When Guitar World connects with Matt Heafy, it will be honest to say it’s a barely completely different set-up to your typical interview.
As an alternative of a crackly cellphone line connecting two folks many miles away from one another, we’re going out reside on the Trivium singer/guitarist’s Twitch video channel, the place tons of of 1000’s of followers subscribe for his or her every day dose of the metallic legend working behind the scenes, whether or not that be training and gaming at house or warming up and acting on tour.
As he’s defined up to now, it’s an extremely forward-thinking method of interacting and fascinating with followers, and likewise a powerful earnings supply for artistic independence.
Immediately’s stream celebrates the launch of his Epiphone Les Paul Customized Origins collection, which options six and seven-string fashions in Ebony and Bone White fitted with Heafy’s signature Fishman Fluence humbuckers, accessible in each left and right-handed variations.
Straight off the bat, he’s eager to emphasize that these aren’t any finances fashions impressed by different higher-end guitars he secretly prefers – these are the precise devices he chooses to swear by within the studio and on the highway…
“For mainly a thousand {dollars}, you may get the precise identical guitar I play,” explains the Trivium chief. “The one I take advantage of comes from the identical manufacturing unit. There’s nothing particular, nothing completely different, it’s straight off the road. I keep in mind that feeling of being a child in a music retailer and seeing your favourite guitarist’s signature mannequin on the wall for $800, however then additionally seeing the $6000 mannequin they really performed.
For mainly a thousand {dollars}, you may get the very same guitar I play. The one I take advantage of comes from the identical manufacturing unit. There’s nothing particular, nothing completely different, it’s straight off the road
“It was a bit deflating for me, as a result of the cheaper guitar was not often really utilized by the artist. I really like the worth level of the brand new Origins assortment and the actual fact they’re all so inexpensive… however they needed to be precisely what I take advantage of reside and on the information. That goes again to the values I’ve all the time had, no-one is above anybody else on this world. There are these grander, existential emotions that I’ve in regards to the varied issues I do.”
Of which, we now have to level out, there are a lot of – at the very least in relation to signature gear. The guitarist presently has his title connected to guitars, electrical guitar pickups, pedals, guitar picks, fretwraps, straps and possibly a complete lot extra.
He jokes that whereas he does “really feel a bit like a mini-Kiss at instances” he solely works with the most effective engineers and firms within the recreation. Given his success fee of those various tonal endeavors, it’s onerous to not consider him.
“Lots of people rip on my twin strap, but it surely’s really been a lifesaver when my shoulder is a multitude from jujutsu,” shrugs Heafy, earlier than giving us a style of what to anticipate subsequent. “Just lately I’ve been working with Jens Bogren on a digital amp suite, which is one thing folks had been saying they needed. If we’re doing it, we now have to do it appropriate. I really like Jens, he’s one of many best producers/mixers of all-time.
We’re not the largest band on the planet however we all know our supporters higher than most bands do
“We should always have one thing collectively in a few yr or so, geared toward individuals who don’t wish to spend cash on an amp head or pedal – those that want connecting their guitar to their laptop. We’re not the largest band on the planet however we all know our supporters higher than most bands do. We take heed to what they need and what they want.”
When was the precise second you determined Les Paul Customs would find yourself being your important weapon of alternative?
“Amazingly, this story goes again earlier than I used to be born. Earlier than my dad even had a son, he knew he needed his son to play a Les Paul Customized, or at the very least some type of Les Paul-shaped physique. So it was predetermined genetically that I’d wish to play a Les Paul.
“At 11 years previous, earlier than I acquired into metallic, I attempted out for a pop-punk band referred to as Freshly Squeezed from Florida. I believed I used to be going to get the gig however didn’t get the decision again and acquired tremendous depressed, considering I used to be achieved with guitar. I performed a tune by Blink-182 and thought I’d performed it nicely however apparently not!
“I simply had a starter guitar at that time, it was not a Gibson. I began entering into metallic due to the Black album by Metallica. Somebody had lent it to me and I took it into my room and realized that mainly this was the music I used to be alleged to play.
