Trivium
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Trivium

“Honestly, Trivium wouldn’t exist without In Flames,” Trivium frontman Matt Heafy told Forte unequivocally. “They were one of the bands that showed me the extreme pairing of melodicism and brutality. The fact that they mix death metal, new wave and British heavy metal with traditional Swedish folk music, all into one amazing package, is simply mind-blowing!”
No prizes for guessing why Trivium chose the Swedish forefathers of death metal, In Flames, to join them on their first co-headline tour of Australia in years. “We’ve done tours with them already, so I’d say that they’re probably our closest friends of any band we know. It’ll be great to be back out on the road with them again – their album The Jester Race is one of my favourites of all time!”
Both bands, poised to play a full set at their upcoming November shows, will be a rare treat for fans, particularly those who love 2013’s Vengeance Falls, Trivium’s sixth release, never before heard live in Oz. “We’ve only toured the US on the back of Vengeance Falls so far, but the track Strife has definitely been getting the biggest reaction from the crowd. There’s something about that song that really connects.”
“However, my favourite song off the record is probably Wake – and trust me, you will not be disappointed. You can definitely expect to hear all your favourites live,” Matt promised, adding: “It’s been way too long since we’ve headlined down there. We only seem to keep doing festivals, so it’s time for our fans to be able to see us a little longer than the thirty or forty minutes we’d normally play.”
Matt is referring to Trivium playing Soundwave three times in the last four years – 2010, 2012 and 2014. “Soundwave Festival is absolutely incredible! Man, we have so many good memories,” Matt begun to reminisce. “Every time we’re out there with AJ [Maddah – famed festival founder and promoter] we always have such a good time. I love that guy. He was the first one to bring us to Australia.
“It’s cool that the bands chosen to play the festival span so many different genres. The first time we did Soundwave we met A Day to Remember. It was so funny because they’re pretty much my next door neighbours,” he laughed. “They live five minutes away from me in Florida, so it was crazy that we had to go to Australia for me to meet them!
“We’ve got to meet some of our favourite bands in the world thanks to Soundwave. Last time we were there with Avenged [Sevenfold], and a couple of years ago we were playing with Reel Big Fish, one of my first favourite bands ever! I was so excited that I finally got to meet them,” Matt grinned.
While swapping stories of the bands we’d grown up listening to, Matt is friendly, open and remarkably down to earth. We chat about when he first picked up a guitar at age 10 and how after being rejected by a pop punk band for a woeful rendition of Blink-182’s Dammit he found solace in Metallica’s Black album. In fact, many Trivium fans will know that Matt’s cover of Metallica’s No Leaf Clover at his high school talent show would subsequently lead to him being asked to join Trivium as the lead guitarist at the tender age of 12.
Matt has always maintained that he became Trivium’s frontman by accident after singer Brad Lewter quit the band. I wondered how he felt about the ‘F’ word: “Good question – I’ve never been asked about that at all before,” he smiled, then paused to find the right words. “When it comes to believing in fate, I guess some days I do, some days I don’t … there certainly is a factor of luck and timing in some of the things that have happened for us, but we’re always busting our arses to make those things happen.”
In a career-defining year, Trivium took out Kerrang! awards for Best International Newcomers and Album of the Year for 2005’s Ascendancy – and Matt tells me he’s well-aware that album is the yardstick by which all their releases thereafter have been judged. “We’ve always been criticised heavily, both positively and negatively, as a band. Ever since Ascendancy that’s been the story of our career.
“I think my Grandfather said it best,” he starts to chuckle at the memory, “but he speaks Japanese, so I’ll translate it the best way I can. He always said that a third of the world is going to love you, a third of the world is going to hate you, and the other third are not going to give a shit! And I think that theory works well for everything in life. So it’s really all about making the kind of music we wanna hear as fans of metal and that we’re making the type of music that we believe represents who we are – music that our band can stand behind. I feel like Australians in particular really respect that.
“In fact, after we play the Australian shows we’re going to get to work on a new Trivium album. We plan on going into the studio in January or February and having something out by the third quarter of next year. So we’re treating our time away as a little holiday – and my favourite thing to do in Australia, as all of our fans know, is eat and drink. Australian food is some of the best on the entire planet. Australian reds [wine] are my favourite reds in the world, and Chin Chin in Melbourne is probably one of my favourite restaurants ever!”
Let us eat, drink and play metal.
When&Where: 170 Russell – November 23 & November 24
By Natalie Rogers