{"id":581447,"date":"2026-08-11T13:36:13","date_gmt":"2026-08-11T13:36:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/581447\/"},"modified":"2026-08-11T13:36:13","modified_gmt":"2026-08-11T13:36:13","slug":"trivium-the-story-behind-the-album-the-crusade","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/581447\/","title":{"rendered":"Trivium: the story behind the album The Crusade"},"content":{"rendered":"

Trivium<\/a> shot to fame with 2005\u2019s breakout album Ascendancy<\/a> and a star-making appearance at that year\u2019s Download festival<\/a>. But the following year\u2019s The Crusade saw a backlash hit. In 2006, Metal Hammer caught up with the band on their first US tour to talk success, snobbery and the blessing of metal\u2019s biggest bands.<\/p>\n

The desert sun is blazing in a cloudless sky, turning your heavy breastplate into a furnace and boiling your brain in the heated metal confines of your helmet. Your coarse woolen tunic tears at your flesh while you struggle to keep your spear steady and your aim true. You drop the encumbering weight of your shield but your cape still tugs at your neck, belabouring your breath and making your fear of heights all the more unbearable as you stand atop a cliffside wondering whether the tiny holes dotting the landscape really are home to poisonous snakes.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

It\u2019s only noon, but your head screams with pain as you contemplate whether pounding over a dozen shots of Crown Royal whiskey and J\u00e4germeister until 6am this morning was such a good idea. You smile faintly at a couple of joggers who wave as they pass by. They might just be wondering whether you\u2019re the first human being in the 15 million year history of Phoenix, Arizona\u2019s Papago Park to turn up dressed like a Spartan warrior. You\u2019re Matt Heafy<\/a>, 20-year-old frontman of Trivium, and for you, life has just gotten seriously weird.<\/p>\n

If you were one of the thousands of metalheads on hand to witness Trivium\u2019s slot at Download 2005, you might have some idea why. Just a few weeks before, the Floridian upstarts\u2019 rapturously received UK tour was enough to propel a last minute change from a tent show to Donington\u2019s centre stage. And it was also enough to make many believe that Trivium, this previously unknown dynamo of the live circuit, had suddenly arrived. Not even slightly.<\/p>\n

Nearly 18 months have now passed, and in that time they\u2019ve played nearly 400 shows. 2005\u2019s Ascendancy has sold over 300,000 records worldwide, and the follow-up The Crusade has swiftly topped that with over 400,000 units shifted \u2013 90,000 passed over the counter in the UK alone. 60,000 of those moved on the first day of release. Impressive stuff for a band that only formed in 2000 and whose average age is a mere 22.<\/p>\n

You may like<\/p>\n

But forget about numbers for a moment. Download 2006 also saw Trivium on the main stage at Download \u2013 twice. First, in the middle of the afternoon, and later on alongside none other than Sunday headliners Metallica<\/a>. Kirk Hammett was wearing one of their shirts. Talk about your stellar ascents and golden stamps of approval.<\/p>\n

You might wonder why it is then that Trivium are only just now playing their first headlining tour of the United States. Or why, in some circles, their album\u2019s received a swift dismissal as a mere facsmile of Metallica riffs and, perhaps cutting closer to the bone, James Hetfield\u2019s trademark vocal style. It would seem that being in the good graces of one of the biggest bands of all time has become something of a poison chalice.<\/p>\n

Sign up below to get the latest from Metal Hammer, plus exclusive special offers, direct to your inbox!<\/p>\n

\u201cLook, it\u2019s probably not what people think,\u201d says bassist Paolo Gregoletto, kicking his snakeskin boots into the dust in the direction of drummer Travis Smith, who\u2019s nursing the worst hangover from last night\u2019s drunken late night festivities judging by the kill-me-now grimace on his face. \u201cMetallica approached us, so it wasn\u2019t like we were all, \u2018hey, we want to talk to them\u2019. They dug what we were doing and that was an honour. Besides, we made The Crusade before we even met them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read that last sentence again and ask yourself why the diminuitive four-stringer would say such a thing. It would seem the M-word strikes a nerve. But there\u2019s more to the latest chapter in Trivium\u2019s story than once favourable comparisons to their idols transforming into the basis of derision. Or their crusade to gain acceptance in their homeland after receiving such a warm embrace in the UK. For that, we quick-march off to a waiting cab, kicking up dust in the setting sunlight of Papago Park, trying to remember the lyrics to that odious but diabolically infectious Paul Stanley song and dodging the tiny holes in the ground.<\/p>\n