“So I simply began training on a regular basis to emulate these sounds… unaware of the truth that I used to be training! I simply needed to play alongside till I may do it nicely.
“I didn’t understand that doing one thing like that was the way you practiced to be able to get good. So I began expressing that sort of musical curiosity. I performed No Leaf Clover by Metallica at my eighth grade expertise present after which acquired requested by the sister of the frontman of a neighborhood band referred to as Trivium to check out for them.”
Effectively, you might say that one labored out okay in the long run…
“I feel they’d been round for 2 weeks and had by no means jammed at that time! It was humorous they’d already misplaced their guitar participant earlier than even entering into the apply room.
“I keep in mind exhibiting as much as [ex-drummer] Travis Smith’s home and he was the one child I knew that smoked cigarettes and had a neck tattoo! I used to be solely 13 years previous and he would have been 16 or 17.
There was some time the place I needed my amp rig to be about as huge as my cellphone
“All of them checked out me as if to say ‘What’s this child gonna be capable to do?’ I performed For Whom The Bell Tolls completely. Their look modified and so they stated ‘Alright, you’re in!’ I additionally performed the highschool battle of the bands. We opened with (sic) by Slipknot, then performed For Whom The Bell Tolls, an early Trivium unique referred to as Thrust from one of many early demos and perhaps Stinkfist by Instrument. The remaining was historical past!
“Once I began expressing a real curiosity in being in a band, my Dad acquired me my first actual guitar which was a Les Paul Customized. I used to be a really fortunate 13 year-old as a result of they’re the head of excellent guitars. Fortunately, my dad’s funding into his youngster was appropriate! I saved going and it’s the identical guitar I despatched to Epiphone in 2012 to begin making the primary signature occur.”
And also you’ve used these Epiphones just about completely ever since…
“I advised them to make it precisely like my one when it comes to weight, sound and really feel, or as shut as they might by Epiphone. They despatched me the primary couple of prototypes and people guitars are literally what I used for the early monitoring on the Ibaraki report, on the tracks Kagutsuchi and Ibaraki-Dōji.
It turned probably the most profitable Epiphone they’d made within the 135 years of Epiphone… which is fairly superb
“I went on tour with them for a yr, tooling round with them and determining what I preferred and didn’t like, with intensive notes earlier than we’d ever launched something. After a few revisions, we lastly nailed those which were out over the previous couple of years.
“Initially they stated ‘Let’s see the way you do and we’ll make a 1000 for the following 5 years!’ And people all bought out in a few months so that they saved going and going. It turned probably the most profitable Epiphone they’d made within the 135 years of Epiphone… which is fairly superb.
“There have been a few years off the place there was no product, clearly, however that allowed us to instrument what would turn into the Origins. It turned the fastest-selling launch date Epiphone had ever had, which is fairly superb.”
What do you search for in a Les Paul – say you’re in a guitar store and attempting out varied Customs, which of them communicate to you most and are they lighter in weight or brighter in tone, or maybe vice-versa?
“Should you’d requested me two weeks in the past, I wouldn’t have recognized as a result of it’s been a very long time since I’ve been to a guitar retailer or tried a bunch that aren’t mine. However I lately went to lunch with Cesar Gueikian from Gibson, who took me again to his place and stated we should always strive a bunch of guitars. And he has probably the most insane assortment I’ve ever seen, all of the 50s, 60s and 70s golden age Gibsons. He simply has all of them.
“So we ended up attempting 15 completely different 1958s, a few of which there are solely 4 on the planet of or 15 on the planet of. And these are all unique 57s, 58s and 59s! It was actually ridiculous. I even tried a guitar that Adam Jones from Instrument had fallen in love with and brought some inspiration from for his new fashions…
And which guitars ended up being your favorites?
“After attempting a ton of stuff, I found out that my favourite was this Goldtop that was alleged to be a burst. You may really see the cracking of the burst beneath the Goldtop. It seems to be actually bizarre, like a Goldtop that’s been crinkled like a sweet wrapper or one thing! I consider that was a 58 or 59 – Cesar will kill me for not remembering [laughs] – and it crushed every thing.
