Trivium frontman Matt Heafy shares the (mostly metallic) playlist that has soundtracked more than a decade of rigorous touring around the globe—and a few surprises along the way
Trivium, one of the most dynamic and exciting bands in modern metal, have released seven critically acclaimed and commercially successful albums, sharing stages with Iron Maiden and Metallica as well as selling out their own shows around the world. Their frontman Matt Kiichi Heafy, born in Iwakuni, Japan to a Japanese mother and American father and raised in Orlando, Florida, has never lost touch with his roots, something very evident in the Japanese style tattooing that adorns most of his body.
1. ‘Tsume Tsume Tsume’―Maximum The Hormone
Every time I think of Japan I think of Maximum The Hormone, having first seen them perform at Summer Sonic Festival in 2008. I’d never heard of them before so I decided to check them out, and I saw the entire crowd doing all of these coordinated hand motions and jumping in on the vocal parts, which was amazing. I always describe them as a cross between Pantera, Misfits, Bad Religion, Rage Against The Machine and a Japanese TV show! It’s freaking absurd, it’s freaking incredible, and I can honestly say they’re one of my favorite bands in the world.
2. ‘Divide My Destiny’―God Forbid
This always takes me back to Trivium’s first US tour in 2004, when we opened for God Forbid. It’s an incredibly underrated song from an incredibly underrated record by an incredibly underrated band. At that point in their career they still had some noisy, dissonant stuff going on, and I loved how angry and ugly it was, but this song was also the first indicator of the more melodic sound they would soon evolve. They were already one of my favorite bands at the time―and they still are―and that was such an incredible experience for all of us.
I still get chills any time I hear her voice, which I think is absolutely haunting and beautiful, and the album this is from is amazing. It’s completely different from what someone would perhaps imagine me listening to but I love it. There are a lot of classical elements, really cool production and great vocal harmonies. I can’t hear it without instantly thinking of Paris, and every time we’re doing a promo trip in France I’ll be telling everyone how much I love her music, which seems to shock a lot of people!
The first time we went to Australia I had just gotten into this band called Angra, from Brazil. A journalist from Burn magazine in Japan knew that I had fallen in love with Brazilian culture, and she told me I had to check them out. The whole time I was in Australia I was listening to their Temple Of Shadows (2004), and this track in particular. Their sound is what you’d expect from power metal, but they also have a lot of bossanova influences, traditional Brazilian instruments and full choirs. It’s very theatrical and unlike anything I had heard before.
Our entire 2015 Silence In The Snow album was inspired by a trip to Japan. We were playing in Nagoya with Heaven And Hell, and I had never seen them before and they completely blew my mind. I got to meet [their singer] Ronnie James Dio afterward, and right after that I started writing this song. The title came from looking through a book of Japanese tattooing, and I saw this piece called ‘Yuki No Danmari’, which depicts two tattooed warriors fighting in the snow. I looked up the translation, and straight away knew it had to be the title.
Wherever I am in the world, this song will always make me think of home. It was actually the first song my wife and I danced to at our wedding. I can assure you I’m not a dancer and I definitely don’t like to dance in front of other people! But when we were picking a song, we both gravitated toward this one. We just wanted to do something different, and what’s cool about this is it has that 50s rock’n’roll, swinging dance vibe but it’s about murder and dark stuff, so it was perfect for us!
In most of the Japanese hotels I’ve stayed in, they have radios built into the bed, and I remember that classical music was playing the very first time I walked into one. I loved that this beautiful, soft music basically greeted me. I love ‘Requiem’ and it will always remind me of those rooms, and while there are so many versions of it, my favorite will always be the London Symphony Orchestra’s. Now, whenever I’m doing yoga at home, cooking or stretching for jiu-jitsu, I love having classical music playing, and I actually credit that practice to those hotels.
If you ask me what song will always remind me of being on a tour bus somewhere, it will always be this one. But while it’s tied to a good time for everyone else in the band, I actually associate it with being really stressed! I’d always tend to go to sleep sometime between 1―3a.m., and on this one tour―pretty much like clockwork―sometime between 5 and 6a.m. I would hear this song blaring at absolute maximum volume! Every time I hear it now, I get kind of a twitch in my eye…
When Trivium was signed to Lifeforce Records, I was just 17 years old, and they brought us over to Europe. We only played three dates―in Germany, The Netherlands and Belgium―and I became a really big fan of all the bands on that label; Caliban was high up on that list. Their Shadow Hearts (2002) heavily influenced me, and you can really hear that directly in a few of our songs. We went from having straight up classic metal and death metal influences to incorporating more of that melodic metalcore sound.
