TRIVIUM Announce New Drummer; Introduced To Band By DREAM THEATER's Mike Mangini

Trivium have posted the following update in regards to their split with drummer Mat Madiro, and the addition of new drummer Paul Wandtke:

“We are writing this to let you all know that Trivium has amicably parted ways with Mat Madiro as our drummer. Mat stepped up for us at a dire moment where it was either leave a tour, or carry on. With Mat, we will forever be eternally grateful of everything he helped us out with. Mat’s time filling in for us was much appreciated. Creatively though, we felt at this time we needed to make a change. And every change, every difficult decision and every evolution that Trivium has either decided, or been forced to make has been for the necessary for us to continue on as a functioning band. The things that go on behind the scenes that directly involve the Trivium members aren’t always apparent from an outside fan’s perspective.

“With that said our new drummer is Paul Wandtke from Chicago, IL. With Paul, we took our careful time deciding exactly what had to happen and how. We spent our time checking out, trying out and feeling out many drummers this time around. After much deliberation, Paolo said to Matt one day “you should hit up John Petrucci and see if he has an ideas.” We figured our friend John may have some ideas from the Berklee-world.

“John brought Mike Mangini into the conversation and within minutes of describing our conundrum to Mike, he had a name: Paul Wandkte. Paul studied under Mike at Berklee, and obviously made an impression on a man we consider to be one of the greatest drummers on the planet. Paul made his debut with us in thunderous fashion this past weekend by playing to 40,000 fans at Knotfest Mexico (fan video below). And he nailed it. We hope to work with Paul for a long time and we hope the Trivium fans around the world welcome him with open arms.”

Says Paul, “I was blown away when Trivium had contacted me. I have been looking for a place to call home all my life, a home of brothers with similar tastes in music, musicianship and goals. I’d like to thank Dream Theater’s Mike Mangini for getting us in contact. I couldn’t be happier, this is literally life changing. Never give up, be yourself and rock on.”

Trivium has announced details of a winter headline trek, which will see the band performing their first shows of 2016 in support of their new LP, Silence In The Snow. The new dates are set to get underway January 8th at Charleston, South Carolina’s Music Farm with additional dates to be announced shortly. Tickets for all dates are on sale now. For complete tour information, visit this location.

Long known as one of modern metal’s most potent live acts, Trivium are also set to take the stage at a myriad of international hard rock and metal festivals this summer. Dates include appearances at Columbus, Ohio’s Rock On The Range, Mendig, Germany’s Rock AM Ring, Nuremberg, Germany’s Rock im Park, Paris France’s Download Festival and many more.

Tour dates:

January
8 – The Music Farm – Charleston, SC
9 – Capone’s – Johnson City, TN
11 – Chameleon Club – Lancaster, PA
14 – Asylum – Portland, ME
16 – The Lost Horizon – Syracuse, NY
18 – Dallas Nightclub – Kitchener, Canada
20 – The Machine Shop – Flint, MI
21 – Route 20 Outhouse – Racine, WI
22 – Boondocks Pub – Springfield, IL
23 – The Vanguard – Tulsa, OK

May
20 – Rock On The Range – Columbus, OH

June
3 – Rock AM Ring – Mendig, Germany
3 – Rock im Park – Nuremberg, Germany
9 – Nova Rock – Nickelsdorf, Austria
9 – Greenfield Festival – Interlaken, Switzerland
10 – Download Festival – Paris, France
17 – Graspop Metal Meeting – Dessel, Belgium
23 – Nummirock Metal Festival – Nummijärvi, Finland

Trivium are:

Matt Heafy: vocals, guitars
Corey Beaulieu: guitars
Paolo Gregoletto: bass
Paul Wandkte: drums