I used to like the tremendous heavy guitars. These days I wanted one thing somewhat extra ergonomic, perhaps as a result of I’m getting previous and every thing hurts
“We performed it by one in every of his house rigs and acquired one of many sickest tones I’ve ever heard inside minutes. I didn’t know if the amp he had would translate nicely for my sort of tone but it surely was absurd. That man is a mastermind in relation to realizing what gear is nice, what guitars are nice. Him and James ‘JC’ Curleigh have turned Gibson into the best firm it’s ever been over the past three or 4 years.
“However what’s it that I really like? I used to like the tremendous heavy guitars. Once I made my unique MKH Snofall, the black one, I needed it to be heavy. I preferred the thought of heavy really feel and heavy tone on the time! These days I wanted one thing somewhat extra ergonomic, perhaps as a result of I’m getting previous and every thing hurts [laughs]…”
You continue to have all these previous guitars round, in case you ever want them…
“Yeah, all of my previous Customs are heavy and I nonetheless love them. I’ve acquired a VOS 57 Commonplace and a VOS 59 Goldtop, these are two of the most effective guitars in my assortment and really prime all the Customs! They only have that inexplicable factor.
“If a guitar makes me play nice components or write nice riffs on the spot as a result of the tone is nice, then I find it irresistible. I used to overanalyze it much more, questioning whether or not it was one thing to do with weight, colour or really feel. Now if I choose it up and begin enjoying like myself, I’ll comprehend it’s the precise guitar.”
So what’s the primary riff or solo you play to check a guitar out?
“You’re alleged to play one thing you realize inside out. However for me it’s additionally actually essential to play one thing new. If I’m in normal, I’d play new stuff within the model of Ember to Inferno however not precise riffs from that report. All of it goes again to what my apply ethic is.
“I like to verify the precise mind facet is taken care of. All of the mechanical preparations that go behind being a very good guitar participant are there first, like all the precise hand stuff. So when it’s time to play, the left facet of the mind can kick in and it’s all about creativity and improvisation. That’s what I love to do when attempting out new guitars.
“If I’m in drop-D, I’ll play riffs that sound like Ascendancy riffs however aren’t essentially Ascendancy riffs, simply to see what may come out. I really wrote a extremely cool riff on that unique 50s Goldtop which can most likely turn into a brand new tune. That’s all the time the most effective signal. If I can write one thing model new, one thing that I actually love, and know that it’s going to make the reduce for Trivium… that’s a very good signal!”
The brand new Origins fashions function your signature Fishman Fluence pickups. How are they completely different to the Moderns you had been initially utilizing?
“Once I discover one thing I like sufficient to place my title on, like a signature merchandise or customized store factor, I all the time need it to work nicely whether or not you realize Trivium, love Trivium or hate Trivium. Know me, love me or hate me, you’ll nonetheless need this instrument whatever the truth it has my title on it otherwise you won’t even know who we’re. Like my Les Paul Customs, it was all about delicate tweaks to the Fluence Moderns… as a result of it actually was an ideal pickup for me.
“The very first thing I observed was the zero latency when enjoying. There could be downpicked components that have to be exact, clear and nonetheless aggressive. And I saved noticing I used to be going off-tempo.
Know me, love me or hate me, you’ll nonetheless need this instrument whatever the truth it has my title on it otherwise you won’t even know who we’re
“As quickly as I switched to the Moderns, it felt dead-on. It’s like with software program amps or plug-ins, and I do like a few of them, however in case you’re attempting to play reside within the second you’ll discover some slight millisecond latency. The Fishmans really feel very instantaneous.
“That’s additionally why we went again to utilizing actual heads reside, as a result of we needed our tones to be extra instantaneous and rhythmic. The pickups had been just about excellent so I saved the Trendy voice just about unchanged. There’s additionally the Passive voice, and I additionally added in a 3rd single-coil voice.
“We haven’t really used that voicing a lot in Trivium or Ibaraki. I like to report with my Epiphones. All the things from Vengeance Falls to Within the Court docket of the Dragon is all Epiphone, initially with the previous pickups and I switched to Fishmans on What the Lifeless Males Say.”
