{"id":266292,"date":"2025-11-16T15:52:10","date_gmt":"2025-11-16T15:52:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/266292\/"},"modified":"2025-11-16T15:52:10","modified_gmt":"2025-11-16T15:52:10","slug":"i-came-in-like-doc-i-know-you-like-rush-im-in-a-metal-band-were-flying-out-in-a-week-to-go-do-one-of-our-biggest-shows-in-a-long-time-any-way-you-can-help-me-out","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/266292\/","title":{"rendered":"“I came in like, \u2018Doc, I know you like Rush. I\u2019m in a metal band, we\u2019re flying out in a week to go do one of our biggest shows in a long time. Any way you can help me out?\u2019” An interview with metal’s busiest man, Matt Heafy"},"content":{"rendered":"

Matt Heafy<\/a> might be the busiest man in metal. The Trivium<\/a> frontman is cruising through Orlando as he answers our call, making his way to the converted airplane hangar where he and his three bandmates jam, write and plot world domination together.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s 10am on a Friday, and so far he\u2019s already exercised (\u201cMonday, Wednesday, Friday is strength and conditioning, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday is yoga, jiu-jitsu four to six times a week\u201d), had breakfast with his wife Ashley and twin five-year-olds Mia and Akira, taken the kids to school, and spent an hour playing Trivium songs on livestream for thousands of fans. He\u2019ll now spend the rest of the day laying down ideas for the new Trivium album, before going home for dinner with the fam, reading with the kids and then a brief pause before bedtime.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a lot,\u201d he admits, adding that he\u2019s actually working a reduced schedule these days: \u201cI pulled back on all the work stuff that people used to see \u2013 mass-producing bands, managing bands, making a kids\u2019 book [Matt released a children\u2019s book, Ibaraki And Friends, in 2023]. I\u2019ve really pulled it back to Trivium, self-work and family.\u201d<\/p>\n

You may like<\/p>\n

It speaks volumes that none of this even covers the main reason we\u2019re chatting today \u2013 Matt has a brand new release to promote, the three-track Trivium EP Struck Dead. It\u2019s an unexpected soft launch of the band\u2019s next chapter, after a year spent splashing around in nostalgia.<\/p>\n

In January, they embarked on the co-headline Poisoned Ascendancy<\/a> tour with Bullet For My Valentine, celebrating 20 years of Bullet\u2019s debut record, The Poison<\/a>, and Trivium\u2019s second album, Ascendancy<\/a>. The run was cut short in May, when Bullet controversially bowed out in order to get in the studio \u201cand finish what we promise you is our best album to date\u201d, leaving fans disappointed.<\/p>\n

In August, Trivium hit the European festival circuit with a greatest hits set, including a storming headline performance at Bloodstock. Now, it seems Matt is ready to look forward again.<\/p>\n

\n

\"A\n<\/p>\n

You\u2019re a busy man! What are you doing today?<\/p>\n

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

\u201cYou know, normally we keep all our albums kind of secret, which we\u2019ve done for 10 years. I\u2019m not sure why, we just always have. But now we don\u2019t! So, I\u2019m driving to the Hangar studio right now. We\u2019re on writing session number two for album 11. It\u2019s the four of us Trivs and [producer] Josh Wilbur.<\/p>\n

For this record, we decided to set a precedent of, \u2018Let\u2019s only work on Trivium music while we are together as Trivium in the Trivium headquarters, no other times.\u2019 There\u2019s no demos or writing on my laptop \u2013 we\u2019re in the room together, playing and writing together.\u201d\u2028\u2028<\/p>\n

You said in an interview recently that last year was about mental challenges and this year has been about physical challenges. How are you feeling now?<\/p>\n

You may like<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m feeling great, man! Last year, my mind essentially broke. I had a midlife crisis\/mental breakdown, was working with a psychiatrist, cognitive behavioural therapist, the works, fixed my mind. This year, I broke my body \u2013 my abductor tore, my hip tore, I had to have knee surgery.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ouch! Sounds painful!<\/p>\n

