Interview with the Label Sentient Ruin Laboratories

Back in 2014, not too long after I started running this blog, I received a comment on an article from someone who said that they ran an independent metal/punk label and that they were looking to see if they could send me promos for possible review. Years later I can tell you that I am still receiving promos from Sentient Ruin and I have discovered a massive amount of abhorrent and inhumanly brutal artists thanks to the label. In my many years of doing album reviews for this blog along with my time writing for other online publications, I have never come across a label that puts so much time and effort into promoting their artists. Not only do the albums sound amazing, but the vinyls and cassettes always look 100% professional. This is not just some label that will take your album, wrap it up in a garbage bag, and then completely rip you off by not promoting the album. When I receive a promo from Sentient Ruin I am instantly hooked by the description of the band, as well as the overall knowledge that the owner has for extreme metal music. After years of covering Sentient Ruin bands, I decided that the time had come to interview the owner of this merciless underground extreme music label from the Bay Area. So here it is everyone, an interview with the owner of Sentient Ruin...

Hello, thank you for taking the time to answer these questions. After all these years of covering bands released through Sentient Ruin I really wanted to give the readers more insight into the label and discuss some of the really decimating releases that you have in the works coming out this year. To begin, what was your original plan when you started Sentient Ruin and what were some of your early goals when the label first began?

Thanks to you for the interest. I've been a music fan/collector/musician/consumer for most of my life, at a serious level even since before adolescence. Later I became very interested in underground punk/metal via bands like Napalm Death, Godflesh, Voivod, Killing Joke, etc. At the same time I began to follow closely at first labels like Earache and Relapse, and then more underground labels like Aurora Borealis, Cold Meat Industries, Cold Spring, Osmose, HydreaHead, Nuclear War Now, etc. I observed the packaging and arworks/layouts of records I would buy closely, and always elaborated on what I would have done better or different. Around the mid 00s I began to think more seriously of all I would do and the kinds of bands I'd release if I had a label and the thought never left my head.

Over the years Sentient Ruin has worked with a plethora of underground extreme music artists from all around the globe and that is what I find makes the label really stand out. How would you compare Sentient Ruin to other extreme music labels? What do you feel has contributed to the labels success when pertaining to establishing a strong and loyal following?

I've always been inspired by things, but I never really cared for imitating anyone. As I said previously, admiration and respect for many labels would make me think that I too wanted to start a label, but more as in how I would do it differently, if I had a label. I don't know if Sentient Ruin qualifies as "successful", but I try to release stuff that I like. Stuff that I would buy as well as a simple music fan. Since I like anything from goth to post-punk, to noise rock and hardcore punk to dark ambient and avantagarde all the way to harsh noise and bestial metal, you can likely see all this stuff coming out on the label and everything in between. I think SR somewhat sits in its own corner for that: we just don't stick to any genre, which could make the label seem aimless and chaotic, yet all the bands have a visible connecting thread: darkness.

Something I’ve noticed when reviewing bands from Sentient Ruin is that the albums from top to bottom are typically extremely well produced. Very few Sentient Ruin artists record an album to where there are only a couple good tracks and then the rest are filler. Who are some of the artists you have really enjoyed working over the years? What are some of your favorite releases that you have put out?

I think like any or most labels I just try to release stuff that is good, that is strong, feels complete and that gives the listener a full satisfying experience and not just a listen. Something worth their money, time, and which they can chew on and spend time with. Perhaps it's for this reason you feel the records are good back to back. I am indeed not a huge fan of lo-fi music in general, aside from some very sparse exceptions, and I tend to avoid splits, 7"s, EPs etc in favor of full-lengths which give a more exhaustive experience. I like recordings that sound full, dense and overbearing. I am happy you think that because that's what we're (hopefully) striving for. I enjoy working with all our bands, picking favorites is very hard. I'll say to anyone discovering SR for the first time could check out Rotting Sky's "Sedation", Pseudocommando's "A Home Beneath the Floodboards", Cryptae's "Nightmare Traversal", or DSKNT's "Vacuum Gamma Noise Transition" if you wanna know what this label is about.

Besides running the label you are also very much involved in creating music and have been involved in numerous bands/extreme metal projects. I wanted to know how long you have been playing in bands and what influenced you when you were growing up?

Been in bands non stop since the mid 00s. Just as I'd collect and buy records, I'd also go to as many shows as I could. Just as buying records made me think how it would be cool to release them myself one day, seeing bands on stage made think it would also be cool to be on the stage one day.

One of my favorite bands that has released albums through Sentient Ruin is Abstracter. I actually reviewed the band’s first album, “Tomb of Feathers,” for another music website when I was first starting out doing reviews and articles. I was wondering if you could talk about the band's most recent release, “Abominion.” I feel as though it was one of the most profound releases to come out last year in my opinion and I was impressed by the work you did with the different vinyl variants. How do you feel about that album when comparing it to previous Abstracter releases? Also, what inspired you to create some of the variants for the vinyl such as the limited edition “radioactive” vinyl, which I definitely made sure to order?

The album sounded so massive it sounded like it needed something equally grandiose for the packaging. The band put such work in recording it that I felt like complementing that with equally ambitious and enveloping packaging. The album is Abstracter's best and it shows a band that is constantly growing and exploring and pushing to not repeat themselves. The lyrics and concept paired with the monumental music create a dense and enveloping experience, so we all agreed it should also be given appropriate visual expression to complete the opera and close the concept circle. It all came naturally. We did the glow in the dark variant because the band on this album touches the concept of nuclear energy, and also to stimulate people to listen to it in the dark. The purple/red variant was done as a symbolism for blood and pollution and also cause it just married the black and white artwork nicely.