\n

\"Trivium\n<\/p>\n

Trivium in 2006: (from left) Corey Beaulieu, Matt Heafy. Travis Smith, Paolo Gregoletto (Image credit: Press)<\/p>\n

\u201cMetalica are YouTube fanatics,\u201d laughs Paolo. We\u2019re just boarding the air-conditioned splendour of Trivium\u2019s tour bus outside the arse-end of Phoenix\u2019s Marquee Theatre where they\u2019re due to play tonight. Perhaps tellingly, the 1,000 capacity venue isn\u2019t sold out. Someone\u2019s fingered \u2018I love you Corey!!!\u2019 and a big heart into the behemoth\u2019s desert-dusted side. Travis and Matt immediately collapse in their bunks.<\/p>\n

What to read next<\/p>\n

\u201cThey were like, \u2018yeah man, check this shit out,\u2019\u201d continues Paolo, taking a seat in the lounge. \u201cThey already knew about us when we met at [Germany\u2019s] Rock Am Ring\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat was cool was, we gave Kirk a copy of The Crusade when it wasn\u2019t mixed, just the rough tracks, and he was like, \u2018yeah it fucking kicks ass, old school\u2019. He was really digging the primitive sounding stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n

But it\u2019s no mystery that Trivium have, and not for the first time, suffered something of a critical backlash despite their impressive sales. And not least of all, because of a peculiar similarity between Matt\u2019s voice and James Hetfield\u2019s. You sound like Metallica.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s better than a lot of things people have called it,\u201d chuckles Paolo. \u201cI\u2019d be more mad if they called it metalcore. Of course there\u2019s a huge Metallica influence in our albums. That\u2019s a negative thing? We\u2019re such huge fans. That\u2019s a huge part of our lives. How is that not going to show?\u201d<\/p>\n

It seems a diplomatic response to what has dogged the band from the moment their follow-up to Ascendancy hit the shelves. Certainly, the similarities seem like no accident, but Paolo and Corey seem slightly offended at the suggestion. As they see it, listen a little more deeply to The Crusade and there\u2019s far more than those similarities.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re going to hear all of our influences on there!\u201d blurts Corey. \u201cYour mom, your dad, whatever the hell it is. Wherever you get that, whatever it sounds like it always sounds like something. Always. I don\u2019t care who you are. Is anyone saying it sounds like Annihilator? I\u2019ve been listening to them a lot too.\u201d<\/p>\n

Just then Matt emerges and takes a seat, and mutters something about the greatness of riding in a proper touring vehicle. It\u2019s the first time Trivium haven\u2019t been in a van Stateside. He\u2019s picked up on the conversation. A detached smile reads across his face.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve got approval from Metallica and Iron Maiden<\/a>,\u201d he says, referring to Trivium\u2019s latest support tour. \u201cI don\u2019t give a fuck if anyone else doesn\u2019t. That proves that we\u2019re metal. We\u2019ve got too much else going on to worry about whether some people are ever going to accept us. Even I used to be a snob.\u201d<\/p>\n

The hungover frontman explains how bands like Emperor, Lord Belial, Aborym and Dark Funeral were what he grew up listening to. For him, it was about drawing a line in the sand as much as it was the music. The parallel makes sense.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think the underground or extreme metal scene will ever dig us,\u201d he continues. \u201cIt\u2019s elitist. People are free to be into what they like, but in school everyone was into emo and hardcore, so I\u2019d listen to the most Satanic and terrifying black metal I could find. Whatever scared them.\u201d<\/p>\n

So you were a snob?<\/p>\n

\u201cI was, but that culture just isn\u2019t my personality. We\u2019re going to be supporting Iron Maiden soon. They\u2019re one of the biggest metal bands in history.\u201d<\/p>\n

Of course, this is only your first headlining tour of the States. You\u2019d think it\u2019d work the other way around seeing as you\u2019re from this country.<\/p>\n

Paolo says: \u201cEverything develops at its own pace. The UK just happened to be the first place where it blew up, but slowly but surely, all the hard work we\u2019ve put in has been paying off. You can\u2019t go around the world and expect to do the same things everywhere at the same time. We want to be a worldwide headlining band, that\u2019s our ultimate goal.\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s ambitious!<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, but it\u2019s always like that for us. We\u2019ve got to think that way. If you have nothing to prove, you have nothing to work for. Playing Download in 2005, on the main stage, was the ultimate high for us, but that\u2019s just one step we had to take.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe States just isn\u2019t ready for us yet,\u201d adds Corey. \u201cWhen we started out we were a band with no sales, so we\u2019ve just been touring as much as possible to get the word out. You\u2019ve got to get out and go and not think about the big picture all the time. As it is we\u2019ve just got a couple of hours to get ourselves together. But it\u2019s part of being in a band, it\u2019s part of doing what we do.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

