TRIVIUM's PAOLO GREGOLETTO On ALEX BENT's Departure: "No CRADLE OF FILTH-Style Drama"

Trivium bassist Paolo Gregoletto sat down with Baby Huey and Chasta from 107.7 The Bone to break the silence around the departure of longtime drummer Alex Bent after nearly a decade together.

"We've had a great nine years together," Gregoletto said. "It's kind of a weird thing because, obviously, being in a band together – but I feel like because we've all had families and stuff, there's a tighter connection there than even just what people see. So I think it's one of those things, we all were kind of sad, but at the same time, we said, 'Alex, we want you to kind of make the statement. You kind of lead how you'd like to handle all this stuff.'"

He continued, "I didn't wanna put words in his mouth or say whatever. He made the statement. I feel like we ended on great terms. And that's really kind of it. I mean, there's no juicier Cradle of Filth-style drama. And, again, it's one of those things where we wanted him to make a statement."

Despite the sudden split, Trivium wanted to handle it differently than some other bands that really air out their drama. Gregoletto explained: "In the past we've always been very like – we don't really like to get into any behind-the-scenes stuff with that. And, of course, we've had changes before, but we felt like in this instance, rather than just saying 'we're parting' or whatever, we told Alex, like, 'Well, you've been around for so long, our fans would wanna hear from you.'"

He continued: "We didn't tell Alex, 'You can't say this or that.' And then just give it 24 hours. And then as we hit the stage [at Aftershock], be like, 'Okay, this is the guy playing with us for today, for the tour,' and then that's kind of it."

Stepping into Bent's shoes is none other than Sepultura's powerhouse drummer Greyson Nekrutman, who made his live debut with Trivium at the same Aftershock set (and is still in Sepultura).

"It's been a crazy whirlwind," said Gregoletto of Nekrutman's last-minute call-up. "He was on a tour in Canada, a drum-clinic tour. And he said, 'Yeah, I'll do it.' He got home, spent two 12-hour days just in there working on it, and then we flew him down. We jammed for two days, flew out here, and we're gonna go jam in our little room here in a bit."

While Nekrutman is currently on loan, Trivium are making the most of the arrangement: "Everything's good. I feel like there's good vibes," Gregoletto said. "Of course, it's one chapter ending, but I feel like the music that we made [with Alex] for the last nine years was great. And especially for the EP Struck Dead coming [in late October], if that's kind of the end cap on this era of Trivium [with Alex], I'm very happy with everything we did."

So what's next for Trivium, and who'll sit behind the kit in the long term? "We're gonna be out, I think, in Europe next summer," Gregoletto confirmed. "The first couple months [of 2026] is gonna be kind of, like, of course, working on the next full-length record and stuff. And then we're gonna probably take a little bit of time and maybe jam with some people, just kind of see what we're feeling for the next step."

He was honest about the band's current uncertainty: "This is still kind of new, so we're not totally sure what we're gonna do about a new drummer, but we've never really taken a moment to kind of just step back."

With Nekrutman's help, the band is set through the end of 2025. "Greyson is incredible, but he is with Sepultura. And they have commitments, and we're very lucky that there's no clashes at the moment. He can get us through the end of the year, and we feel like the songs are in good hands."

But Trivium isn't rushing the decision: "Once we get off the road, once we get to holidays, everyone's got clear heads — we know a lot of great people, and we don't know if there's someone that might be interested in that," Gregoletto said. "So we're like, well, let's just take a moment. And next year we'll get into that. And then, of course, the record is gonna be the big thing for us. And, of course, you know what follows that — more touring, coming back around."