Trivium frontman Matt Heafy has made no secret of his influences over the years. Everyone from Metallica and Slayer to death metal pioneers Death and black metal icons Emperor have shaped the singer/guitarist’s music over the years. But there’s one, less obvious band who proved to be an early influence on Heafy, shaping a key track on the Florida metallers’ breakthrough 2005 album Asendancy.
Speaking exclusively in the brand new issue of Metal Hammer ahead of Trivium’s upcoming joint tour with Welsh metallers Bullet For My Valentine, Heafy looks back on the making of Ascendancy. Released in March 2005, it turned the youthful Florida four-piece into the hottest new name in metal – something rubber stamped by a now-legendary appearance at that year’s Download festival.