\"performing\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Daniel Boczarski\/Redferns)<\/p>\n

It\u2019s an interesting point, because despite the thrilling success of Ascendancy, it won Trivium no luxurious studio time or stays in stately manors. But if you\u2019re guessing that\u2019s because of their record label Roadrunner cutting corners, then you\u2019d be wrong. All of The Crusade was written on the road in the spare minutes and hours afforded to Trivium between interviews, load-ins, load-outs, shows, and whatever social lives granted them.<\/p>\n

So why didn\u2019t you have more time to write The Crusade?<\/p>\n

\u201cI wish!\u201d says Matt. \u201cHopefully on the next record, but some bands do take too long. I\u2019d like three or four months to write an album but last time we didn\u2019t get the opportunity to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Why not?<\/p>\n

\u201cWe wanted that, but we wanted to stay out on the road,\u201d says Corey. \u201cWe all figured there was no point in sitting on our asses in a studio for a month. If we\u2019d taken three or four months off, we would have fallen out of sight. If people don\u2019t hear the name all the time the next band comes in and picks up your crowd. It\u2019s like, \u2018why stop?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

That sounds a little paranoid. Do you really think that you\u2019d lose all this in just a few months?<\/p>\n

The guitarist takes a moment to think about it. He\u2019s the quietest of the group, often opening his mouth to speak at the precise moment that Paolo begins speaking. But perhaps his is the best assessment of Trivium\u2019s current predicament.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you\u2019ve worked this hard for something you don\u2019t want to risk anything. We\u2019ve still got a very long way to go.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd we\u2019ve made some mistakes too,\u201d says Matt, \u201cwhen we first started we were going crazy trying to inebriate ourselves, just mask ourselves from everything. When we first got into it we were just the young cocky kids that thought it was all about partying, but I think it was nice because the four of us are all pretty normal, pretty humble dudes. I mean, there are a lot of bands that are twice our age that act like idiots, but that\u2019s not me. I prefer this way.\u201d<\/p>\n

What was your vice?<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was totally sex, drugs, and rock\u2019n\u2019roll. Briefly.\u201d<\/p>\n

How briefly?<\/p>\n

\u201cBriefly.\u201d<\/p>\n

How long is \u2018brief\u2019?<\/p>\n

\u201cAbout a year,\u201d he hesitates. \u201cOK, a year and a half. It definitely wasn\u2019t drugs so much, but it was us drinking every night and being new and na\u00efve and really into it and having a good time. I\u2019m having a good time now, but it\u2019s me having a good time, not this person I thought I was having a good time.<\/p>\n

\u201cI look at interviews and I think, \u2018man, I just sound like an asshole\u2019. People praise that, they think that\u2019s interesting, and a lot of bands crave that, but they\u2019re going nowhere. They end up being a bunch of alcoholics playing crappy shows while they\u2019re hungover every day.\u201d<\/p>\n

You\u2019re ashamed of how you were?<\/p>\n

\u201cNot so much,\u201d he says. \u201cNone of that really matters now. I mean, shit happens, and on top of that people will make up shit about our character. You\u2019re not really doing well until people talk shit about you. Defamation and lies will happen no matter what you do. I used to worry about it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Do you regret all that now?<\/p>\n

\u201cActually I\u2019m glad that I did it,\u201d he says. \u201cThere\u2019s never been anything I\u2019ve said that I\u2019ve regretted, unless it was a complete misquote. But the shit where I\u2019m probably fucking smacking my head, where I\u2019m thinking \u2018why the fuck did I say that?\u2019 I\u2019m not denying anything I\u2019ve said, but I\u2019ve learned from that so I\u2019ll take responsibility for it. But then stuff gets written where you\u2019re getting criticised for politeness. That\u2019s actually the kind of person that I am!\u201d<\/p>\n

He\u2019ll go on to describe how the mistake people make with him is that they expect him to be the same person offstage as when he\u2019s on it, about how terrified he is at the thought of losing himself, being subsumed in the limelight. You just got out of school, do you stay in touch with your friends much?<\/p>\n

