The first album I bought was…
No Doubt - Tragic Kingdom [1995]
“I wasn’t playing music yet so my tastes were whatever my friends were into. This was all over the radio and hard to escape. I’m not a huge No Doubt fan now but I can still enjoy this.”
The best album artwork is…
Iron Maiden - Powerslave [1984]
“If any band has done album art right, it’s Iron Maiden. They always put in so much detail. Powerslave is the perfect storm of the best album art and the most incredible album, too.”
The album I wish I’d made is…
Metallica - Master of Puppets [1986]
“Puppets is incredible from start to finish. It’s such a seminal album, it changed everything about how I played. It has something indescribable and that’s why people still revere it. It can never be duplicated.”
A kid asks me what metal is, I hand them a copy of…
Black Sabbath - Black Sabbath [1970]
“It’s important to go back to the absolute blueprint and see where metal started. There were some bizarre events that brought Sabbath together, like Tony Iommi’s fingers and tunings. It might seem crazy to look at extreme metal in comparison – there’s no screaming or crazy guitar arpeggios – but that album is what metal is.”
The album I most want to be remembered for is…
Trivium - In Waves [2011]
“In Waves was a new place for us because we parted ways with Travis [Smith, drums]. It took six months to make on our own. I got frustrated with it because it was so time-consuming. In hindsight, it was great to have time to chart our new course, we proved we could survive.”
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I break the speed limit to…
Slayer - Reign in Blood [1986]
“If you need to get somewhere in 28 minutes, Slayer are like drinking coffee. I used to lug Slayer albums around with me and I’m so happy they’re now on my phone when I need them. They’re a great band to turn to if you need to pass time because you know what you’re getting.”
The album I want played at my funeral is…
Bruce Springsteen - Born in the U.S.A. [1984]
“It’d be funny to play that title track at a funeral! A lot of the lyrics on that album aren’t as upbeat and poppy as the music makes them seem; they played it a lot in the 80s at political events and they clearly didn’t read the lyrics.”
The most underrated album is…
Soilwork - Natural Born Chaos [Nuclear Blast, 2002]
“I remember getting into them thinking they were such a killer band, then when we toured with them with on Ozzfest they proved it. They’ve inspired so many people; Soilwork are the ground zero for bands like Trivium. You could release that album right now and it would still feel relevant and exciting.”
The album that reminds me of school is…
Lamb of God - As the Palaces Burn [2002]
“I used to play things like Lamb Of God for six years in a band before Trivium. I thought there was nobody else playing like that and nobody wanted to hear that stuff. We couldn’t play shows because we didn’t fit in, but suddenly this great band emerged out of nowhere.”
The album that should not be is…
Lou Reed And Metallica - Lulu [2011]
“Metallica are my favourite band but that album was really bizarre. I know it was an artistic expression and they’re both incredible musicians in their own realms but sometimes things like that shouldn’t happen. I don’t feel too bad saying this because they pretty much made it disappear – it’s not even on streaming sites any more!”
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