Matt Heafy — lead guitarist and vocalist for Trivium — remembers when the band began writing material for its new album, "The Crusade."
"It was back in 2004 and we were in the middle of a tour," Heafy said by phone from Philadelphia, Pa. "We found out that the new album came with a deadline. So we started writing songs on the road."
That was when the road was one of the band's banes, said Heafy. "The performing was fine. It was the traveling that sucked. We literally lived in the van. We didn't sleep. We didn't shower. And we didn't eat for 1 1/2 years."
Before that, Heafy and his bandmates — guitarist/vocalist Corey Beaulieu, drummer Travis Smith and bassist/vocalist Paolo Gregoletto — did the "local metal-band thing and played clubs like any other serious band. That was before we got signed. Now things are a lot easier. There really aren't any things that get in the way with our goal."
The goal, according to Heafy, is to make Trivium big enough to make a mark on music history. "We have our heroes, like Metallica, Slayer and early Testament. We didn't want to emulate them as much as we wanted to make our own legacy and do our own thing."
"The Crusade" is the band's third major album, said Heafy. "When we went into the studio, we had 16 songs written. We recorded them all, and 13 of them made it to the album. We made the deadline and got things rolling, and that opened us up for our first headlining tour."
Headlining was a new experience for Trivium, even though it had played in front of 60,000 metal fans during the Download Festival in Britain. "We didn't know what to expect. We were just hoping that someone would show up."
Heafy needn't have worried. Trivium is on the cusp of a breakthrough thanks to tours with Iron Maiden, Metallica, Avenge Sevenfold and Ozzfest, just to name a few.
"Things are looking up for us," said Heafy. "We were getting kind of tired of coming home from a tour in debt and feeling (lousy). We've had to get two or three jobs to make ends meet.
"But now things are different. We can at least pay our bills playing music."
What: Trivium, the Sword, Protest the Hero
Where: Avalon, 3305 S. State
When: Saturday, 7 p.m.
How much: $15
Phone: 467-8499 or 800-888-8499
Web: www.smithstix.com
E-mail: scott@desnews.com