What was it like recording new album in the middle of a pandemic and all of this crazy social unrest in the world today? It was sort of like our little escape from it all, cuz we really weren’t going out or doing anything. We were trying to stay safe as possible – especially if we were going to be with each other inside for long periods. It was crazy, but it was also a nice way to shut everything out and really focus ourselves on this project and putting everything we had into it – because we really had no other distractions or other things to worry about. It was kind of freeing in a lot of ways because normal scenario, we’re worrying about tours coming up, because you’re always juggling so many things. It was just nice to have a clean slate – it’s record time – just focus on that – don’t worry about anything else – and we’re going to see this through until we feel it’s done. What as it like being on a tour with Megadeth and Lamb Of God after not being on the road all of this time, and what were some of the highlights for you? The shows themselves were the highlights because seeing that many people come out after a long period of no touring was just a really great feeling. It was extremely successful – in the midst of all this stuff happening – tours cancelling – shows being moved – it just felt like to get through this tour and to make it happen was a real big accomplishment for all of the bands on it. It just felt great playing. And then aside from that, being back out on tour with the guys, with the crew – we had to adjust our usual off day activities which is usually going to restaurants and stuff like that – so we always had to find places that had outdoor seating just to have extra safety with everything – just to make sure there were no issues the entire time. Even though we did have an issue at the beginning, but after that we really tried to do our best. I’m just very happy we got through it because we kind of had to be the example that it could be done – that you could be safe – you can do you best and you can make the shows happen. For us, no matter what, we would have made shows happen. Whatever form of the band could have gone onstage would have gone up there. If I had to mix the show myself, I would have done it. That was very true. You guys were one of the first major tours to get out there. Yeah, we were definitely kind of the Guinea pigs, I guess. You have a 20-year anniversary coming up with your previous band Metal Militia. Your album Perpetual State Of Aggression came out 20 years ago next year. Oh wow! That’s insane! When you look back on the album, what do you think of it now in retrospect? You know – it’s kind of funny – I think about it nostalgically obviously – that was my first real band – but also feeling a little vindicated that like playing thrash – we were a little too early for the third wave of thrash. Actually, when Trivium really started to kind of take-off, I feel like there was a thrash resurgence with a lot of bands, which was cool. (Metal Militia) was kind of early to the game. I don’t feel like we influHIGHWIRE DAZE
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enced any of those bands at all, but it was just cool that some people were thinking about the same things. We were just a little too early for that kind of scene. But it was fun – it was a learning experience for me. I was the main guy pretty much all the way through, so I had to learn a lot of stuff about dealing with other people in bands – and dealing with everything that comes with being in a band – recording, playing shows, getting people to take stuff seriously, dealing with egos. Locals bands are full of drama. If anything, you come out of that and realize how much more dramatic being in a local band can sometimes be. Local scenes can be really cutthroat. One of the shows Metal Militia played was the infamous Milwaukee Metalfest. What was that experience like? I think it was my first time playing out of state. There were so many bands. That was my first time playing on a festival, so it was a good kind of experience of things to come – just seeing what it was like playing to a decent amount of people. It was my first time playing in an arena which was pretty exciting. Just flying out to the gig – just the whole process – it was really fun. I think I was like 16 or 17 when we did that. It really wasn’t too long before I was linking up with Trivium – maybe like two years later. But it was cool getting out and seeing a lot of other bands. I actually got to see some cool stuff – I think it was like Decapitated’s first tour in America with the original lineup – it was unbelievable – they were so good! Macabre was there – they were really fun. Vital Remains with Glen Benton was really fun. I got to through all the cool vendors and buy a bunch of CD’s and stuff that I couldn’t find anywhere. So, it was like a great overall experience. How did you initially wind up connecting with Trivium? You were still in Metal Militia at the time… Years before that, we played a show in Daytona – they were on the bill – we were on the bill – it was like a festival type 15