2020 was sure a challenging and frustrating year for a lot of people, but I wanted to commend you for being sort of an inspiring entity during that whole year, especially when dealing with a global pandemic. Even with everything going on during that year, you released a ton of great releases from so many bands like Diabolic Oath, Dearth, Deadlight Sanctuary, 6th Circle and Ceremonial Bloodbath. What albums stood out to you during that year and what were some of the challenges you faced as a business dealing with the global pandemic? 

The ones you mentioned are good example stand outs. The main challenge was vinyl turnaround times becoming dismal and prices rising for basically everything. And things are fucking FAR from back to normal. They are actually the furthest from normal now than they were in 2020.... So I will say this now to anyone reading: support the underground now more than ever, because we're all struggling and scraping by right now.

Over the years what have been some challenges you have faced when running the label? Have you had to deal with difficult artists, or do you have strong relationships with most of the bands you work with, and if so what would you attribute to the strong bonds you share with the artists on the label?

Thankfully I have a wonderful relationship with all my bands. Something I feel very lucky about and which really means a lot to me. I consider every one of them friends. Challenges are many and the more the label grows and has to maintain and lose, the more the challenges. Some main challenges over the years have been: distributing our stuff well globally, keeping releases affordable to everyone while putting a lot of work and quality in them and not cutting corners, finding a way to find the time and energies, and just staying motivated and focused in something that can be very stressful and tiring.

There is another band I thought I should talk about given the band’s well deserved continued success and recognition amongst the metal community in recent years. Necrot, an undeniably fearsome Bay Area death metal trio, has worked with Sentient Ruin in the past on cassette releases for some of their albums. Actually, “Labyrinth” was an album I covered for the blog when you were releasing the cassette version back in 2016. What has it been like working with the band on those cassette releases? Do you have a favorite Necrot album?

Necrot are an awesome band. I've known those guys from far before the label existed. I was a roomate with Luca a long time and we probably just worked on stuff together for fun cause we know each other so well. We're all friends and that's what got us collaborating on stuff. Members have their own label now and they work with bigger labels for their releases because after years of hard work and ass kicking music they've gotten to a place where they just need and deserve more infrastructure and visibility. I'm very happy I got to be a part of their music in the earlier days and proud of them for where they have gotten. I was a fan then and I am a fan now, and always will be one. They are probably the one band I have seen more times play live in my life and I still try to see them play live whenever I can. 

Looking ahead, 2022 is already shaping up to be another crushing year for the label with some utterly devastating releases coming out. For example, the new Black Fucking Cancer album, which might be one of the sickest looking vinyl formats I have ever seen in my life. What releases are you most excited for this year? Would you say that 2022 will see more new Sentient Ruin releases compared to previous years, or about the same?

I don't' think there will be more because we already release the max we humanly can. The BFC one is certainly a highlight, as well as the debut Exaltation album, the new Golgothan Remains album, new Assumption, debut Anticreation album, debut Ash Prison, debut Vile Ritual and something from Uranium that will ruin people's lives.

I do not know if you are aware of this, but you hold the record currently for the most wins in the Label of the Year category for my yearly award special I do for the blog. The reason is that every year you seem to be the one label that I find releases some of the most outstanding extreme metal artists. What advice would you give young independent label owners who are just starting out? Do think independent extreme music labels have more opportunities now to grow as diehard fans continue to want physical formats like vinyl?

Didn't know this, that's awesome. To anyone starting I say: this is a painful life choice. So you have to be ok with a lot of time alone, a lot of work, a lot of repetitive, tedious work, a lot of financial rollercoasters. I also suggest not chasing trends or caring for that stuff because someone else already monopolizes those. Those are one of those things that are the first to be capitalized on by others. I actually suggest just doing things differently, as basic as that sounds. While I would never discourage anyone from starting a label, I don't think it's something for everyone, there is a degree of masochism going into it which very few people can find enjoyable. There are also obvious temporal and context challenges to face right now. Bandcamp and the rise of laptops and home recording have created an insane influx of bands and of people releasing music or looking for labels, and for this reason a lot of the music out there creates an anesthetizing feeling of conformation and uniformity and of everything sounding already done and heard before, and in massive quantities where it becomes kind of cumbersome to pick which bands and releases to work with.

Well, I just want to say thank you again for doing this interview. I really appreciate all the work you do to promote extreme metal music. I’ve been introduced to a significant amount of bands over the years now thanks to Sentient Ruin and I look forward to hearing more hellacious releases from the label!

Cheers!    

Sentient Ruin Website:

http://sentientruin.com/ 

Sentient Ruin Bandcamp:

https://sentientruin.bandcamp.com/

Sentient Ruin Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/SentientRuin

Interview with Charlie Sad Eyes from Crawl Below

 

Crawl Below's upcoming album, "9 Mile Square," is a fascinating release that gives listeners a glimpse into the rich history and local legends surrounding Norwich, Connecticut. This one-man project from Connecticut conjures up a doomy sounding world shrouded in a veil of harmonious sounding darkness. The artist behind this project, Charlie Sad Eyes, definitely knows how to write a strong and creative release from beginning to end. Honestly, this is an album you do not want to pass up! I decided to ask him a little more about the album as well as some other topics of interest. Check out the full interview below...

