UN: How did the deal with Lifeforce come about? Do you think it might be hard for a label based out of Germany to get the CDs out to labels in North America? Or do they have good distribution? Are any US labels interested in licensing the album?

MATT: The deal with Lifeforce came about when our good friend and webmaster Fredrik Kreem (www.kreenmdesgin.com www.swedishmetal.com) recommended our self-titled demo album to Stefan Luedicke President of Lifeforce Records. Soon after, we received word from Stefan that he and Lifeforce were interested... and the rest is history.

As far as US distribution is concerned - we did seem to have some problems getting the CD to stores like Best Buy - we know it is because no one knows who we are so it takes the label more time to get the stores to put it on the shelf. LifeForce worked a deal with Lumberjack (www.lumberjack-online.com) and Navarre in US among others and another dozen or so European distributors. For some reason there seems to be a great number of German/European Records Labels that are into this style of music. We have no problem getting the CD out world wide. Nuclear Blast is also from Germany, and just look at In Flames. I think that having a German label will help us out; since the European market is kind of hard to capture at first. Lifeforce has distribution throughout the globe.

UN: Was the deal with Lifeforce for just the one cd? Will you guys be looking for another label, possibly a US based label?

MATT: We have an option to do one more CD - it must be within the next 12 months which is good for us because we already have a number new of songs and song tiles ready to go for the next CD. We hope to be able to grow with LifeForce and so far they have been supportive, but will keep our options open.

UN: How has the response to Ember.. been so far? Is it exciting to know that so many people are hearing your music and having it affect people? I'm sure it's just a matter of getting people to know the name Trivium and take a chance on the album. Why should someone pick up your debut over any other discs on the shelf?

MATT: The initial response to Ember has been incredible - we are very happy about it. We have received mostly positive comments or ones with good constructive criticism which is good to know. The coverage has been great as well - reviews from all over - from the US to Romaina to Japan, South America to Germany, The Netherlands to Belgium. It's very exciting to know so many people are hearing our work.

I believe people ought to pickup our album because it sounds new. We play a fresh style of music and we really pour our hearts into creating it- I hope everyone can experience the joy we have in creating it.

UN: You guys recently added a second guitar player. Have you been searching for the right player for awhile now? I'm sure it'll add a whole new dimension to the the bands live sound. Will the new guitarist be contributing leads as well, or is he coming in strictly for rhythm?

MATT: The new guitarist, Corey Beaulieu, is outstanding. He performs lead and rhythm guitar, as well as backup screaming. His style reminds me of Chris Amott, with a black metalish vocal approach. It did take a while to find the right member to thicken up our sound. You can check out a live video of Ember To Inferno from our last Hard Rock live show on the downloads link on our web site (www.trivium.org) and it will give you a really good idea of what Corey has done for our sound.

UN: I thought I would ask a question about the lyrics as none were included with the cd. From what I can make out the lyrics are of a more personal style. What influences the lyrics? Does everyone in the band contribute or is it mainly just Matt that writes the lyrics?

MATT:I (Matt) create all the lyrics and yes, they are quite personal. The lyrics are in the final copy of the CD as well as our website (www.trivium.org). The lyrics are always about realistic situations or events; some based on my life, others lives, and inspiration from the world. "To Burn The Eye" deals with drug addiction and the rapid decomposition of the user. "When All Light Dies" deals in first perspective, the harsh realities and experiences of child abuse. However, songs like "If I Could Collapse The Masses" and "Requiem" deal with empowering yourself to make a change in the world.

UN: One listen to the new album and it's pretty obvious that guitar solos are a big part of the bands sound. Do you think that guitar solos are pretty much not "cool" anymore? It seems that bands just don't do them anymore and I think it's too bad. Then again the bands that have always had them like Arch Enemy and In Flames still do them.

MATT: Well, I think guitar solos are "cool" and that more people should take the time to do them and be original and express your own voice through your instrument. Solos in our music are pretty essential. But we don't have solos just to have them; all the solos on Ember and the demo CD were carefully thought out and express melody and emotion (even the fast shreddy ones). I'm noticing more bands here and there throwing solos in... but you can tell there isn't much time they took to consider melody and emotion- it was just there to do it. Arch Enemy on the other hand... perfect solos!

UN: Can you elaborate on the meaning of the album name? Did the song come before the album title or the other way? I was also curious to ask how it ties in with the cover artwork?

MATT: "Ember To Inferno" (the song) is about the development of Trivium in our eyes. I know it isn't the biggest thing to others, but the song is about how Trivium started as such a small thing in our lives- but now it's become more than just a hobby; it's all we think about and work for in life. The song came before the album title, and we just felt that it was a good title. Fredrik Kreem (www.kreemdesign.com) can up with the cover Art. I think he heard the mix of the CD and then he just came up with the Artwork. We like it.

UN: Do you find that you guys get compared to a lot of Swedish bands? From what I've read you guys are big fans of some Swedish bands and I'd definitely say that the melodic side of the band is somewhat Swedish sounding. You guys have a lot of thrash in your style as well though. I'd almost say a cross between In Flames and Killswitch Engage would be a good description.

MATT: Thank you very much for the comment on the cross! We love those bands. But yeah, Swedish music is a big part in my musical diet. I'll name some: In Flames, Arch Enemy, Dark Tranquillity, Opeth, At The Gates, The Duskfall, Nightrage, The Haunted, Amon Amarth, Sacrilege, Eucharist, Darkane, Meshuggah, etc etc. Dew Scented calls us... Melodic Death Metalcore... so we adopted the name. Trivium is the cross bewteen Melodic Death Metal, Metalcore/ Hardcore, and Thrash Metal.

UN: You guys are still fairly young, do you think that once you guys start hitting the road this could be something that you guys could make a living off of? I know that age doesn't matter, but it can't hurt to get an early start. From how good the songwriting is on Ember, I can only expect amazing things from you guys in the future.

MATT: Thanks again for the kind words - yeah we are pretty young - 17 ( I will be 18 January 26th), 19,20,21. We all really hope that Trivium can be a lifestyle and a career for many successful years; it is all that we want to do. It's true, all we've been hearing is that starting younger never hurts and only gives us more time. I promise that our new material already blows away all the songs on Ember... I can't wait to show the world our next release