Do you suppose you’ll be utilizing the single-coil mode extra sooner or later?
“I’ll positively be doing that. It’s actually trippy to be enjoying a Les Paul and make it sound like a Strat. It’s going to open up completely different concepts for me and whoever else finally ends up utilizing them. It’s increasingly more tone, since you get three voices within the bridge, three within the neck after which completely different mixtures within the center.
“I discovered that even the subtlest modifications in tone can assist you give you completely different riffs or create a distinct temper or enterprise off into new territories with out even having to modify guitars. The flexibility was a giant factor for me, to make it have all these completely different colourful textures.”
The size size for the brand new seven-string can be completely different to your earlier signature…
“We’ve all the time been 24.75 for all my guitars, each sixes and sevens. It felt excellent and I didn’t wish to mess with issues an excessive amount of. This time spherical, the six-string is similar at 24.75 with 22 frets. I’ve by no means actually used 24-fret guitars. It’s nearly what feels snug to me. If I want these further two notes, I’ll simply bend up.
There’s speak of a few of MKH Kramer’s down the road as nicely. After which we’re even speaking about doing Steinbergers a yr from now
“However this time, the seven-string is now 25.5, which is the primary time for a Les Paul in Gibson or Epiphone historical past. They’ve by no means made a Les Paul of that scale size. It actually does sound beefier, you’ll be able to hear the distinction and it’s superb. I’ve acquired some loopy scale lengths, there’s a Crimson Layer nine-string that’s one in every of a sort and it’s extra like bass scale. It goes right down to a low B flat, like a five-string bass!
“All of it will depend on what sort of guitar we’re making. There’s speak of a few of MKH Kramer’s down the road as nicely, that I assume will likely be 25.5 for the six and better for the seven! After which we’re even speaking about doing Steinbergers a yr from now… as a result of why not when Gibson owns the corporate who began the headless guitar. I joked a few nine-string at one level however that’s most likely very area of interest.”
Then, in fact, there’s the Trivium KHDK pedals – final yr’s Ascendancy overdrive and this yr’s In Waves clear enhance…
“There was some time the place I needed my amp rig to be about as huge as my cellphone. I didn’t need any pedals or amps. Then at some point, I feel we had been recording What the Lifeless Males Say, Corey advised me to come back play by some cab. I believed ‘No matter, it’s simply going to sound just about the identical because the modeling stuff!’
Overdrive pedals are important in fashionable metallic. Having extra achieve on the top is simply not the identical, there’s one thing about two separate issues working collectively that sounds higher
“And it took me again to being 16, enjoying that Les Paul Customized at my mother or father’s home and feeling that true impulse response proper there within the room. There’s this rhythmic staccato feeling that made me play extra like myself. It made me suppose, ‘Okay, perhaps I used to be flawed!’
“So then I began serious about overdrive pedals, as a result of they’re important in fashionable metallic. Having extra achieve on the top is simply not the identical, there’s one thing about two separate issues working collectively that sounds higher.”
You’ve advised us up to now that it tends to be TS9s in entrance of your amps when recording. What different pedals did you are taking affect from?
“I’d collected all of the completely different Ibanez Tube Screamers, plus different stuff by Maxon, Airis and random boutique firms. We began speaking to David Karon from KHDK as a result of we knew his stuff was actually superb. I stated ‘Right here’s every thing I really like, right here’s what we’re searching for… what can we do?’ As a result of I can describe the issues I really like however I don’t essentially know all of the parts and components.
“We labored on a bunch of prototypes for a yr or so for the Ascendancy drive and eventually discovered the one which had every thing I used to be searching for. We don’t are likely to crank the achieve in fashionable metallic, as you’ll know – it tends to be achieve at zero, tone within the center and stage just a bit previous the center. The 333 pedals we made bought out in a day.
