Trivium vocalist and guitarist Matt Heafy has opened up about the severe backlash his band faced during their meteoric rise in the mid-2000s, taking the time to publicly praise Papa Roach frontman Jacoby Shaddix for offering crucial support when older peers were actively bullying them.
During the early stages of their career, Trivium drew the ire of the heavy metal community after the British music press boldly labeled the young act as the “next Metallica.” A confident teenage Heafy leaned into the hype at the time, a move that quickly stacked the deck against the group and sparked resentment from established touring acts.
Previously reflecting on that specific era during a 2016 interview on the “Talk Toomey” podcast, Heafy explained how the massive UK media push resulted in unforeseen hostility behind the scenes.
“We really blew up in the UK first and we got our first cover feature when we were like 18 or so. The quote on the front was from me because I was a confident 18 year old, and had been in the band for 6 years at that point. The quote was something along the lines of ‘Trivium: The next Metallica‘ and at that moment it really worked out for our band in the UK. But other bands started seeing that and saying ‘Who the hell is this young band calling themselves the next Metallica?’ So that’s when we started seeing a little bit of difficulty, things that we didn’t expect. We didn’t expect other bands to not be ready for this young band that had a boatload of determination for what they wanted to do. Those things were a little strange…” he said at the time.
Fast-forward to June 2026, Trivium and Papa Roach recently crossed paths on the European festival circuit, including an appearance at Rock am Ring and a shared concert at Budapest Park on June 9. Reconnecting with Shaddix prompted Heafy to reflect on the lasting impact of the singer’s early mentorship.
Taking to social media on June 10, Heafy detailed the intense bullying his band endured and how Shaddix‘s words at the 2005 Download Festival helped him navigate the toxicity.
“Back in 2005, I remember finishing download festival – one of our greatest shows ever – but I remember it being bittersweet because while the fans were insane, I had the lingering situation that most of our favorite bands in the metal scene hated our guys and bullied us in person when we’d tour with them. I met Jacoby backstage at download – he was super kind and said how he dug our band – I thanked him but somehow I knew I could mention the bullying and crap we were dealing with. He told me ‘f the haters’ and that if we stick to our guns and stay true to ourselves – we’d rise above all of that. That kindness of one of my musical childhood heroes stuck with me forever,” he wrote.
He continued, detailing their recent reunion in Europe and the welcoming atmosphere of the Papa Roach camp:
“I ran back into Jacoby after years at Rock am Ring last week ish – he was just as amazing a human as ever. We were invited to do a show with them in Budapest. Their entire crew, org, and band treated us like kings. Jacoby and Papa Roach and their entire org are an example of how everyone should do this. Treat everyone as equals and with respect and kindness.”
“Jacoby. You’re a true star in every sense of the word. Seeing all the band’s kids out rocking to their parents made me so happy and excited for the future when my kids could one day join me on stage overseas as well. Y’all are incredible. I hope we can do more shows together,” he concluded.
