Trivium frontman Matt Heafy has revealed the band were asked to egg Iron Maiden in 2005.
The singer/guitarist makes the admission in an exclusive interview with Metal Hammer, while reflecting on the metalcore band’s time opening Ozzfest that year for Maiden and Black Sabbath.
The tour took place amid a feud between Sabbath manager/Ozzfest organiser Sharon Osbourne and Maiden frontman Bruce Dickinson. It reportedly stemmed from Dickinson making disparaging comments about reality TV, which Osbourne, co-star of MTV reality series The Osbournes, took exception to. The spat peaked during the tour’s stop in Los Angeles, when a posse led by Osbourne egged Maiden as the band endured power outages.
Heafy starts by saying that Trivium had to pay $30,000 to join the Ozzfest bill, which included the costs of renting a bus and crew for the jaunt. He continues: “Some days we were opening at 9 in the morning, but I remember on the last Iron Maiden day the tour was going to continue but we were asked by some of the Ozzfest crew, ‘Hey do you want to egg Iron Maiden?’ It was like, ‘Why the hell would we do that?’”
Trivium didn’t just decline to egg Maiden – they then doubled down on their support for the UK heavy metal icons by wearing their t-shirts onstage and covering The Trooper during their sets. They were treated fiercely by Ozzfest’s crew as a result.
“We got bullied by the Ozzfest crew; they’d drive their golf carts right up to our faces, shoot dirt at us,” Heafy remembers. “Paolo [Gregoletto, bass] almost got arrested at one of the shows. It was a strange time; we paid $30,000 to get bullied like we were in high school!”
The bad blood towards Trivium seemingly extended for years, to the point that the band were only “recently” given a very conditional offer to return to the travelling festival. “We were actually told recently if we apologised we’d be allowed to do the tour again someday,” says Heafy.
Ozzfest has been on ice since 2018, but Osbourne suggested in January it could return. In July, she reflected on pelting Maiden with eggs in 2005. “I had been having cancer treatments [Osbourne had surgery for colon cancer in 2002], and all the nurses that I had met over my year in chemo came to the show and they said, ‘Can we do anything for you?’ And I’m like, ‘Yes, you can,’” she remembered.
“I loaded them up with cans of bean soup, vegetables, eggs, and I said, ‘Pelt the singer.’ And that’s what they did.”
Osbourne still seems to harbour ill will towards Dickinson, as she described him as being “eaten up with jealousy” for her husband, Sabbath singer Ozzy Osbourne.
Trivium will co-headline The Poisoned Ascendancy world tour with Bullet For My Valentine in 2025. The two bands will be playing their respective 2005 albums, Ascendancy and The Poison, in full to mark their 20th anniversaries. The European and North American legs have been announced, dates of which are below.
Trivium / Bullet For My Valentine 2025 tour dates:
Jan 26: Cardiff Utilita Arena, UK
Jan 27: Cardiff Utilita Arena, UK
Jan 28: Glasgow OVO Hydro, UK
Jan 30: Manchester Co-op Live, UK
Jan 31: Birmingham Utilita Arena, UK
Feb 01: London The O2, UK
Feb 02: Düsseldorf Mitsubishi Electric Hall, Germany
Feb 04: Stuttgart Scheleyer-Hall, Germany
Feb 05: Zurich The Hall, Switzerland
Feb 07: Paris Le Zenith, France
Feb 09: Antwerp Lotto Arena, Belgium
Feb 10: Hannover Swiss Life Hall, Germany
Feb 11: Amsterdam AFAS Live, Netherlands
Feb 13: Hamburg Sporthalle, Germany
Feb 14: Berlin Max-Schmeling-Halle, Germany
Feb 15: Frankfurt Jahrhunderthalle, Germany
Feb 17: Milan Alcatraz, Italy
Feb 18: Munich Zenith, Germany
Feb 19: Vienna Stadthalle, Austria
Feb 21: Gliwice Arena, Poland
Feb 22: Prague Forum Karlin, Czechia
Feb 23: Luxembourg Rockhal, Luxembourg
Feb 26: Lisbon Campo Pequeno, Portugal
Feb 27: Madrid Vistalegre, Spain
Mar 30: Vancouver PNE Forum, Canada
Apr 01: Seattle Paramount Theatre, WA
Apr 03: San Francisco The Masonic, CA
Apr 04: Wheatland Hard Rock Live, CA
Apr 05: Reno Grand Sierra Resort Grand Theatre, NV
Apr 08: Denver Fillmore Auditorium, CO
Apr 10: Las Vegas The Pearl Concert Theater, NV
Apr 11: Inglewood YouTube Theater, CA
Apr 12: Phoenix Arizona Financial Theatre, AZ
Apr 15: Dallas Gilley’s South Side Ballroom, TX
Apr 16: San Antonio Boeing Center At Tech Port, TX
Apr 17: Houston Bayou Music Center, TX
Apr 19: Chesterfield The Factory, MO
Apr 20: Omaha Steelhouse Omaha, NE
Apr 22: Green Bay Epic Event Center, WI
Apr 23: Grand Rapids GLC Live at 20 Monroe, MI
Apr 26: Chicago Byline Bank Aragon Ballroom, IL
Apr 27: Detroit The Fillmore Detroit, MI
Apr 29: Pittsburgh Stage AE Outdoors, PA
Apr 30: Philadelphia The Fillmore Philadelphia, PA
May 02: Boston MGM Music Hall at Fenway, MA
May 03: Laval Place Bell, Canada
May 04: Toronto Great Canadian Resort, Canada
May 06: Washington DC The Anthem
May 07: New York The Rooftop at Pier 17, NY
May 09: Bethlehem Wind Creek Event Center, PA
May 11: Nashville The Pinnacle, TN
May 13: Corbin The Corbin Arena, KY
May 14: Atlanta Coca-Cola Roxy, GA
May 17: Charlotte Skyla Credit Union Amphitheatre, NC
May 18: Raleigh Red Hat Amphitheater, NC