I didn’t take a lot of vacations as a kid but touring with the band I see a lot of places anyway. When my wife and I took a vacation to the Abacos Islands in the Bahamas, she was really into this record so we listened to it a lot. It has this really interesting ‘island-y’ feel within its indie music sound, and almost a ‘Paul Simon-y’ thing going on. However their song ‘A-Punk’ drives me insane because it’s always the first song that plays on my phone, and I never need to hear it again!
Ember To Inferno: Ab Initio” out Dec 2 via Cooking Vinyl.
Where do you get your inspirations for your on-the-road tracks? Share with us and tag #momentumtravel.
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With thousands of breathtaking options on offer, deciding where to holiday in Indonesia can be hard work. That’s why we’ve come up with 10 simple questions to steer you towards your perfect island partner.
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Lombok
Best for: beaches
The beaches of Indonesia are the stuff of castaway fantasies. There are literally thousands to choose from, but the place that best combines extraordinary beauty with the convenience of easy transport links is Lombok – you can fly direct, or nip over on a fast boat from Bali.
There are beaches on the island for every occasion, but the standout for many visitors is Mawun. It goes without saying that Mawun has white sand and stunning, turquoise water, but the bonus here is the seclusion of an enclosed bay. The beach is rarely busy, and at “off-peak” times there’s a very real chance of having it all to yourself.
Another winner is Senggigi Beach, where can sit on the sand and watch the surfers do their stuff (or, if you’re so inclined, borrow a board and join in).
Jimbaran or Nusa Dua, Bali
Best for: children and teenagers
Older kids will love Jimbaran in Bali for its range of watersports. Close your eyes and try not to worry as you send them off parasailing, jet skiing, water skiing or bouncing along on a banana boat.
If you want to take it down a notch, there’s snorkeling and learning about turtle conservation.
If you’ve got younger kids, you might want to stay at a family-friendly resort to make use of the various kids clubs. (It’s your break, too, and it’s easier to relax by the pool knowing that your child is being professionally entertained in a purpose-built playroom.)
If you’re trying to cater for more than one age group, you might want to take a look at The Westin Resort in Nusa Dua, Bali. They have a “teen zone” packed with PlayStations and dedicated clubs for both toddlers and younger kids.
Ubud, Bali
Best for: wellness
If your holiday packing is pretty much sun cream and yoga pants, and you like to come back from time away cleansed and invigorated, Ubud is for you.
Ubud is Bali’s center for healing, and in fact the name of the area comes from Ubad, which means medicine. This is the place to head for the full menu of luxury spas, Ayurvedic treatments, acupuncture or panchakarma programs.
Ubud is also Bali’s cultural nexus, and you can easily fill your days with temples and art galleries, ceremonies and dancing, and great cuisine.
After all that, enjoy a hedonistic four-handed massage before settling into bed to re-read Eat, Pray, Love.
Kuta, Bali
Best for: partying
With a reputation for good times, busy, crowded Kuta in Bali draws a young, energetic crowd ready to party.
Days are spent swimming, shopping, sunbathing or just chilling. Nightlife ranges from places where you buy beer by the bucket to the kind of upscale establishments where the barman takes care not to bruise the gin in your martini.
It’s not the prettiest of places on the island, or the most authentically Balinese, but it has an appealingly brash, good-humored vibe all of its own.
If hardcore partying isn’t your thing, you’ll also find a few quieter, less high-octane places for watching sunset turn into sunrise.
Yogyakarta, Java
Best for: cultural experiences
As it’s the history, culture and ceremonies of a new place that thrill you, you’ll probably find Yogyakarta the perfect destination.
This is the city where Java began, a place that was a powerhouse in the 8th and 9th centuries, and an opportunity for modern visitors to enjoy fascinating Javanese arts and traditions at every turn.
Beyond the urban sprawl are two of Indonesia’s most astounding archaeological sites: Borobudur and Prambanan. The Mahayana Buddhist temple at Borobudur boasts nine stacked platforms, six square and three circular, topped by a central dome, while the UNESCO World Heritage-listed temple compounds at Prambanan makes for a stunning spectacle in the style of Cambodia’s Angkor Wat.
Thanks to Yogyakarta’s surprisingly mild climate, a bit of exploring won’t leave you exhausted. That’s good news as there’s still the Sultan’s Palace to see, local silversmiths to admire in action at Kotagede, and endless pavement stalls selling the must-try local specialty gudeg: a stew of jackfruits simmered in coconut cream and served with chicken, egg or tofu.
Jakarta, Java
Best for: urban buzz
Beaches are OK, but who wants to spend a couple of weeks just lying in the sun? If you find lazing around a recipe for boredom, then your best bet is Jakarta.
From the aromatic, old-fashioned streets of Chinatown to the crazy nightlife in North Jakarta, you really can have any experience you like in this city of 10 million people.
