Trivium To Metal Is Like Light To Flies
By Robin Steeley
Trivium is a band recently signed to the Roadrunner Records family and currently touring on the Road Rage tour in support of their debut album Ascendancy. Although in the same vein as bands like Killswitch Engage and In Flames, this Florida quartet’s music has a unique flare that sets it apart from the rest. It’s hard to believe that these young but dedicated musicians are just beginning and have an incredible potential to become a sizeable force in the metal community. If I had to describe them to you I would simply say, “Trivium is pure metal”. After a brief delay for the interview due to a mix-up in the mosh pit that landed the bands drum tech in the emergency room with a broken foot, I finally got a chance to catch up with Drummer Travis Smith.
Crave: So where are you at today and how is the tour going so far?
Travis: We are on our second night at the Trocadero here in Philadelphia. We had a show in Boston today that had to get cancelled because the promoter double booked the show so we are playing here in Philly again instead. The tour has been really good, the bands are really cool; you know we’re all younger bands so it’s been a lot of fun and a lot of people show up for the shows, its awesome overall.
Crave: How are things going with Roadrunner?
Travis: They’ve been going really good. The albums about to come out so they are really supportive and they’re keeping us on the road and working us really hard which is what we want. We always from day one wanted to be a touring band so they are keeping us on the road and that keeps us happy. They keep us working; I guess their name isn’t Roadrunner for nothing!
Crave: Are you excited about the album dropping on the 15th?
Travis: We are so incredibly excited, it’s been such a long wait for us and we’ve been waiting and waiting for it and its right around the corner now. All the cool stuff is starting to happen, all the press, and interviews and stuff. The dream is really starting to come true for us.
Crave: How would you best describe the bands unique sound?
Travis: We like to describe ourselves as a melodic thrash band. I think that basically sums it up for us, a lot of our influences are from thrash bands so that’s kind of how we think of it. I know a lot of people want to lump us into the whole “New American Metal” thing but were not really part of that label, we want to do our own thing.
Crave: Was it hard changing bass players?
Travis: In the beginning, it was hard. We tried out a few people and no one really clicked with us, and then once Paolo came in it was really easy and natural, his personality really fit in well with us, his playing ability fit in really well with us, and his stage performance was great. He was in his own metal band, (Metal Militia) so he was already experienced playing out, so it kind of worked out perfect, it was really meant to be with him.
Crave: Who would you say are your personal major influences?
Travis: My biggest influences are definitely Nick Menza from Megadeth, Vinnie
Paul from Pantera, Lars Ulrich from Metallica, and Neal Pert from Rush, Mike Portnoy from Dream Theater, those are drummers that I really love and I cherish their music and their abilities.
Crave: Are you guys still playing “Cemetery Gates” live?
Travis: We’re not playing it on this tour. We did that when we were out with Ill Nino, it was right after the incident with Dimebag so we figured it would be our way of saying thank you to him, and showing our appreciation to him and the band Pantera, and showing we care. It was our way of letting our aggression out about the whole thing. It went over really well; I think the fans really appreciated it. It was all about showing our respect.
Crave: What’s your favorite track off the new album?
Travis: My favorite track is “Pull Harder on the Strings of Your Martyr” and not necessarily because of the drum intro and all that which I think is very cool. That track for some reason is just jamming to me, I really like playing that song a lot and it gets such a great response live. The record isn’t even out yet, people are just screaming the lyrics out, and I think that’s so cool. That song just really does it for me.
Crave: If you could tour with any band in the world, who would it be?
Travis: Definitely Metallica. Totally. We are Metallica heads, all of us. Our dream tour would totally be Metallica, Megadeth, and Pantera.
Crave: Do you guys have any horror stories from the road to tell us?
Travis: Yeah, a pretty recent one actually. We were in Grand Rapids Michigan, and we started having some van problems on the way to the show, and we thought it was a simple fix but it turned out it was $2300 and would take three days. In the meantime we hate missing shows or letting people down so Still Remains, who are from Grand Rapids had a friend who had a van and he let us borrow it and made it to the next show, made it back to Grand Rapids, our van was supposed to be finished when we got but it wont be ready until the next day. We were just lost, didn’t know what to do because we didn’t want to miss the New York show, and Roadrunner found out about the situation they booked us a flight and we hopped on the plane, we get to the airport and they tell us that our plane is two hours delayed. We find an express flight, try to jump on that, and they end up putting us on standby. Luckily, five people didn’t show up for the plane so they let us on, but that was very stressful. Then when we get to new York, there was a mile long line for cabs, and we asked everyone to let us go first, we offered to pay them but they were all being jerks. Finally, this nice guy let us pay him and take his cab, and as soon as we get to the venue, walked in the door, went up on stage and performed. It was a really bad three days, definitely the most intense ones while we’ve been touring so far. We had to rent gear so we were playing on unfamiliar equipment. That’s probably the most extreme. But we got there and played the show, we never want to let anyone down. We worked hard to make it happen, and so did Roadrunner and our management.
Crave: What will be the first single going to be?
Travis: It’s gonna be ‘Pull Harder’ (On the strings of your Martyr), and the first video too. It’s going to premiere on Fuse this Monday, and then on Headbanger’s Ball this Saturday, and then Tuesday is the release.
Crave: What was the first album you ever owned?
Travis: Metallica, ‘Ride the Lightning’
Crave: What CD have you been listening to or bought lately?
Travis: The last album I just recently got was the new Black Label Society, Mafia.
I’m starting to become a real big Black Label Society fan. I just got it a few days ago, the day it came out, Tuesday I think.
Crave: Do you have a favorite city or venue to play?
Travis: Most definitely. Norfolk, Virginia is the city and the venue is called The Norva, it’s amazing they treat us so well there. Up in the dressing rooms they’ve got video games, and Jacuzzi’s, gourmet meals with salmon and shrimp, going there is a lot of fun, and the fans are always great to us, the venue is awesome. We also really like going to Harpo’s in Detroit, they are really good to us too and the fans there really get into it. I would have to say those are our two favorite cities.
Crave: What do you do in the downtime between shows?
Travis: There isn’t really any downtime. (Laughing) sleep I guess. Load, Sleep, Play, Drive, that’s it.
Crave: Is being on the road easy for you?
Travis: It’s day to day, I guess on that. Some days are more stressful then others, some days are tough and some days are smooth. Some days you really miss home and other days you really don’t want to go back there.
Crave: So you have the release on the 15th, the Road Rage tour, what happens for Trivium after that?
Travis: We are gonna be touring, touring, touring, we are gonna be nonstop through the summer at least, we are completely booked. We are just going to stay busy on the road, that’s what we love doing, that’s where we’re gonna be.
Crave: Well I will let you get back to your day; I hope your drum tech is okay.
Travis: I hope he is too. He’s a big baby (laughing) I saw his ankle and it definitely looked swollen, but I told him, he was trying to go out and be a funny guy in the mosh pit, and I told him never do that, your gonna get hurt, and he didn’t listen and the next thing you know he’s hurt. I think he learned a valuable lesson today.
Trivium Is
Matt Heafy - Vocals/Guitar
Corey Beaulieu - Guitar
Travis Smith - Drums
Paolo Gregoletto – Bass