Hello Charlie, thanks for taking the time to answer some questions! Crawl Below’s new album, “9 Mile Square,” is out February 12 and I wanted to get your thoughts on the upcoming release. What can listeners expect to hear on this new album and how does it compared to your previous releases?

Thanks for the interview. Listeners can expect to hear a bunch of doomy melodic power ballads sung by a third-rate Peter Steele wannabe. I have to admit, back in the 80s I liked hair metal power ballads and wondered what it would be like if the whole album was like that. Then I just downtuned it and heavied it up a bit. And my friends say I sing like a sad Dracula.

Compared to previous releases... CB is a side project and a chance for me to try different sub-genres. The first Crawl Below release was D- beat black metal. The second was Lovecraftian acoustic pub songs (ironically, the best selling and well-received). 9 Mile Square is melodic doomgaze or whatever. The next one, already recorded, is death doom. After that, I don’t know. K-pop, maybe? 

Before we get more into the album I just wanted to get some background info and talk about some of your musical influences. What bands did you listen to growing up that may have helped shaped you as a musician? Also, are you involved in any other musical projects besides Crawl Below?

Going back to the hair metal thing, my first favorite band was Def Leppard. As I got older, I got into punk, hardcore, and black metal and I think you can sort of hear that stuff in this album. My biggest influence is Social Distortion and I can’t seem to write anything that doesn’t owe something to Mike Ness. I’d say Alcest had an influence on this release also, particularly "Souvenirs D’un Autre Monde”, the one he doesn’t scream on. Also, my singing gets compared to Peter Steele a lot but educated listeners will notice I’m really just (badly) ripping off early Life Of Agony. River Runs Red is a classic.

As far as other projects, oh boy. I play bass in When The Deadbolt Breaks. Guitar and vocals in Sentinel Hill. Vocals in Holding On To Nothing and Low Moments. Bass in Banth. I do all the instruments in Animal Schoolbus, a grindcore band my nine-year-old daughter sings for. Our next CD is coming out in April. And everything in Good Morning Eastern Connecticut, a project in which I make fun of Connecticut metal people.

All the songs on “9 Mile Square” have something to do with Norwich, Connecticut and the vivid lyrical themes are definitely something I find that listeners will gravitate towards when listening to this album. What made you want to write a concept album about Norwich? As a lyricist what helps you find inspiration during the writing process?

New England has a ton of cool legends, my town included. Pretty inspiring in its own right, so it just made sense as subject matter. My own life is pretty boring, so I don’t have a lot of personal stuff to sing about. I hate writing lyrics but found it a lot easier basing it on local history.

Looking at all the songs on “9 Mile Square,” I wanted to know if there is one track that really stands out, or one that you feel most proud of when hearing it back? When I reviewed the album, I had a difficult time selecting a favorite, because the album really flows with such tremendous synergy.

Not really. It’s pretty samey all the way through, not very dynamic. I’ve probably gotten the most positive feedback about “Tarnished The Name” which is about the infamous traitor Benedict Arnold, who grew up about two miles from my house. I also kind of like how the chorus came out on “Feed The Towers” which is about the two massive casinos nearby and their effect on the region.

Now I know you have two music videos out already for a couple tracks off of the album, “Kingdom of the Ruined” and “Monument.” What made you pick those two songs to create videos for, and can we expect more videos to come in the near future?

For those two videos, visuals were easy. Kingdom Of The Ruined is about the Norwich State Hospital, which housed thousands of mental patients until it was shut down in the early 90s. Since then it has fallen apart and been largely demolished, but the buildings were architecturally amazing. My friend Bill Bates from Black North filmed that one. Monument is about a legendary Indian battle that happened here in the mid-1600s. The legend is that one tribe was chased to the edge of the cliff you see in the video. Some surrendered and some jumped. When you see this spot, the idea of jumping is absolutely insane. The chief of the retreating tribe, Miantonomo, jumped and broke his leg. He was caught, tried by a court of settlers, and executed. The “monument” at the end is his resting place. I might do a video for Tarnished The Name because it seems popular, we’ll see.

I was interested to know a bit more abut the recording process for this album, because I read on your bandcamp that you had written the album back in 2013 and then re-recorded it in April of 2020. What were some of the challenges you faced during the recording process? How pleased are you with the album’s overall production?

Yeah, I wrote these songs in 2013, originally with death and black metal vocals. I’ve been going through all my old music and re-recording it, and decided melodic singing would work better. I recorded everything at my house (programmed drums) and sent it to Studio Wormwood, an up-and-coming studio here in eastern CT. Dave Kaminsky, who worked at Morrisound in Florida, re-amped it and gave it a much bigger feel. He’s awesome and is working with a ton of great bands.

I’m not a good enough musician to record in actual studios, I’m finding out. It’s much more cost-effective if I do it at home and send it for mixing. There is, of course, a loss in quality but it doesn’t bother me. Lo-Fi Till I Die.

The only challenges were waiting for my wife and daughter to be out of the house so they didn’t have to hear Sad Dracula singing about casinos in the side bedroom.

Before the pandemic, what was the live music scene like in your area? Did you have many venues available for you to perform live?