You’ll find haute couture in Plaza Indonesia and the Grand Indonesia shopping town, but bargain hunters will be in heaven in the wholesale textile malls of Tanah Abang.
For a Jakartan market with edge, head to Pasar Santa on Jalan Wolter Monginsidi. This was a conservative indoor market until 2014, when it was transformed by a group of young entrepreneurs who wanted to use it to showcase their start-up companies. Now Pasar Santa has a unique mix of style-conscious places to eat, vinyl record stores, vintage clothing shops and cool coffee lounges. We promise you’ll go for the shopping and stay for the people watching.
Lombok’s Gili islands
Best for: diving
The Gili islands off the northwestern coast of Lombok are famed for their fantastic diving. The conditions are rarely difficult, the current is near non-existent, and you’ll pretty much always have at least 20m of visibility for spotting the first-class marine life.
Advanced divers will enjoy the deeper reefs, which have vast areas of pristine coral, swathes of hard corals and brightly colored fans.
A speedboat from Lombok’s main beach resort of Senggigi gets you to the trio of islands in around 20 minutes.
Trawangan (which everyone refers to as Gili T) is the funkiest of the three with chic bars and cool restaurants. Gili Air is more traditional and Meno is the least developed.
In recent times the waters surrounding Lombok have been intently watched by conservationists, so turtles are a common sight once again. You may also come face-to-face with a manta ray, reef sharks or even the rare Mola mola – the heaviest bony fish in the world, capable of weighing more than 950kg.
Not desperate to swim rapidly away from a fish that weighs much the same as your car? Fear not: there are endless colorful, pleasingly small fish pottering about in the shallows, too.
Lampung, Sumatra
Best for: wildlife
Lampung is an easy hop from Jakarta—take a 40-minute flight, or a seven-hour bus trip, your call—and you’ll soon be surrounded by what the World Wildlife Fund has called ‘one of the planet’s most biologically outstanding habitats.’
Elephants inhabit the rainforest of the Way Kambas National Park, while Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park is home to Sumatran rhinos and tigers. The park is also famous for the many bird species that prefer foothill climates, as well as for several species of sea turtle that nest along its coastal zone.
While you’re in Sumatra it would be remiss not to give a few coins to help orangutans. There are now less than 700 in the wild, making them critically endangered. It feels unimaginable that orangutans share 97 percent of our DNA and yet could be extinct in 20 years.
The one piece of nature that you don’t want to see at its most magnificent is Mount Krakatoa. Happily dormant right now, the volcano holds the record for creating the loudest sound ever heard in modern history: its 1883 eruption was audible up to 3,000 miles away.
Nusa Dua, Bali
Best for: loved-up luxe
Many resorts in Indonesia are aimed at honeymooners, but the neatly groomed enclave of Nusa Dua in Bali turns the sense of seclusion and luxe up a notch.
Just 14km southeast of Kuta, it’s easy to get to, unlike some of Indonesia’s more remote beauty spots. (After all, nothing ruins a romantic holiday in paradise faster than three hours uncomfortably bouncing on a wooden speedboat.)
The beautifully quiet coastal stretch is home to an array of five-star resorts, fully mod-conned-up, with plenty of spas and options for candle-lit dinners on the beach.
Take a look at The St Regis, The Westin or The Laguna, which is encircled by a network of seven large, swimmable lagoons and pools.
Bali
Best for: when you can’t make your mind up
There’s a reason that Bali is the most famous island in Indonesia. It’s because it’s easily the best all-rounder, with a beautiful hinterland of volcanic mountains and rice paddies and some pretty outstanding beaches. There are so many that you can even chose your preferred sand color—soft and white in the south; exotic volcanic black in the west.
The Kuta-Legian-Seminyak strip is an 8km sweep of golden sand that’s well known as a weekend hangout for visitors who’ve hopped over from Australia. Now, however, it’s increasing in appeal to other travelers drawn to chic restaurants and designer shops.
Hardcore divers will gravitate towards Malibu Point for glimpses of sharks, tuna and manta rays, while snorkelers will enjoy Crystal Bay, where the clearest water in the region offers visibility between 30-50m.
Honeymooning couples head toward the luxury of Nusa Dua, party people take on Kuta and parents simply find one of the many child-friendly resorts and hunker down while the kids clubs do all the work.
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What is your personal paradise?
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What’s on your 90s pop mix tape?
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Which of these most appeals to you?
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After a holiday, is your camera filled with shots of:
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If your friends planned a surprise for you, would you like it to be:
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Complete this sentence: “The buzz of a big city makes me feel…”
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A friend tells you they’ve spent the morning aligning their chakras. Do you…
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8. Question
When you’re sitting on your suitcase trying to squash it closed, is it because you’ve tried to squeeze in: