Trivium's drummer Travis Smith gets a chance to chat before a hot and sweaty sold out show in Cardiff Barfly
TS:Hello
R13:So hows the tour going so far?
TS:Tour's going great, the shows have been phenomenal. We've had a good, good reaction here. I mean we get a good reation in the States but the fans here are more extreme, so we like that.
R13:Have you been getting on with the other bands?
TS:Yeah, everybody's been having a good time but it's still early in the tour.
R13:Any competition?
TS:No, not really, we just all do our own thing. I can't imagine myself doing anything else, this is what I love to do.
R13:Are the crowds you pull in the UK different to the ones in America?
TS:They're more excited, more energetic. It's just a lot crazier. I mean the fans are really really into it. I mean in the States you get the same but here something's different in the air, like more excitement.
R13:More violent?
TS:It is a little bit more violent, a lot more crowd surfing, stage diving stuff so it's exciting for us. We like to see it and we like to be a part of it so we have fun.
R13:Do you feel as though you aren't a part of it when you're stuck at the back on drums?
TS:Not really. I mean I get involved. I mean I can't get right up in your face but I'll spot people out and let you know. I'll point at people and that kinda thing. I do my part.
R13:How's the new album going?
TS:It's actually doing really good for a first debut album, selling great. So we're happy, Roadrunner's happy. We're going to keep doing our thing, going out touring and pushing the album.
R13:Is there a big difference between being on Roadrunner to your previous label Lifeforce?
TS:It's a huge difference. Basically, Lifeforce, they've got great people, they're a great record company but they just didn't have what we needed to get us where we want to be. With touring and all, they just couldn't provide that for us. They basically put us in a studio and we recorded the album and that was pretty much it. The big difference is with Roadrunner we can go out and tour for the album and the CD's are everywhere, the press is just amazing.
R13:Where have you been most surprised to get feedback from the album?
TS:Especially here really. It's amazing some of the things we've read over here. People just want to support us and that's great because we want this to be our career. This is what we want to do forever.
R13:You recorded your drums in a completely different studio to the rest of the band, could you explain your part of the recording process on 'Ascendency'?
TS:Actually I was really excited about going into the studio. First we did pre-production for about three or four months before we actually went in to the studio. It's kind of like a rough lay down of the songs, how you want them to go and then you can listen back and make changes accordingly. We went to Morrisound Studio, Testament recorded there and Cannibal Corpse, Iced Earth, big bands so I always wanted to record there. The studio is amazing, it's huge, I mean it's just a beautiful studio. We spent four or five days recording drums and I had a great time doing it.
R13:Is it pretty heavy duty?
TS:Yeah it was roughly about twelve hours a day of just pure drumming. The first couple of days were just to get everything set and get all the mics placed right, there's so many little things to recording to get everything to sound great. It was just a lot of sitting there beating on the drums just one by one for hours trying to make sure the mics were right. When I actually lay down the tracks I play along with a click track through my headset, so I hear this click...click...click and guitars along with that, so it's pretty cool, it's fun to do. I like playing live a lot better, being out on the road, but studio's fun.
R13:I read that the decision making in the band is usually down to Matt or you, who gets the last word?
TS:It's more or less him calling all the shots, I like to sit on the backburner. He's good at it, really business headstrong, so we let him take care of that and it lets me relax. Then if I think there's something that's really fucked up then I'll come in and say what I need to say.
R13:The size of you drum kit is pretty impressive. Did Phil Demmel talk you into it when you toured with Machine Head?
TS:I've always played with a big drum set. I just think if you're going to play metal music, part of the experience is seeing a big drum set. When I think of metal I think of loud solos and big drum kits and just energy across the stage and that's what we like to deliver.
R13:Have you been influenced by anyone you've toured with?
TS:Not so far no. My major influences are Metallica - Lars Ulrich, Nick Menza - Megadeth, Vinnie Paul - Pantera and we haven't toured with those bands yet but they've had a big part on the way I play.
R13:Have you had anything thrown at you on stage?
TS:At the first show [on this tour] we got peanuts thrown at us. I didn't know if that was good thing or a bad thing, so we just went along with it. What does that mean, is it good?
R13:Is there anything you've read in the press about the band that has made you think what the hell?!
TS:Yeah, people calling us a 'metal core band'. I really really hate that. We're not any 'core' band or any of that stuff because that's not what we're shooting for. We want to be a metal band and that's what we think we are, when I see those things I'm like 'Oh...God no, no what are you thinking?!'
R13:You're a pretty young band to be signed to a major label, what advice have you got for up and coming bands?
TS:Dreams do come true. You know I never thought I'd be here right now and so you just got to keep working hard and it will pay off eventually as long as you keep at it.
'Ascendency' is out now on Roadrunner Records. Roadrage tour dates can be found here.
Thank you to Kirsten and Sami at Roadrunner Records for this interview.