Oh man, the eastern CT metal scene was super active for years before Covid. We’re the quieter, poorer end of the state but metal was killing it here for a long time, due to clubs like Altones, 33 Golden, and Strange Brew, and primarily Dwayne Eldredge from the band Mourn The Light. He was booking 3-4 shows a month as well as the New England Stoner & Doom Fest. The scene is kind of small but really tight-knit. I can’t wait until things get back to “normal” and really hope all those clubs will continue to exist. Luckily, in the downtime, most of us local bands have been writing and recording.

Do you have any other new projects in the works, or is there another Crawl Below release on the horizon? Also, will there be a physical release of “9 Mile Square” in the near future? CD? Vinyl? 8-track?

The 9 Mile Square CDs are in, limited to 25. That’s the only physical I’m doing unless there’s a need for more. If I do, it will indeed be 8- track. I have a bunch of stuff coming up. Animal Schoolbus (elementary school grindcore) album 4/1/21. When The Deadbolt Breaks (psychedelic doom) LP spring 2021. Charlie Sad Eyes & The Diminishing Returns (rock) full-length, summer. Crawl Below (death doom) full-length, summer. Low Moments (heavy pop-punk, even worse than it sounds) full-length some time in 2021. Sentinel Hill (heavy rock) full-length maybe by fall. An as-yet-unnamed raw black metal EP at some point this year. And I’m starting my own label, Lawnmowerjetpack Records, to put out all my side projects (including Crawl Below). 

Charlie, I just wanted to thank you once again for taking the time to answer these questions and also congratulations on the new album.

Thanks a lot for the interview and I’m glad you liked 9 Mile Square enough to listen and post about it. Great questions. For those interested, the next CB will be entirely different. Big thanks to Hard Rock & Heavy Metal Zone!

Check out the video for the song "Monument" below:

Crawl Below Bandcamp:

https://crawlbelow.bandcamp.com/album/9-mile-square

Crawl Below Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/crawlbelow

Interview with Unlucky Theta

2020 can best be described as how Bret Hart felt after Vince McMahon screwed him over during the championship title match at Survivor Series 1997 in Montreal. Although this has been an unprecedented and wacky year so far, the amount of exceptional rock and metal releases has definitely been a bright spot. Unlucky Theta's debut EP is one of many stellar recordings to come out this year and it is a release that I highly recommend people check out. I thought readers might be interested in finding out more info about the EP as well as the band's history, so I decided to create some questions for the band that would give listeners more insight into the world of Unlucky Theta. So here it is people, my interview with the three members of Unlucky Theta...

Q: First off guys, I would like to thank you for taking the time to do this interview. Recently you released your debut EP, which I think offers listeners a great glimpse into your creative music making talents. How has it been to finally have a release out there for people to check out? 

Daniel: Thanks DJ Rob for the kind words. This EP has been the culmination of months of hard work between many people who helped make it possible. Between gigging, writing, practicing, a global pandemic, as well as the many other personal responsibilities we each have outside of music, it took us some time to properly make a decent sounding release we were proud of. After we released our first single, "No Vacations" in June 2019, which we tracked live with just one overhead SM57 mic in our lockout, we soon realized we wanted to make a higher quality recording to capture some of the songs we had been working on.  A year and a half later, it's been an amazing feeling to finally have a physical copy in our hands and to be able to share our music with others. The response to this project has been overwhelmingly positive; which we're very grateful for.

Q: Before we dive more into the EP, I thought that maybe you could give the readers some background info. When did the three of you first meet? Who came up with the name Unlucky Theta? Did Gene Simmons claim to own the name Unlucky Theta? You know he tries to trademark almost everything... 

Ariel: Daniel and I started jamming around late 2017, early 2018. Quite quickly we realized that we had a good connection going on and were finishing each other’s sentences, musically speaking. We both liked to get stoned and lay down some tasty grooves, but we also liked heavy, dark, extreme and experimental shit. We had a trio with another friend called Tunisian D which could be best be described as a “heavy jam” band. Lots of fun, but no coherent direction. Tunisian D parted ways and eventually Daniel and I decided to start a new group, but of course we needed a guitarist. This is where Nick came into the picture after Daniel met him at a party and he brought a whole new element into the mix. He was as eclectic as we were, he liked the heavy stuff, he can shred, and he could murder any wacky progressive bullshit I threw at him without hesitation. And that kinda became the game with the riffs I was writing. I would try to come up with all of these progressive plot twists and polyrhythms in the riffs but make them have purpose and meaning to fit the vibe of the music. Then Nick and Daniel would bring their own ideas to the table and we would end up crafting something that really had the essence of the three of us combined. And it had to be interesting. That was the rule; no stringing together random, unrelated riffs together like a deathcore band. It had to be earned. Heavy headbanging moments, soft beautiful moments, proggy leftfield time warp moments, stoned hypnotic sludge moments, solos, double times, long screams, they had to be earned, they had to not only be able to stand on their own, but also stand as a larger part of the song. Because to me these were never just riffs; they were songs. 

The name Unlucky Theta actually comes from a symbol archeologists often find on ancient Roman mosaics, especially those depicting the outcomes of gladiator fights. If there was the letter Theta on top of the head of a gladiator, it stood for the word Thanatos (which is Greek for death) and meant that the gladiator had lost the fight and died in combat. So this Unlucky Theta (Or Theta Infelix, but I thought it would be too pretentious to have both a Greek and Latin word in our name, in fact, even explaining it is pretentious…) is basically the opposite of a Halo. It’s a symbol of defeat, failure and cruel fate, the losers of history and so our music and lyrics came to reflect that. We don’t have songs about epic victories or daring final charges. We don’t glorify or demonize anything. We have songs about indiscriminate global slaughter, or being a nameless soldier who dies in agony because your general made a dumb call, or being sacrificed to Aztec Gods, or being betrayed and left behind in outer space, and so on. 

