Kids eh? They seem to be growing up faster than ever these days. Take Matt Heafy, frontman of metal posterboys Trivium, who’s played out his teens at triple speed.
Heafy started playing guitar when he was 11, joined Trivium at 12, and, aged just 19, arguably stole the show at this year’s Download metalfest in the UK. It beats flitting away your youth chasing girls.
“I’m not legally allowed to drink for another two years in the States,” he explains, “but that doesn’t affect me. I did actually drink before, but now I’ve given up.”
This is typical of Trivium, whose members seem far more mature than their years.
Their second album, Ascendancy, harks back to metal’s late ‘80s heyday, recalling bands such as Pantera, Obituary, Metallica and Sepultura.
Making not a single concession to the genre’s younger nephew, emo, the record has struck a chord with a fresh generation of fans.
In doing so, it has catapulted Trivium onto the Ozzfest bill and the covers of countless metal magazines. They are also selling out venues that wouldn’t normally give thrash bands the time of day, such as Dublin’s The Ambassador, where Trivium are about to entertain a capacity crowd.
“We played Belfast last night, and it was ridiculous. They actually had to stop the show for a while,” the singer says, clearly thrilled by the reaction.
Such a level of success would, in the normal course, lead down a well-worn path of rock’n’roll excess. For so long as Heafy is at the helm, however, nothing of the sort is going to happen to Trivium.
“I think I’ve been wiser than most. I did the drinks, drugs and groupie thing and got it out of my system. Other people have been doing it for 20 years. I guess we’ve seen a lot of shitty stuff, done a lot of shitty stuff, but I’m a better person for it. The four of us know how much it takes to get somewhere.”
Half-Japanese, Matt was born in Iwakuni but grew up in Florida. In 1998, spurred on by his guitar-playing father, he entered a local talent contest. He didn’t win, but the performance caught the attention of the other members of Trivium.
Their 2003 debut, Ember To Inferno, proved a cult hit, leading to a deal with the legendary Roadrunner label.
“We just wanted it so bad. When I first heard Metallica’s ‘Black Album’ in the car on the way to school, I said I wanted to be that big. And bigger. ”
Heafy realises what Trivium have achieved and how far they still have to travel. For him, the ultimate goal is to play stadiums.
“We deserve our success,” he asserts. “We’re good, really hard-working people. And we’re going to keep working for it.”