\u201cNo,\u201d he says. \u201cMaybe I\u2019ll see them at a show or something, but it\u2019s mostly just the band, crew, mom, family, girlfriend\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s a pretty small world, and certainly a pretty isolated one.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love the attention we get in the shows, I love making the videos and I love to see the fans out there but I would never knowingly act like a rock star. If I\u2019m out at a mall, I\u2019ll sign everything I\u2019m given because even though I\u2019m reserved I wouldn\u2019t want to let my fans down. To be honest, I think I have mild social anxiety disorder sometimes.\u201d<\/p>\n

It sounds like a flippant self-diagnosis, but when really pressed on anything during this interview the newly long-haired frontman seems strangely ill-at-ease. He breathes deeply before replying, shifts uncomfortably in his couch and has the demeanour you\u2019d expect of someone you were interviewing for a job. Heafy the frontman simply isn\u2019t present.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m fine at shows, but when I\u2019m out with billions of people, from record companies, the press\u2026 being in those social situations, my brain sometimes just starts freaking out, and that\u2019s happened a lot lately. There are days where there\u2019s so many people involved in this thing called Trivium\u2026 I don\u2019t know how the other guys are with it, but I\u2019ve just noticed this problem recently. I want to be cordial, to say hi to everyone who\u2019s hanging around but I\u2019ve got problems and shortcomings just like everybody else. I\u2019ve only freaked out a couple of times though, when it\u2019s all just too much sometimes. I\u2019m like, \u2018fuck, what do I do here?\u2019 but when that passes it\u2019s fine. I\u2019m fine on stage, but outside of that, I\u2019m a dweeb. Video games and TV. That\u2019s me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

\"Trivium\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Press)<\/p>\n

If you spend a little time with Matt you get the definite sense that the little shift in character he goes through when he\u2019s on the stage and off is more than subtle. In real life he\u2019s a completely different, unrecognisable guy from the one who\u2019s known to conjure circle pits in the crowd, play blazing solos and seems, to many fans, superhumanly talented. But right now Matt rubs his left arm with other thngs on his mind. He\u2019s just had a massive piece of tattoo work completed that\u2019s currently wrapped up in cling film but clearly causing him discomfort.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s late 1800s Japanese,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s from Japanese mythology where there was this demon terrorising Rashomon gate, and there was one samurai that was able to chop off the demon\u2019s arm, but I\u2019ve got the pre-battle scene where the samurai\u2019s just about to go and chop the demon\u2019s arm off.\u201d<\/p>\n

He\u2019ll explain how it\u2019s only very recently that he\u2019s had a real awakening of curiosity in his heritage \u2013 Heafy\u2019s mother is Japanese and used to relate that very same demon story to him when he was a child. According to Heafy, his was an idyllic upbringing. His mother and father are still together, he did well in school, he didn\u2019t do drugs, and the worst problems he had were related to girls. Like many in their late teens, he went through a string of \u2018stupid post school relationships\u2019.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll these young kids who are straight-edge now, a girl\u2019s going to break their heart and they\u2019ll start drinking,\u201d he says, laughing. He\u2019ll smile as he recalls the days when it was he who was outside of the mainstream. \u201cThat\u2019s why I never give myself rules like that. When I was younger and I\u2019d go to shows just so I could see the bands I liked, and I wouldn\u2019t smile the entire time. If it wasn\u2019t my band on stage, I\u2019d just stand there and ignore it but we\u2019re not about that now.\u201d<\/p>\n

So what drives you?<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat do you mean, why am I doing this?\u201d<\/p>\n

Yeah.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s weird,\u201d he says with a crooked grin. \u201cI was gifted according the staff at my school, I wasn\u2019t this nerd kid but I always did well. I\u2019ve never had a job. This is my first. Maybe it\u2019s because I don\u2019t know anything else, or how hard this is supposed to be. It isn\u2019t like touring\u2019s easy, we\u2019re up against it all the time. You don\u2019t have any real comforts, there\u2019s a lot of people who want to bring you down, but it\u2019s getting past that kind of shit that makes a band big. We\u2019re here to conquer. There\u2019s no halfway for us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Later that night, with a packed crowd reciting his every lyric, Matt Heafy again becomes the frontman he\u2019s recognised to be, like the geeky Peter Parker turning into the superhero Spiderman. He goads his audience, shouts, grunts and shreds his way through a 90 minute set as if he\u2019s been doing this his whole life.<\/p>\n

Wherever they go from here, it seems that Trivium\u2019s story is only now just beginning.<\/p>\n

Originally published in Metal Hammer issue 161. Trivium tour North America from October to December<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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