Formation and Ember to Inferno (1999–2004)

The band formed in 1999 by singer and bassist Brad Lewter, guitarist Jarred Bonaparte, and drummer Travis Smith. They choosing the name "Trivium" from a Latin three-way intersection to describe their music as combining metalcore, melodic death metal and thrash metal. Singer Brad Lewter then saw Heafy performing a cover version of "No Leaf Clover" by Metallica at Heafy's eighth-grade talent show and later asked him to try out for his band as lead guitarist. The pair went over to drummer Travis Smith's house where they played a rendition of Metallica's "For Whom the Bell Tolls". Impressed with Heafy's performance, they accepted him into the band. Lewter played a number of local gigs with the band before departing about a year later. In mid-2001, Trivium parted ways with its bassist. Trivium asked Richie Brown from local black metal band Mindscar to fill in on bass duties until a full-time member could be brought in. A string of successful shows followed and then a search was conducted for a permanent bassist. In 2001, the band played at a fundraiser for Chuck Schuldiner.