\u201cThe knee was a jiu-jitsu injury where it basically exploded from a submission. I had to have surgery seven days before Bloodstock<\/a>! Luckily, my doctor is a big Rush fan. I came in there, like, \u2018Dr Levy, I know you\u2019re into music, I know you like Rush. I\u2019m in a metal band, we\u2019re flying out in a week to go do one of our biggest shows in a long time. Any way you can help me out?\u2019”<\/p>\n

“He says, \u2018You know what? I can get you in for surgery tomorrow.\u2019 That is unheard of! No one does that. So he saw me the next day, took out 30% of my meniscus. Within two days, I was already in personal training, then after three days I was already weightlifting again. It\u2019s just been rigorous physical therapy.”<\/p>\n

Do you generally feel in a good place now, or is there still more work to be done?<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been working with a nutritionist and a strength and conditioning coach to better myself, for Trivium, for jiu-jitsu, for yoga, for being more mobile. I\u2019m thinking, \u2018How am I gonna be mobile in my 80s? How am I gonna move with my kids and their kids, my grandkids, when I\u2019m 90?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Do you have a signature jiu-jitsu move?<\/p>\n

\u201cI really do! I\u2019m all about leg locks. My favourite is the inside heel hook: it rotates your heel one direction, outwards from your body, while rotating your knee inside of your body, and those two things will eventually break, so you got to make sure you tap early or you know how to get out of it. If jiu-jitsu is metal, leg locks are essentially extreme metal.\u201d\u2028\u2028<\/p>\n

You got your twins training too now, right?<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, it\u2019s amazing! They\u2019ve been doing it for about a year and a half. I love it so much. I got my black belt in 2023, so I\u2019ve been able to be one of the teachers of the kids\u2019 classes. It\u2019s been amazing to work with five-year-olds through to 15-year-olds. It\u2019s just been so rewarding.\u201d\u2028\u2028<\/p>\n

Be honest: who\u2019d win in a fight, Mia or Akira?<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019ve been physically fighting since they were one and no one\u2019s won yet. But they\u2019ll put me in a submission sometimes. My son figured out a wrist lock on his own; there\u2019s no doubt he could break my wrist. He could choke me out! It\u2019s awesome. He\u2019s always like, \u2018Am I stronger than you, dad?\u2019 I\u2019m like, \u2018Well, my hope is when you\u2019re bigger and stronger than me, you will beat my ass every single time we train!\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Trivium – Bury Me With My Screams (Official Video) – YouTube
\n\"Trivium<\/p>\n

Watch On <\/a><\/p>\n

Your year started with the Poisoned Ascendancy tour, celebrating 20 years of Bullet\u2019s The Poison and Trivium\u2019s Ascendancy. How do you look back on it now? <\/p>\n

\u201cThat tour was amazing. These are seminal records that I think shaped and paved the landscape of the way modern metal sounds. When we flew up to London [in February 2024] to do a press conference for a world tour that was meant to go from January [2025] through December, we didn\u2019t intend our press conference to be for a world tour that was essentially three months long.<\/p>\n

Which is silly! What\u2019s a three-month-long world tour that plays two continents? I mean, I could brush over the details if you want, but in retrospect\u2026 we had to change a lot of things. We had to completely uproot our entire year.\u201d<\/p>\n

Are you guys cool with Bullet? Do you talk to Matt Tuck?<\/p>\n

\u201cI am very cool with [Bullet bassist] Jamie Mathias. He is one of my favourite people in the world, a wildly talented human being. I could write a book on all the things that we had to deal with, but out of respect for the fans of their band, I will not.\u201d\u2028\u2028<\/p>\n

Bloodstock felt like a landmark show for Trivium. You\u2019d headlined it before, but this year\u2019s was special, right?<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was the best Trivium show that has ever happened. My manager has been managing me since I was 15 years old, he even said that that was the best Trivium show he\u2019s ever seen.\u201d<\/p>\n

