For musicians, few things are more frustrating than perfecting a track only to realize later that something critical is off. But imagine that same gut punch happening after an entire album is in the can. That's exactly the nightmare Trivium frontman Matt Heafy faced during the recording of Ascendancy, the band's breakthrough 2005 record.
As Trivium gears up for the album's 20th-anniversary tour alongside Bullet For My Valentine, Heafy opened up about a pivotal moment in Ascendancy's creation that almost derailed the project entirely. In a new interview with Metal Hammer, he detailed how a seemingly minor issue turned into a complete redo of the entire record.
"We recorded and finished the entire record in drop D flat tuning," Heafy recalled. "I remember coming to the studio and [producer Jason Suecof] just had his head in his hands and he was like, 'Oh no, no, no!'"
The reason? A tuning issue, which meant the whole album was slightly out of tune. The fix? Scrapping all the completed tracks and starting over from scratch. "The whole record was slightly out of tune because that guitar wasn't holding its pitch. We actually deleted everything, tuned the guitar up half a step, and redid the whole album again," Heafy explained.
It's hard to imagine the frustration that must have set in during that process, but there's no doubt it paid off. Ascendancy went on to be a defining moment in modern metal, topping the UK Rock and Metal chart and eventually earning Gold certification from the British Phonographic Industry. The record's intricate blend of melodic hooks and relentless aggression made it a favorite among fans and critics alike, setting a standard for metalcore in the mid-2000s.
Reflecting on the impact of the album — and the upcoming joint tour with Bullet For My Valentine — Heafy noted how both Ascendancy and The Poison have aged into legacy records over time. "For [BFMV frontman Matt Tuck] and I, these records in 2005 changed our lives. But we were only really able to see the impact 10, 15, 20 years later," Heafy said.
What's more, these records played a significant role in shaping a new generation of metal fans and musicians. "A lot of the coolest metal bands that I love these days, I'll talk to them and they'll say, 'Trivium was my first live band I ever saw.' Or they'll say Ascendancy or The Poison was their first record. That's so cool," Heafy shared.
It's hard to imagine the modern metal scene without Ascendancy. And yet, if not for an eagle-eyed producer and a bit of perseverance, it might have sounded very different — or worse, never happened at all.
Trivium and Bullet For My Valentine will be out on the road in 2025 celebrating the 20th anniversary of their albums Ascendancy and The Poison, and we've finally got some North American dates!
Those dates will be opened by August Burns Red throughout, and then with either Sylosis or Bleed From Within depending on which show you attend. Tickets are available here.
Trivium, Bullet For My Valentine, August Burns Red & Sylosis
3/30 Vancouver, BC PNE Forum
4/1 Seattle, WA Paramount Theatre
4/3 San Francisco, CA The Masonic
4/4 Wheatland, CA Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Sacramento Hard Rock Live
4/5 Reno, NV Grand Sierra Resort*
4/8 Denver, CO Fillmore Auditorium
4/10 Las Vegas, NV Pearl Concert Theater at Palms Casino Resort
4/11 Inglewood, CA YouTube Theatre
4/12 Phoenix, AZ Arizona Financial Theatre
4/15 Dallas, TX Gilley’s South Side Ballroom
4/16 San Antonio, TX Boeing Center at Tech Port
4/17 Houston, TX Bayou Music Center
Trivium, Bullet For My Valentine, August Burns Red & Bleed From Within
4/19 St. Louis, MO The Factory
4/20 Omaha, NE Steelhouse Omaha
4/22 Ashwaubenon, WI EPIC Event Center
4/23 Grand Rapids, MI GLC Live at 20 Monroe
4/25 Prior Lake, MN Mystic Lake Casino Hotel- Showroom
4/26 Chicago, IL Byline Bank Aragon Ballroom
4/27 Detroit, MI The Fillmore Detroit
4/29 Pittsburgh, PA Stage AE
4/30 Philadelphia, PA The Fillmore Philadelphia
5/2 Boston, MA MGM Music Hall at Fenway
5/3 Laval, QC Place Bell
5/4 Toronto, ON Great Canadian Resort Theatre
5/6 Washington, D.C. The Anthem
5/7 New York, NY The Rooftop at Pier 17
5/9 Bethlehem, PA Wind Creek Bethlehem Wind Creek Event Center
5/11 Nashville, TN The Pinnacle
5/13 Corbin, KY Corbin Arena
5/14 Atlanta, GA Coca-Cola Roxy Theatre
5/17 Charlotte, NC Skyla Credit Union Amphitheatre
5/18 Raleigh, NC Red Hat Amphitheater
