Update: Since this story ran, drummer Paul Wandtke has confirmed that he is no longer a part of Trivium. Posting on his website, Wandtke authored a piece with the headline, "I guess the rumors were true" referring to the hearsay that he had been replaced by Alex Bent (Bent's involvement has yet to be confirmed). Along with this came a video of the skinsman tracking drums for his new band Bedlem.

Trivium  vocalist / guitarist Matt Heafy, guitarist Corey Beaulieu and bassist Paulo Gregoletto have served as the band's core lineup since 2004. The drum position, however, has been a bit of a revolving door since Travis Smith departed the band in 2009 after a decade of service. With Alex Bent as the rumored new skinsman, Heafy revealed what's been going on internally with Trivium and that pesky drum slot.

"What I feel we need to clarify, is that the last three drummers [Nick Augusto, Mat Madiro, Paul Wandtke], everyone has been a session drummer within our band," Heafy told Metal Insider in a recent interview. "As far as the rumors go with who plays with us now, I really like to push with people, is that the last time we had an official band member that was a drummer, was Travis."

Elaborating on why they opted to part ways with Smith, the Trivium mainman said, "The chemistry between the four of us…we weren’t able to make something great between the four of us anymore, so we decided among all four of us that we need to separate." Adding how each drummer will always have their own future in their hands, Heafy admitted, "It’s very difficult for anybody to fill the shoes of a legacy and a time. Only time will tell, and we’ve always been up for what the fourth player brings to the table."

Reiterating how fans likely may not have known that these drummers were session musicians, Heafy took blame alongside the rest of the core members for not making this information clear. "We wish nothing but the best for anyone that’s ever played with us," he added, "But sometimes a session musician is the same idea as the band’s sound guy — you’re working for the same common goal with them, but those aren’t the people in the band."

While Bent's name was brought up during the interview, Heafy himself never made any mention of Bent's rumored involvement with the band, nor did he deny it, opting to forego any acknowledgement of Bent's name. The Trivium Facebook page also still lists Wandtke as the band's drummer.

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