TRIVIUM
"IT WAS EFFORTLESS"
Recording breakthrough album Ascendancy was a breeze for Trivium, even if frontman Matt Heafy was battling inner demons. He talks us through every blistering track
WORDS: STEPHEN HILL
PRESS
Trivium formed in 1999 in Orlando, when vocalist Matt Heafy was just 12 years old. Little did he know that six years later the press would hail them as the next Metallica.
Starting out as a trio, they released their debut album, Ember To Inferno, in 2003, catching the ear of Roadrunner Records’ legendary A&R man Monte Conner, who later signed them. By the time it came to making second album Ascendancy in 2004, Trivium had expanded to a quartet, featuring Matt, guitarist Corey Beaulieu, bassist Paolo Gregoletto and drummer Travis Smith. Produced by Jason Suecof and partly recorded at Tampa’s Morrisound Recording, the home of Floridian death metal, it brought classic metal’s dual guitar leads and melodies up to date in a thrilling, new-millennium way.
“Recording the album? It was easy, it was effortless,” says Matt. “We came into the studio having everything prepared beforehand, jamming in our storage place and singing and screaming the words.”
Trivium released Ascendancy in March 2005, and would play that main stage Download slot in summer, blowing up in the UK and beyond.
“It was just a super-exciting time, full of hopes,” remembers Matt with a smile.
THE END OF EVERYTHING
The start of Matt’s orchestral ambitions