TRIVIUM's MATT HEAFY Discusses His Vocal Technique

The Voice Connection recently conducted an interview with TRIVIUM guitarist/vocalist Matt Heafy. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

The Voice Connection: How do you feel now about your voice?

Matt: Where TRIVIUM is right now: musically, instrumentally and technically, "Shogun" is the best record that we have ever done because it connects everything right we have ever done as a band, but it's not the best that it will be. I think it's the same for my voice and my guitar: There is always room for improvement. I think I'm a decent singer, I think I'm a really strong screamer, but there is so much more to go! I'm really into the idea of learning the classical way. As soon as we finish this next record, I want to learn classically, and music theory because I really want to get into classical composition. I'd like to learn about classical voice but I want to wait until this record is done. I really don't know that much about theory and I like it that way because I just go by the sound of it for vocals and guitars. There's always more room for being better! There is so much more I have and can learn. I'm definitely happy about nowadays that the singing and screaming can live so perfectly together and not affect one another. I love that on all of our records and successions you hear where they all came from. It's crazy to hear "Ember to Inferno". Musically, the idea is there. It wasn't perfect but it was very close to where TRIVIUM's sound was going, but vocally, I sound so young!

The Voice Connection: On your DVD, you mentioned that you recorded all of the clean parts first and you kept the screaming for the end. You said that you don't strain when you scream but it obviously affected your voice. How did you overcome that?

Matt: I've only had a few lessons with a couple teachers so it's really a matter of trial and error. When we first started touring, it was really hard for me to do both and one would always give out before the other and I remember saying to the band, "I really don't think I can do it!" I was passing all the screaming to Corey and I was just singing. Paolo was the one who said to me, "Dude, don't give a f***! Just do it!" So with that attitude, I was just like, "All right!" I tried and ever since then, I've never had any problem. The only problem I had with that way of thinking is when I was actually sick, so I'm really happy about that! I'm really an annoyingly regimented, organized person! I like to make everything in successions. If I'm screaming first, it messes up the cleanliness of my really cleans. I've got the clean, middle and hard so I like to nail all the clean for all the songs first. Then I do all the middle ranges. Then slightly harder, and then all the extreme screaming. I didn't do too much on "Shogun" of what I can do now: I can do the high-pitched black metal screaming now and the death metal, low "cookie-monster" stuff. I don't know why I can, but I can all of a sudden and they don't affect my clean anymore! I don't why it is but it just is so I'm happy about it!

The Voice Connection: Do you think that it makes it harder in a way to interpret the song if you break it apart like that?

Matt: For our producer it was a strange idea; he wasn't used to doing things like that, but I've always jumped around. I like to finish all these specifics. It's the same way as when you record all the click tracks, then the rough guitar tracks, then the drums, the guitars, the bass and the vocals. That's the same way in which I want to do vocals. I guess people normally think of it as all in one package but I like to separate it so each one can be better.

Read the entire interview from The Voice Connection.