“When it got here to the following one, I needed to verify it was one other restricted drop – one other pedal we’ll by no means do once more. Positive, the circuits and sounds could also be related, however the paintings and designs can’t be repeated. That’s after we determined to do a clear enhance, which is one thing a number of newer guitar gamers may overlook, despite the fact that overdrives can typically be used extra like a lift.
“I used to be capable of finding a number of TC Digital Built-in Preamps, which is sweet as a result of apparently Fredrik Thordendal from Meshuggah had purchased all of them on the planet and now owns them. However I acquired a pair, which wanted unusual energy provides however sounded freakin’ superior.”
In what sorts of functions?
“They don’t appear to sound as nicely on fashionable heads for some odd purpose, however in case you put one in entrance of an previous head like an unique block letter 5150, it is going to sound superb. Put the TC in entrance of a 5150 III and it gained’t sound correct, however an overdrive will… I don’t know why that’s.
“So we made a small quantity of fresh boosts as a result of we knew it was a bit extra area of interest and bought them out. Not in a day this time, as a result of the world had modified rather a lot in a few years. We determined to do one other small batch, and after they’re achieved they’re achieved.
“The paintings goes to make somewhat monster man ultimately, when you’ve gotten all of the completely different Trivium pedals collectively. It is going to be like this little determine, which will likely be cool for folks to arrange and use as an artwork piece.”
After an extended interval of writing and recording, you lastly launched the debut Ibaraki album a number of months in the past. Did it really feel any completely different when it comes to scales or strategies?
“What’s superb is that in each Trivium and Ibaraki, there aren’t any actual confines. There aren’t any guidelines on what it ought to or shouldn’t be, however on the identical time all of us in Trivium know we’re not going to write down a rustic tune. We don’t even must say it as a result of we all know it’s not within the band’s DNA.
Ibaraki took me 12 years to write down and report… I needed no boundaries in anyway, when it comes to strategies, keys or scales
“Ibaraki took me 12 years to write down and report, like I discussed a few of these tracks had been achieved way back to 2010 or 2011. Rōnin and Susanoo No Mikoto had been from 2017.
“Ihsahn felt that the angle throughout these completely different years needs to be represented on the report so we by no means re-recorded any of these components, which is fairly nuts. I needed no boundaries in anyway, when it comes to strategies, keys or scales. Relearning all of it has been a nightmare…”
From a technical standpoint?
“Making an attempt to play and sing it’s kinda unattainable, as a result of I wrote all of it individually. If somebody on the market can sing and play Rōnin, I congratulate you, as a result of it’s actually freaking troublesome. It’s in an odd time signature and in an odd key.
“On this album I saved tuning greater, which lots of people have a tendency to not do. Susanoo No Mikoto was capo’d on the seventh fret of a six-string. It turned the guitar into an odd factor, nearly like a music field, which isn’t one thing you hear or see a lot in metallic.
Susanoo No Mikoto was capo’d on the seventh fret of a six-string. It turned the guitar into an odd factor, nearly like a music field, which isn’t one thing you hear or see a lot in metallic
“Different stuff is in double drop tunings, it’s one thing I discovered from Jason Suecof who I did that tech-death Capharnaum report with, plus a number of the early Trivium stuff. The riffs find yourself sounding loopy since you don’t should shift round a lot to search out completely different scales.
“You might simply play the seventh, eighth and eleventh frets on the underside 4 strings and it’ll sound very musical, such as you’re going up the fretboard while you’re not. It’s one thing I extremely suggest as a result of it’s so enjoyable. Rōnin is capo’d on the fourth fret on a six-string in some bizarre time signature.”
Do you ever sit down and make be aware of the chords or time signatures in your music?
“I don’t really know the chords or timing. I don’t exit looking for to write down issues which can be odd or technical, but when it finally ends up that method, that’s nice. A buddy of mine tabbed out the Ibaraki report from all of the DIs, developing with all of the chord names to see what was really taking place on this album. And it was all very unusual stuff I may by no means have deliberate.
“This album was a blast to make however robust to relearn, particularly when there’s components with 4 completely different components. Now me and Ihsahn are speaking about the place we will take it subsequent.
