Making Friends

“So there’s always something. There’s a quote that I love that my grandfather would tell to my dad, which got told to me: ‘A third of the world’s going to love you, a third of the world’s going to hate you and a third of the world’s not going to give a shit.’ I think in our microcosm world of what Trivium is, that’s always the way it’s been. Whether we’re talking reviewers or fans or other bands, people would love it, hate it, people who don’t really care for it either way. As long as we’re making what we want to make, the way we want to make it, that’s all that matters.”

A visit to the barber has long seemed a pedantic reason for riling fans up; Heafy chuckles as the obvious example of Load-era Metallica is raised. “I’ve done it like two or three times in our career now. When I cut mine after Shogun, I actually did it for a good cause. I donated it to Locks Of Love; they make human hair wigs for kids with cancer. I did mine for something charitable, something important. It’s a childish thing to attack a band needing to look a certain way to appease you. I think there’s way too much time wasted with people worrying about what guys’ haircuts look like who are in bands.”

Trivium’s momentum shows little sign of abating. Their upcoming Australian shows will wrap up Vengeance Falls’ successful touring cycle, and new material is already in the pipeline. “We didn’t really intend on starting it; it just sort of happened. When Vengeance Falls came out we said, ‘Alright, we’ll start writing as soon as we feel like we’re ready but no sooner than that.’ Next thing I know we all started coming up with great tracks.”

Beforehand there are those aforementioned Australian gigs, whereby the Soundwave mainstays will headline over Swedish veterans In Flames. “We’ve toured with them maybe ten times now; they’re some of our closest friends in any band in the world. I’ve gone on record many times to say I would not exist without In Flames as an influence on me.”