Q: When listening to the EP people are going to notice right away that you guys do not just stick to one style of music. There is a lot of diversity in your overall sound. I wanted to know what are some artists that have influenced you over the years? 

Nick: Sadly, most of my non-metal influences can’t be heard on the album because we are neither trap DJs nor an ABBA cover band. But I’d like to think you can hear my Buddy Guy influences. And if I could count better you would probably hear just how much I like Meshuggah. To oversimplify things: Rel brings the jazz, Daniel brings the punk, and I bring the DragonForce.

Ariel: Candiria, High on Fire, Mastodon, Acid Bath, The Faceless, Crom, Frank Zappa, Slayer, Megadeth, Agoraphobic Nosebleed, Gorillaz and Pink Floyd. 

Daniel: Everything from Grateful Dead to 60’s jazz to 70’s funk, reggae, and prog to 80’s hardcore to 90’s death metal and black metal, New Orleans sludge. Even some trip hop/house stuff. We all dig Turkish psychedelic folk music and classical ragas a lot too.  Our music tastes are all over the place so you’re hearing a bit of everything when we play. 

Q: Being that this is your first official EP, what was the recording process like? Did you have all the songs written before going into the studio? Did you guys face any challenges recording some of the tracks? Did someone break chairs and throw bottles like Axl Rose? 

Daniel: Haha, no bottle throwing or anything like that. It was actually a very pleasant, methodical experience. We worked with our good friends Jonathan Cronin and Yuri Kondra of Protean Sound. They play in many well-respected death, black, and doom metal bands down here in LA including Calcemia, Ancestral Awakening, Cruelty Exalted, etc.  I have known them both since high school and they are incredibly talented audio engineers with an ear for quality tone-shaping and skillful mixing prowess. Plus, them being fellow metalheads and friends of ours made us feel more comfortable working with them because they speak the same musical language that we do. They knew the sound we were going for right away. They are not like other producers who too often have a "one size fits all" approach. They take the time to carefully mix each tune to have its own distinct tone, character, and dynamics. So they were an obvious choice for us to work with. We had all the songs written prior to going into the studio, except for guitar solos and other percussion instrumentation ideas. Improvisation is an important element to our band so we wanted to challenge ourselves to bring some of that to the studio environment as well. The basic formula for recording was the three of us would get in the studio together and track each tune live and then we each went in and recorded our individual parts. We challenged ourselves to record the first few tracks without a click track to see if we could keep perfect time. Cronin and Yuri soon persuaded us to record to a click for the remainder of the songs. That was probably the best advice we got from them because it taught us to truly learn to focus on locking in with each other and to feel the pulse of the click. When the pandemic hit, Rel was stuck on the other side of the world so we had to figure out how to finish recording our final overdubs and vocals remotely. He ended up going into a studio in Tel Aviv and knocking out his vocals there with a producer. He's now living safely in Europe. So that was probably our biggest challenge. 

Q: Now out of the six tracks I find it extremely hard to pick a favorite, because each song offers something a bit different and really makes this a solid EP from start to finish. However, if you were to try and pick one song, which would you say is your favorite? Also, what song(s) do you enjoy playing live? 

Nick: “Psalm” has to be my favorite on the EP, it’s just dripping in atmosphere. It’s also a lot of fun live when we get everyone clapping along – it’s our secret weapon for winning over indifferent bar patrons. I love playing “No Vacations” live too because it’s both really heavy and really easy, so I can focus on the important stuff like headbanging and grimacing. “Tezcatlipoca” is one of our fastest, and hardest for me because of the solo, which is my nod to my love of Necrophagist. That’s a staple for metal shows especially when we play a heavier, faster set, and it always gets a good reaction.

Ariel: “Venus”. I am really proud of that riff, I had it in my head for the longest time. Nick and Daniel hated me at first when I showed it to them because it definitely required some defamiliarization techniques to learn it, but once we got in the groove it just became an addicting riff. In general, I’m really happy with the direction the song goes. Shout out to our good friend Shayan Ardalan who brought his percussion to really help bring the song up to the vision I had for it. Also “The Monolith Falls” is one of my favorite songs to play live. It’s mainly Nick’s riffs and lyrics, although Goodman was the one who came up with that sick bassline in the beginning during a jam session. It’s fun to play in front of an audience because it really is a slow burn and it showcases all our talents and sounds. There’s stoner groove, Middle Eastern-tinged heaviness, earth shattering outro, Nick gets plenty of chances to shred, and it has a real legitimate arc as a song. 

Q: Again, Unlucky Theta is not defined to one style of music and the EP definitely shows how you guys are dynamic songwriters. For example, I really wanted to talk about, “Psalm,” because that track stands out and conveys such a raw emotional tone. Can you tell us what was the inspiration for that song? 

