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Interview with Matt Heafy of Trivium |
GREG GILES: How you doing, Matt? MATT HEAFY: Very good, very good, just it’s all rainy and shitty out. GG: How’s the SOTU tour going so far? MH: Very good, it’s been incredible crowds, lots of people, lots of great bands. GG: Is it a little bit different from the Ozzfest experience? MH: Yeah, Yeah, This one’s more…this is more about the bands. You know, it doesn’t feel as corporate, I guess…it’s about the bands, and everyone has a good time, and everyone bonds pretty well. GG: It’s kind of interesting, because on off days you do things such as play at THE ROCKER in Grand Rapids, MI, for a couple hundred people. It’s got to be quite a difference from… MH: …Yeah, that was a bowling alley. |
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| GG: Yeah, it WAS a bowling alley. Was it “Spinal Tappish” or what? MH: Yeah…the kids were awesome, though. I don’t think anyone knew about the show. GG: It wasn’t promoted that well, or what. MH: A hundred people showed up, you tell me. GG: You know this question is coming, the reference to METALLICA… MH: Yep… GG: …You guys are garnering a lot of comparisons to METALLICA, so do you believe that METALLICA was…heavy metal, and do you believe that you’re the future of heavy metal?
GG: Right, lets face it, you grew up playing the riffs off of a sweet METALLICA album, not learning some crappy, nu –metal riff. MH: Exactly GG: Can you preview the new material for us? MH: …it’s all done, it’s recorded, it comes out October tenth on ROADRUNNER RECORDS…it’s some of the most metal stuff we’ve ever done before. On one end, some of the songs are way simpler than anything, and on the other end, some of the songs are way more technical than any of the things we’ve done. We have an eight and a half minute instrumental song, that’s completely tech’d out, and just ridiculous. It’s like time changes, key changes, some of the hardest shit we’ve ever played. It goes in and out of that stuff, …and like I said, on the other end, …I think the second single, it sounds like something SKID ROW or MOTLEY CRUE would have done. GG: Sweet! What SKID ROW album? MH: Uh…The first one. GG: You’ve got a lot of fast tempo stuff, and I ask a lot of musician’s this. What’s the key to relaxation, and …really finding the groove, to relax, and play the notes that fast, and concentrate on your singing.
GG: You don’t relax? MH: Our shows are really fucking intense… GG: Well, I understand, stage presence is one thing, but as far as mental relaxation… MH: I think its just when you practice so much, …the four of us have mastered, well not MASTERED, but mastered (our instruments) to the degree of our lives right now. When we’re that prepared, we go up there, and it just blanks out. You don’t have to think of anything, so, I guess that’s the best form. When you’re so prepared for it and you don’t have to think about it, it becomes just instinct…and your instrument becomes an extension of you. GG: And that comes from practice? MH: A lot, yeah. GG: How’s Rita doing? I think Rita Haney was your tour manager for awhile, is that true? MH: No, she just comes out and visits at least once every tour. GG: That’s Dimebag Darryl’s girlfriend, at the time? MH: Yes GG: …How did you get to end up using his (Dimebag Darryl) guitars on that show. I saw pictures of you guys… MH: Well, she found out that we’ve been doing, I mean, ever since…the actual incident happened, we started doing uh…we did “Cemetery Gates” back then. Probably about a year and a half ago. When the one year anniversary came around, we started doing “Domination” and “Walk”. …She took notice of that, and for the actual anniversary show we did, at the 9:30 club in D.C., she flew over there with two of his guitars, the steel plated one from “Reinventing The Steel” and the rebel flag one. Those were his two actual guitars and they had the same strings on them that he used, the same picks, the same straps, and everything. So, she felt us worthy enough to use them, and then after words, we picked up a few of his endorsements, and now play the guitars that he designed, and that he never got to play. The RAZORBACKS and the RAZOR-V’s. Those were guitars that he actually drew up, and never got to play…and now we get to play them. She gave us, she bestowed us with that honor.
MH: Yeah. GG: Awesome, man. Alright, and your best Dimebag Darryl memory is? MH: I never got to meet him. I got to see him once, so I’d say just listening to him every single time that I can, even now. That’s probably the best memories. GG: Thank you…you’ve been very cordial. Take it easy. MH: Thank you very much.
Trivium will be sharing the stage at the Orbit Room on March 17, 2007 with Lamb of God, Machine Head and Gojira.
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MH:
I’d like to think that, and...a lot of people say “you
get compared a lot, is that a bad thing?”…I think
that’s one of the best things ever. I mean it’s better
than being compared to some mediocre band of the last five or
ten years, right?
MH:
Well, we don’t really relax.
GG:
Pretty spiritual thing to have Dimebag Darryl’s guitars
in your hand at the time?