or inappropriate and to "ban" users that violate the site's Terms Of Service. Hidden comments will still appear to the user and to the user's Facebook friends. If a new comment is published from a "banned" user or contains a blacklisted word, this comment will automatically have limited visibility (the "banned" user's comments will only be visible to the user and the user's Facebook friends).