Ariel: “Psalm” was definitely influenced by an older generation of music. America, Johnny Cash, The Beatles, that was kind of my vibe. I wanted an old folky/Western sound but the lyrics are inspired by very Middle Eastern, Old Testament imagery. I wanted a shamanistic nomadic feeling going on and so those “hiyas” in the chorus are sort of like a little nod to the Tuvan throat singing traditions, but also still have that very stereotypically Native American implication as well. There’s a video on Youtube of this old recording of a Cheyenne War Dance and that’s what in part gave me the idea. It’s all part of this idea of spiritual East meets West.    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eS_2jOCtS9E 

Q: Now being from Los Angeles, live music is almost everywhere…unfortunately with this pandemic performing live is on hold, but before all the pandemic nonsense I wanted to know what was the music scene like? Did you guys face challenges trying to get shows in the beginning? Do you have any stories of shows that standout?

Daniel: This is the first time in modern human history where no live music is being performed anywhere around the globe. That's definitely a depressing realization. But it makes us appreciate all that we've accomplished as a band in just two years. It's hard to accurately describe the Los Angeles music scene because there isn't really ONE big scene. Because the city is so spread out, there are so many different pockets of different scenes of various genres throughout the Southland. That being said, live music was slowly dying even prior to the pandemic. Live music in L.A. was, in many ways, spoiled by its own excesses and overpopulation of bands. Because you could go and see a great show any night of the week anywhere in the city, people often took it for granted and stayed home or saved their money to go see some of the larger touring acts. Many people today seem to be just as stimulated and entertained from scrolling through their phones on the couch as they would be by a live band. So local bands had a much harder time pulling in crowds on a nightly basis.  Even so, we always had fun playing live, whether a club was packed or had 5 people sitting at the bar. Didn't really matter to us. It was fun to just play and we always got better with each show. We definitely had challenges getting shows in the beginning. In the eyes of ignorant promoters, our sound was too different to be put on bills with other bands. We were too metal for the rock clubs and not metal enough for the metal clubs. So I'd often just book the band as a "psychedelic rock" band to sneak our way onto larger bills in the early days. There were nights we played with hip-hop groups, country bands, indie bands, singer-songwriters, you name it. We definitely enjoy playing on all metal/hardcore bills because those are our peers but it's also cool to be welcomed by other scenes. It was always fun to go on after some pop-punk band and scare the living shit out of everyone and force them to submit to our sonic chaos. That's more metal than preaching to the choir of metal fans, I’d say. I think the diversity of bands that we played with was actually the most fun aspect of the LA music scene.  After a while we did get sick of the pretentiousness and feigned apathy that often exists here, so we were stoked to go play in New York City for three nights and go tour up the California coast and play for people more enthusiastic and hungry for live music. Some of our best shows were actually not in LA.

Q: This past November you guys did a mini tour and even came through the Bay Area. I attended the SF show and had a blast. How was that tour overall? What was the crowd reactions like in the different cities? 

Nick: We had a blast too, thanks for coming to the show! It was great to have our friends in each city come out the shows. Hopefully we converted some new Thetans to the cause, too. The crazed hippies dancing to our set in Santa Barbara was a particular highlight for me. Rel also played one show in Santa Cruz with just a paper clip holding his hi-hat stand together, which was badass. We slay on a budget.

Q: This is a bit of a fun question, if you were to be given an unlimited budget to film a music video, which song would you pick off of the EP? Also, who would you want to direct the video? You are in LA, so there are a fair amount of famous directors to choose from. 

Ariel: Unlimited Budget? I kinda wanna do that Lamb of God thing for “Parthian Shot” where we roll up to a child’s birthday party on a tour bus with a bunch of strippers and booze but instead of the birthday party, it’s an ancient battlefield and everyone there attacks and kills us because they don’t understand what a tour bus is.

Q: Looking to the future, which can be extremely tough given the current state of the world, what are your some of your goals for Unlucky Theta? Is a full-length album on the horizon? 

Daniel: We’d like to take this opportunity to officially announce that Unlucky Theta is now amicably broken up. We are each in three different parts of the world currently and have other priorities to attend to. Especially with the pandemic, like so many other bands, it really made it impossible for us to keep the band going. So many venues in town have shut down permanently. But there’s still many more songs we’ve yet to record so one day we’d love to get back together and make a full-length and play live again. Just a matter of logistics at this point. But we’ve had an absolute blast and are grateful to everyone who’s supported us over the years. The EP is our parting gift to our audience to be cranked at full volume whenever they miss us.

Ariel: Geographically, we are no longer together. Especially me, I’m in Europe at least until next year. Maybe once everything clears up and we are back in the same city some day, a reunion show (or tour?) could be in order. I would love that. That being said, we do have enough material for another album, so never say never. At the moment I am also working on an experimental electro/jazz/pop project that I can’t go into too much detail on, but it may feature some special guests who you are quite familiar with. In the meantime, be sure to check out Nick’s black metal projects Auld Lymb Thron and Bilesipper. They will keep you going through this pandemic purgatory for sure.

Q: Well, once again I would like to thank you for taking the time to do this interview and I can’t wait for what you guys have in the works. Stay safe and hopefully when this nonsense is all over I can come down to LA and see you guys perform live, or you can come back up to the Bay Area and unleash some killer tunes! 

Unlucky Theta: Thank you very much for your interest and for spreading the word DJ Rob! You've always been an advocate for underground metal bands all around the world so we thank you for keeping the music alive in a dying world. We’d love to play together again too. One day Unlucky Theta will return once more to melt faces and ignore music genre conventions. Cheers!

