‘First we take the world’
Trivium makes no bones about being ambitious and confident
Mike Wärkentin

Dumping on Trivium has become a pastime of sorts for bangers.

The metalcore band is young, cocky, aggressive and outspoken, and guitarist/singer Matt Heafy, drummer Travis Smith, guitarist Corey Beaulieu and bassist Paolo Gregoletto make no bones about wanting to become as big as Metallica.

Well shit — why don’t you guys just tell the world you’re going to sell more records than The Rolling Stones and make Pantera look like a bunch of schoolgirls playing Kum Bay Yah on acoustic guitars? Maybe piss on Cliff Burton’s grave while you’re at it.

Then again, it’s refreshing to interview someone who isn’t afraid to say he wants to take over the metal world.

“No one else actually says it,” says up-and-coming shredder Heafy, 20. “I’d hope that every band would want to, but yeah, there are a lot of bands that... say like, ‘We want to play garages forever and live in a van and never eat and never take care of ourselves.’ There are some bands that are content with that, but we’re not. We’re not content with second best, and I guess that’s what people have a problem with.”

He adds: “They just make stuff up because they’re mad, jealous or they wish they were doing it or whatever, or they don’t like us or we fuckin’ beat them up in high school — you never know.

“I mean, there’s ammunition for different reasons. All that matters is that they’re saying ‘Trivium.’ That’s all that matters to us. Whether they’re saying ‘Trivium sucks’ or ‘Trivium rules,’ they’re putting our name out there to the world.”

And Trivium has been getting a lot of press. Metal Hammer, Revolver and the like are all over the Florida-based band, and Heafy and Beaulieu are currently writing a column for Guitar World. The band is invariably also the subject of endless debates on message boards and in the letters pages of industry mags.

“Yet another piece on that smug kiddie band Trivium. Is it just me that thinks they sound as fake as Jordan’s jugs?” wrote reader Rod Huncher in the July 2006 issue of Metal Hammer.

Hammer’s editors defended the band, and that seems to be the smart play given that Trivium is starting to back up its boasts. Trivium may not be Metallica, but sophomore disc Ascendancy (2005) certainly put the Florida-based quartet on the right path. Heafy says the September release of follow-up The Crusade should silence more than a few haters.

“People definitely did (bash us), but I don’t think they do anymore because I think it’s one of those things where this band was claiming all this shit, like ‘Hey we’re going to be great, we’re gonna fuckin’ do this, we’re gonna do that.’ But then finally they kinda see that it started to happen, so everyone kinda shut their mouth after that.”

It also helps that Metallica is actually in Trivium’s corner. The youngsters did several dates in Europe with James, Lars, Robert and Kirk, and Heafy says winning the approval of his heroes more than balances any vitriol.

“Anytime anyone says, ‘Trivium is shit-talked about — how do you feel about that?’ all I’ve got to say in response to that is Metallica and Iron Maiden like Trivium, and that’s all that matters.

“If that’s not right I don’t wanna know what is right.”

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