“The 2 important instructions are me singing in Japanese and writing previous school-sounding songs or going with what the intro and outro teased, which is that this intense, theatrical and elfen factor that’s Jap European with occasional Japanese vibes. We may go in any of these instructions and wherever in between.”
You’ve labored with Ihsahn rather a lot up to now and share administration with Behemoth. Gerard Manner, nonetheless, is arguably a visitor few would have anticipated in your black metallic debut…
“I knew Gerard would blow folks’s minds… it’s the idea of the man from Trivium and the man from My Chemical Romance doing a black metallic observe collectively. It might break the elitist mindset of what black metallic could be.
“I cherished the style rising up, I’ve all the time talked about it, despite the fact that I used to be carrying an Emperor shirt that was a lot too small and carrying eyeliner. It didn’t make sense to some folks, who felt I couldn’t appear to be that, be in a band that was commercially profitable and nonetheless like black metallic.
Someday Gerard Manner messaged me on Instagram asking if I may clarify how one can tremolo choose black metallic riffs
“I’ve all the time cherished dwelling in spots the place you aren’t supposed to combine issues up, like in Trivium the place we love satanic black metallic and Christian metalcore on the identical time! I really like that arduous stability and rise up in opposition to itself.
“I met Gerard in 2006 at Huge Day Out. We ended up speaking about comics, Ultimate Fantasy and meals, in addition to issues like vocal vary as a result of The Black Parade had simply come out and I needed to select his mind on the notes he was hitting. We stayed pen buddies for years. Some years we chatted rather a lot, others we didn’t. Someday he messaged me on Instagram asking if I may clarify how one can tremolo choose black metallic riffs.”
And, naturally, you obliged…
“I stated, ‘In fact!’ as a result of it was one thing I felt I knew fairly nicely so I shot him one thing and despatched it over only for him. When he thanked me, I took the chance to say I’d been engaged on this black metallic report for about seven or eight years and requested if he’d be up for screaming on it.
“I’d by no means heard him scream however I simply knew it will work. Simply from speaking, I knew he was into the style. We’d talk about issues we preferred or disliked in regards to the style, and issues we’d change if we may. That’s why this report has so many issues which can be philosophically un-black metallic.
My hopes for this report is that I need it to deliver an open-mindedness to everybody we share this planet with
“The objective of tapping into Japanese tradition is to not simply present it just like the Norwegians did with their tradition, but in addition assist open folks’s minds to different tales from Chinese language or Korean traditions and past.
“My hopes for this report is that I need it to deliver an open-mindedness to everybody we share this planet with… which is the precise reverse of black metallic, the place you might be solely allowed to take heed to this, this and this from probably the most excessive model of music. I needed to interrupt these guidelines. I didn’t know I may break these guidelines till I befriended Ihsahn.”
Effectively, he is without doubt one of the most influential figures in excessive metallic… what sort of recommendation did he offer you?
“I used to be telling him in regards to the issues I believed I needed to do and he advised me, ‘No, that’s not what black metallic’s about – it’s about breaking the principles and angle!’ You don’t should sound like this or that or burn down any church buildings… it’s about writing what you are feeling is true and making music from the soul. I discovered a lot from him, particularly in relation to this report. Gerard and I felt like outsiders trying into this style, as a result of Nergal and Ihsahn are just like the torchbearers of the style.
You don’t should sound like this or that or burn down any church buildings… it’s about writing what you are feeling is true and making music from the soul
“And, really, each of them have achieved issues which can be very un-black metallic at instances too, which I feel is so cool. Like Nergal’s different band, Me And That Man. Or Ihsahn’s Eremita report, which modified the way in which I hear music simply as a lot as Anthems To The Welken At Nightfall due to its jazz chords, clear singing and saxophone solos. It had all these weird preparations of timings and tunings that technically shouldn’t be in black metallic.
“In order that gave me the boldness to say to Gerard, ‘Hey, let’s do that factor!’ After we acquired his components again, it was insane. Ihsahn, Nergal and I had been all blown away. These are three folks I’ve regarded as much as in my life who’re all very well-read and eloquent. They aren’t attempting to be something however themselves.”
