As the only constant member of the brutal and prolific but ever-changing Floridian act Trivium, this Japanese-born guitarist and vocalist became a key face of the early 21st century metal scene. Following their breakthrough 2005 album Ascendancy, Matt Heafy's self-taught, growling vocal technique was in demand and led to numerous guest appearances with like-minded acts. During the following decade, he made tentative steps into video game live streaming, before a key switch -- a focus on sharing his personal music rehearsals in real time -- became so popular that he began to make more money from it than his day job. However, Trivium continued to be his main creative outlet, and they issued their ninth album, 2020's What the Dead Men Say, before he teamed up with the metal-focused online content creator Jared Dines for a winter EP.

Heafy was born in Iwakuni to a Japanese mother and an American father, and within a year his family had moved to Orlando, Florida. While in high school, he began formal training on the saxophone, but he was then tempted away to teach himself guitar. Heafy was only 12 years old when an early iteration of Trivium asked him to join the act on lead guitar. They'd been impressed by the skill that he displayed on the instrument at a school talent contest and -- following the departure of a founding member -- he was also soon providing lead vocals. Although 2003 brought the release of the band's debut EP and album, Heafy continued to perform with other acts around this period, all before graduating from high school. Right before their extended hiatus, he appeared on some 2002 demos by Mindscar, and in 2004 he toured as a fully-fledged member of Capharnaum following a core contribution to their Fractured LP. That same year, Heafy launched the solo project Tomorrow Is Monday and released an album entitled Lush Like an Antpile.

2005 was a watershed year in Heafy's career, not only bringing the appropriately titled Trivium LP Ascendancy, but also a key role for him in the Roadrunner United project. For Trivium's third album -- 2006's The Crusade -- he eschewed the heavy vocal technique for a more traditional approach, and by 2008's Shogun, he was delivering a mixture of the two. The 2010s were a busy decade for Heafy in a collaborative sense, as he featured as a guest vocalist on a roll call of trending metals acts including Dragonforce, Upon a Burning Body, Ihsahn, Any Given Day, and SHVPES. In the midst of all this, though, his voice gave out on-stage at 2014's Rock on the Range festival. Retraining in subsequent years led to a good recovery from his vocal cord damage, and by 2017's Trivium album The Sin and the Sentence he was comfortably delivering harsh vocals once more. In 2018, when Heafy left a Trivium tour to attend the birth of his twins, Jared Dines covered for him on guitar. In turn, their blossoming friendship led to the release of December 2020's Dines X Heafy EP. ~ James Wilkinson, Rovi