We had the opportunity to talk with Matt Heafy of Trivium, who in addition to having an incredible career in music from a very young age, has created very strong links with his fans thanks to social networks sharing his daily life on and off tour through Twitch.
Also, Trivium is a band in high demand in Mexico.
Know everything Kiichi He told us in the interview about this and more important information that he reveals below.
Thanks to Twitch you have shown us a little more about your daily routine, that of the band when you are on tour and you have even given guitar clinics to subscribers. What motivated you to enter Twitch? Could you explain us about the dynamics that you carry day by day for those who are not familiar with it?
About a year ago we played in Spain. After the show, we were told that some YouTubers they wanted to meet us later. We were received by a few users of Youtube highly recognized from Spain; and then I told the guys that I was considering doing some content on Youtube.
When I mentioned that, Paolo said you should review a platform called Twitch and that I should consider doing it, since gaming has been something I've always been around.
I started both at the same time, and it was in January 2018 when I was able to date my new friends Vol1tion and Memedude from Twitch. Meme helped me settle in with a live stream backpack, and Vol1tionWhen she found out about my intensive practice program, she suggested that I start broadcasting all of my exercises and practice routines.
Without a doubt, new technologies have created a huge impact on society, it has even allowed you to play Fortnite with members of bands like Fit for an Autopsy and A Day To Remember, which is great for us, in addition to this, you have been able to be close to your fans, what do you think broadly about this and how do you plan to continue exploiting it, where do you want to go?
I love the fact that our fans can see so much more about who I am offstage. Sure, they have a general idea, but I feel that with a platform like Twitch, you are broadcasting live for hours and hours, several times a week. I feel like with that amount of time you spend, people really start to see who you are.
Outside of the tour, I broadcast 3-4 hours a day, 5-6 days a week; During the tour, I transmit 3-6 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Lately you have done an endless number of covers on Twitch during the Kiichi Chaos Karaoke, the public has reacted too well and they are fascinated with the result, have you thought about recording any of these covers as with that of 'The Famous Last Words' by My Chemical Romance?'
That would be a great idea. I've always toyed with the idea, but there are so many songs out there that selecting these makes the project seem impossible.
Vol1tion also gave me this idea of karaokes.
We know your willingness to do something with Ihsahn but the opportunity has not been given, have you thought about doing a solo project or a collaboration with some other colleague?
The project has definitely been a slow process, but I think it's a very good thing. I feel that throughout this time, the material has been allowed to grow, evolve and change.
Ihsahn and I absolutely will do this, it's just a matter of WHEN.
In other music news, Jared Dines and I have been writing some material together. There is no set date or plan with this, but it has been a lot of fun.
Without a doubt, you have become a reference in the metal scene and of course, you are a great example of perseverance and you have a spark that characterizes you and makes you stand out among many other artists, also, it seems to me that you have given an excellent point of seen on the role of metal today, in one of your interviews, you mentioned that metal is a lifestyle, could you tell us more about that?
When you look at, say, pop music, for example (and no, I'm not criticizing the genre, I just use it as an example), there is no such culture of wearing your favorite band's t-shirts, choosing an instrument, and starting a cover band. because of the bands you love in that genre.
In metal, that is absolutely the case. Even now, as I write this, I am wearing a Fit For An Autopsy. At home, my closet is so full of T-shirts that you can't see anything but a sea of black T-shirts.
‘Me encanta el metal, la (contra) cultura, el arte, los festivales, la música … todo sobre ello. Mi devoción es igual que la devoción del aficionado común. El metal es algo que tiene eso, no todos los géneros pueden afirmar esto’.
I have a belief that music brings people together, the Trivium community is very large and strong ties have been seen among fans, even thanks to the #KiichiChaosCrew community that you created on Twitch. How do you generally view the Trivium fanbase?
What is surprising is that all the guys who sell our merchandise at concerts have said that fans of Trivium (for the most part) they are the most polite and friendly people they have dealt with. They have toured with many other bands, so I think that statement in itself is a testament to the kind of community that Trivium has cultivated.
‘Siento que, en cierto modo, los fans de las bandas son una representación de la banda que aman. Pienso (y soy partidario aquí) que los cuatro somos personas bastante decentes, así que creo que a la vez, nuestros fans tienen modelos dignos a los cuales admirar (de la forma más pequeña o más grande) tal vez ayuden a guiarlos un poco en su acercamiento a la vida cotidiana’.
As we well know, you worked together with Epiphone to create two custom guitars, the Ebony and the “Snøfall”6 and 7 strings, How did this collaboration start and what do you base yourself to design the software and hardware of your guitars?
I've always liked guitars Gibson, and I've always wanted to do something that all our fans can enjoy. With GibsonThat price tag is something everyone has a hard time paying for.
When I initially spoke to EpiphoneI said that I wanted to make a version of a guitar, that the same model I play is the same one that children play. I didn't want it to play a Gibson MKH, and the model everyone's buying is a Epiphone MKH.
So the key with Epiphone was to make the best instrument possible, to my exact specifications. After a year of prototyping and testing, we finally designed what you see in stores today.
Moving on to themes of the band, on his latest album 'The Sin and The Sentence' Alex Bent joined the lineup, someone that fans consider a monster on drums, and we are very happy with his integration in the band, and that It also has its Twitch channel. Could you tell us if you motivated him to enter Twitch? Have you thought about doing a broadcast together?
I encouraged Alex to start streaming on Twitch. I helped him schedule it with my moderators and introduced him to my friends who work on Twitch, both of them (along with me), helped him get started and keep moving.
We've considered and talked about doing some Fortnite together online when we're on tour.
They have already done a long tour of this album, and thanks to your broadcasts on Twitch many Latin fans have been able to enjoy this tour, Trivium has been highly requested by Latin American fans, especially the Mexican public. Have you thought about expanding it to Latin America? Or is it more feasible that we see them at some upcoming festival in our country?
We would love to return. We have only been there once, and it was a life changing experience.
What needs to happen for us to return is that fans need to spread the word of Trivium. We need all rock and metal fans to know who we are and to create demand for them to take us back. If promoters are inundated with Trivium requests, they will make it possible.
Throughout the great discography of Trivium, they have written on many subjects, among them VERY motivating songs such as 'Forsake Not The Dream', 'Broken', 'Ascendancy', among others; unfortunately we have witnessed the suicide of many artists and people in general, do you think that through your songs we can generate a change of consciousness? Even for new Trivium songs, would you like to play those kinds of songs?
“Departure” tema de extraído de Ascendancy es una canción sobre pensamientos suicidas, “Gunshot” trata sobre el abuso infantil y la violencia doméstica, “Rain”, “Strife” e innumerables más sobre mis luchas y ansiedades mentales.
It is of utmost importance that the bands write material that comes from the heart. And it's just as important that fans recognize that the reason for this important topic is to get it out of the system. I am stable because I take out my dark thoughts and transmit them through music.
‘Nuestras letras siempre serán tan importantes como la propia música’.
You can follow Matt on his social networks and enjoy more dynamics that he performs daily with his fans here:
+ Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/matthewkheafy
+ Trivium: http://www.trivium.org
+ Twitch: http://www.twitch.tv/matthewkheafy
+ Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/matthewkheafy
+ Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/matthewkheafy
+ Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/matthewkheafy
+ Merch: https://streamlabs.com/matthewkheafy#…