Link to Unlucky Theta's Bandcamp:

https://unluckytheta.bandcamp.com/album/unlucky-theta

Link to my review of the EP:

https://rockandmetaltemple.blogspot.com/2020/09/unlucky-theta-debut-ep.html

Interview with Yuvraj "The Master" Singh

I have been running this blog for six years now and the goal when I started this blog has remained the same ever since day one. I want to provide people with entertaining and informative content about the world of hard rock and metal, as well as discuss other topics of interest. My friend Yuvraj "The Master" Singh also shares this mentality, which is why over our friendship of ten plus years we have produced a variety of videos, podcasts and articles highlighting our thoughts on music, movies, wrestling and other subjects we enjoy discussing. I thought now would be a great time to do an interview with Yuvraj and continue providing people with entertaining and interesting content. Thank you to all the readers who have supported this blog, along with the bands that I have worked with over the years. We will get through these difficult times and if you need a place to turn to as an escape, this blog will be here. 

So, here it is everyone, an interview with Yuvraj "The Master" Singh...



Q: Hello Yuvraj, how have you been holding up through this whole lockdown and Coronavirus situation?

Suffice it to say that it has been an interesting situation. On the whole, though, it hasn’t been too bad.

Q: Now Yuvraj, you are the “Master Singh” who the people all turn to for knowledge and wisdom, so what advice would you give to people right now in terms of dealing with the situation?

Listen to experts, not politicians (unless their advice is in line with people with medical degrees) or celebrities (unless, again, their advice is in line with medical degrees). It’s an election year, so everyone has earned their honorary political science degree. But not a medical degree.

Q: Since you and I are huge rock and metal fans and I’m sure you are listening to a lot of albums right now, what albums would you recommend people check out? Are there any new bands you have recently discovered?

I’ve been on a bit of a Type O Negative binge; Black No. 1 remains one of my favorite songs. I’ve also been delving into Blue Öyster Cults and Dio albums.

Q: I wanted to get your take on the future of live shows. Some concert promoters are saying we might be waiting until 2021 for major concerts to start up again. What do you think will happen with live shows going forward? Will we get to see Mötley Crüe come back and play live after telling us they were done?

It’s difficult to say, but my outlook isn’t as good as the promoters, I think. There’s long to be long term impacts, and that 2021 release is a bit optimistic, especially if there’s a second or third wave. It’ll be easier to enforce the social distancing in seated arenas, but smaller venues are going to bear the brunt of it, I think.

As for Mötley Crüe – they should use this as an excuse to not tour again. That whole burning the contract was a bit ridiculous. Then again, it’s not as though the entire community didn’t see it coming from a mile away.

Q: For those who may not be aware, you and I are longtime wrestling fans and have been watching WWE for a long damn time. What are your thoughts on the company right now in terms of direction? Also, what do you feel about AEW as of lately and how they are doing going up against WWE?

Answering the latter question first: I think they jumped the gun and the Act of God hasn’t helped them. They can’t do any more fo their live shows for a while and even when they can, the venues will be mostly empty, I think. NXT seems to be presenting a surprisingly strong showing against AEW. Vince also made the mistake of going ahead with the XFL (again). That money could’ve been used to develop more and better talent, but it has gone into a veritable abyss.

WWE has been on the ropes for a while. It seems as though they’ve lost their ability to create new stars, relying instead on the cachet of older legends and comebacks from a bygone era. It’s disappointing, and I hope they can find their footing, but they need someone else in charge of creative.

Q: Here is a fun question, something the world needs right now to be entertained….Who would you vote for, Orange Cassidy (ridiculous comedy wrestler on AEW) or Gene Simmons (musician, entrepreneur and massive douche)?

I would rather emigrate. If either were to win, the American century would be over the following day.

Q: Lastly, I want to thank you for doing this interview for the blog as it provides a nice change from just another album review.

Anytime. 



If interested here is the first video we ever did discussing a variety of topics, primarily about illegal downloading...and I think we reference the legendary artist Blowfly. Good times. 

Interview with Eric Lee from Hellbender

Hellbender is a Sonoma County based metal act that knows how to throw down some crushing riffs of nuclear sounding devastation. I have seen them live a few times and when writing concert reviews I always enjoyed describing their straight forward brand of hard hitting heavy metal. Finally the opportunity came up to interview a member from the band and talk all things Hellbender and learn a little more about the band. So here is an interview with their bass player Eric Lee...

     Hi Eric, thanks for taking the time to do this interview. After seeing Hellbender a few times over the last couple years and writing articles about some of those shows, it is great to talk with someone from the band. To begin I wanted to talk about the history of Hellbender. When did you guys first form? What sort of led to the formation of the band?         