What do you think of the metal scene at the moment in general? You\u2019ve always been a big flag-waver for young bands in the scene.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a good time to be playing heavy music, man. It\u2019s a good time to be a younger band, too. You\u2019re not having to deal with as much of the bullshit that we had to deal with: there\u2019s not this intense ostracisation, this intense cliquiness. When we were coming around, we were getting glass bottles thrown at our heads, fans waiting for us outside of our van to try to fight us because they didn\u2019t like the kind of music we played, getting bullied to our faces by our favourite bands. That doesn\u2019t happen anymore as much [to young bands].\u201d\u2028\u2028<\/p>\n

You play traditional Japanese instruments the shamisen and the koto on the new EP. When did you start to learn those?<\/p>\n

\u201cMy guitar tech, Justin, got me back into anime \u2013 I started watching Attack On Titan and Demon Slayer, and I kept hearing all the traditional Japanese instruments. I was like, \u2018Man, I need to get into this!\u2019 I spoke to one of my buddies in San Francisco \u2013 he\u2019s got a store, Bachido, where he sells shamisen.<\/p>\n

I started just buying these instruments, like, \u2018Can you find me a biwa? Can you find me a tsuzumi?\u2019 Now I\u2019ve got a collection of 15-20 Japanese traditional instruments. I\u2019ve been wanting to tap more into that side of me so I can preserve that and, hopefully, inspire people to dig into their own cultures.\u201d\u2028\u2028<\/p>\n

You recently filmed yourself playing your eighth-grade saxophone. Are we gonna get a sax solo on a Trivium song any time soon?<\/p>\n

\u201cHa! I brought it up\u2026 the guys aren\u2019t sold on saxophone.\u201d\u2028\u2028<\/p>\n

What anime shows are you watching right now?<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m watching Gachiakuta, which I\u2019m obsessed with. I think that could become a really big one. Attack On Titan, Steins;Gate, Solo Leveling, Fullmetal Alchemist, Frieren, Delicious In Dungeon, Chainsaw Man, Jujutsu Kaisen, Demon Slayer, Kaiju No. 8, Dandadan, Death Note, Parasyte: The Maxim, One Piece with my kids, One-Punch Man, Sword Art Online, Re: Zero, That Time I Got Reincarnated As A Slime, Vinland Saga\u2026\u201d\u2028\u2028<\/p>\n

So not much, then\u2026<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, exactly! But I only watch on tour. Ashley\u2019s not doing the anime, but we are obsessed with KPop Demon Hunters. The music is amazing.\u201d\u2028\u2028<\/p>\n

You\u2019re touring with Jinjer soon. Any plans for a collaboration with them? You love teaming up with bands!<\/p>\n

\u201cI hope so! The only for-sure thing right now that I\u2019m very excited about is that their bass player [Eugene Abdukhanov] is a four-stripe purple belt jiu-jitsu, so I\u2019ve got my training partner. We\u2019re going to train every day, it\u2019ll be great. Actually, this next coming year, speaking of jiu-jitsu, I\u2019ll be getting my first stripe on my black belt, which I\u2019m very excited about.\u201d\u2028\u2028<\/p>\n

How does that work?<\/p>\n

\u201cSo once you\u2019re black belt, the first three stripes are every three years. The next three stripes are every five years. So I\u2019ll be getting my first stripe in my black.\u201d\u2028<\/p>\n

If you could only play one Trivium song live forever, which would it be?<\/p>\n

\u201cShogun, because that one shows everything that we do. It\u2019s one of the songs I\u2019m most proud of, a cult classic. It\u2019s like a mini-movie anime in one song.\u201d<\/p>\n

Who\u2019s the most annoying member of Trivium to tour with?<\/p>\n

\u201cI mean, unfortunately, it\u2019s probably me, because I need so much shit. I need my jiu-jitsu mat, my kettlebells, my weights. I need my gaming console, my stream backpack. I need all the shit! I\u2019m the guy with the most bags, the most luggage, the most carry-on. I\u2019m working on it, though!\u201d<\/p>\n

Trivium are on tour in the US now. The band play Download Festival in June. For the full list of upcoming tour dates, visit their official website<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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