Guitar virtuoso/content creator Jared Dines and Trivium frontman Matt Heafy have joined forces for the “Dines x Heafy” EP. Bridging the gap between online content creators and recording artists, the five-song recording is available on all streaming platforms, as well as on Soundtrack by Twitch, giving Twitch streamers a way to add licensed music from the EP to their Twitch live streams during a 30-day period.
To celebrate the release, Dines and Heafy have unveiled the music video for the single “Dear Anxiety.”
“Matt was pre-internet in the way he launched his career, releasing records, playing shows, and signing to a label,” Dines said. “I’m post-internet in the way I launched my career by using YouTube, Facebook and all of these other video apps. It is interesting to see the crossover though. Matt has done everything traditionally. At the same time, he embraced new technologies instead of shutting them out. By doing this together, we get to be in both worlds. The EP was recorded in a raw and real manner. So, it has a different element. It would be cool to show everyone it does not matter if you are a guitarist from Instagram or you are in a big band, you can do things together. At the end of the day, the goal is simple—we’re just trying to write good songs and create some cool shit.”
“Streaming actually helped me improve as a singer and as a guitarist, because I’m practicing all day in front of people,” Heafy said. “The culture is very regimented. However, I have always had that mentality, because my mom is Japanese, and my dad was a marine. Now, it is a combination of three things: streaming, training, and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Those practices made me better at what I do and prepared me to jump into something new. I took a very different approach to ‘Dines x Heafy.’ It all came very organically without any planning.”
Dines and Heafy first crossed paths back in 2017 when Heafy blindly messaged Dines on social media. He went on to participate in Dines’ popular “Shred Wars” series, amassing 2.2 million views on their matchup. A year later, Dines filled in when Heafy exited Trivium’s fall tour to be present for the birth of his twins. Around the same time, Dines shared a folder of ideas and set the stage for what would become “Dines x Heafy.” Mixed by Will Putney, Dines laid down guitars, bass and drums in Washington, while Matt handled vocals and select solos in Florida.
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