Eric: Hey thanks for coming to our shows lol!! That was an awesome little intro there. Well, the band started to form back in 2011. My friend Clee, who plays guitar, and I have been friends since the 1970's back in 1st and 2nd grade at Grant elementary school in Petaluma. Over the years, we have played in many bands together such as Wingnut, Crimeseen and Porterhouse. We've been playing in the local music scene with those bands back to the late 1990's. So having done so many projects together we wanted to something new but heavier than anything we've done before. So myself on bass, Clee on guitar would jam in a little shack playing thrash metal with our first drummer Todd from the Heat Creeps. We played our first shows after we got Dollar Bill from Seeds of Hate, Indulgence, Bomb Squad! After a few jams Bill was sold and wanted in. We had our frontman!! He had an awesome resume of bands that he was in and myself and Clee had seen Bill perform before so we knew exactly what he was bringing to the table. We came up with the name Hellbender and played our first show at Spankys with The King Must Die at Quincys in Rohnert Park on Nov 1, 2011. We started playing shows around the North Bay as well as the rest of the Bay Area. We recorded and released our first demo Steel, Blood and Bone in March 2014. At that point, we really started to branch out with playing gigs down in LA. We got our second drummer, Matt McKill, to take over the drum throne around November 2014.  He would remain our drummer for the next 3 years, which he played on the Falling Down CD. Once our 2nd CD dropped, things really started to take off for us. We opened for Prong, one of my favorite bands.  We played more shows around the North Bay and the greater Bay Area. We were playing metal and people were digging it, so let's keep this going. We land a management deal with Distilled Entertainment, then WE GOT THE SUMMER TOUR WITH DESTRUCTION & WARBRINGER, HOOOOLLLLLY SHIIIIIIIITT!!! We learned a lot on that first tour and had a lot of fun, you know!! Made some great new connections with all those folks and really got out and played outside of California for the first time. I was a grown teenager living his dream playing metal on tour with a band I grew up listening to when I first started playing bass in 1982. Anyways, it was really a mind blown experience, I remember HUGGING Dollar bill in LA the last night on tour overlooking the SOLD OUT crowd, it was just surreal and inspirational as a lifelong musician. We ended last year, opening the Death Angel Christmas Show at Slims to finish the year off. All things aside, the new year brought change. So, low and behold,  we have changed drummers AGAIN.  We now have Tim Bailey on the kit. He used to play in Nuclear Rabbit for years and as well recently, Trinity Fallen. We wish Matt all the best but it was time to change. We found Tim luckily thru another mutual friend and we jumped at the chance to nail this guy as our drummer. We are very excited about what Tim brings to the table. We have several new songs in the works with him already. We played our first show with him a few weeks ago, in March at the Phoenix for Act of Defience. What a great first show it was super fun! Those guys shredded!!!

  Hellbender has been quite busy over the last few years and the band has played some killer shows and tours with acts like Death Angel and Destruction. Is there any show that stands out or any tour where you could not believe you were playing alongside a certain band?         

Eric: I actually just mentioned that, haha! But I'll go into more juicy details... the last show of the tour in LA, we played at the awesome Regent Theater. It was sold out! Line of kids down the block when we got there. By the time the doors opened, the theater started to fill up quick. We were the second band and when we hit the stage, we were playing in front of about 400+!!!People were headbanging, some even knew and were singing our songs!! Hell yes!! Everyone was pumped and it gave us an extra boost. And like I said before, at the end of the night, Bill and myself were standing up in the balcony watching Destruction overlooking the huge crowd of moshers, just going wild and I was just soaking it all in and loving every single moment of that night. Best Night of the Tour!!!! So cool.

  Now I wanted to discuss your album, “Falling Down,” which from my understanding is your most recent release. How do you feel about that release and what has the feedback been like? I really like the production of the songs and was wondering where you guys recorded the album? Also, how long did it take to record?                 

  Eric: Yes, it is our most recent release and we actually just put out a video of that song, directed by our good friend Mr. Mike Sloat. You can find it on our website “www.Hellbender707.com." Anyway, we recorded the drums at Zone Music with Nick Botelho in November 2015. In January and Feb. 2016 we did my bass tracks and Clee's guitars at our friend from Profits of Doom, Julian Kidd's home studio. Then, April and May 2016, Bill and I finished the main vocal and backing vocals, also with a little help on a few songs from Ken Calmer of Outrage. Nick then mixed it in June/July and we released that in August 2016, jeez... seems so long ago. Two songs were previously on our first CD, Steel, Blood & Bone, but we decided it was worth redoing. And there is a surprise song on there, if you didn't already know, haha since it's been out for 2 years. Yeah, we did Live Wire. So there's actually 8 songs, even though we list 7!  Marketing genius!!! Also, we didn't want to pay Motley Crue, they get enough royalties,  haha! We have been extremely excited about the overall outcome of the record. We spent a lot of time on that record. The production was amazing working with Nick and Julian was super fun. We wanted to take our time and make a record that people enjoyed and I think we achieved that. I was really excited about the drum, guitar and bass tones we got. Also, the vocal production was pretty fuckin' brutal as well, We were all very pleased with the overall production and sound that we got on this record. You put it on and it just slams you in the fuckin' face!! That's what we were going for, so yes we are extremely happy with the outcome of this record!

  Being involved in the Sonoma County Metal Community, what have you noticed over the last fews years? Are more young bands coming through and do you feel like the scene is beginning to really grow?

  Eric: Yeah, we definitely feel that the scene has been growing over the last few years. It's not like it was in the 1990's when you could pack the Phoenix on a weekend. BUT, it seems like people are coming out more and more to shows now. There's a lot of great local bands out there! Skitzo hello, been ruling the scene since the 1980's. Other bands like ourselves, The King Must Die, Trial by Combat and Profits of Doom (also, Oden's Sun) and Aberration have all been making noise around Sonoma County. Ernest who runs the Sonoma County Metal and Hardcore has been the one who gets the National acts to come play in our local venues and that's really been a game changer. Now, bands like Soulfly, Dying Fetus, Prong and  Black Dahlia Murder want to come play in our backyard. This also brings opportunity not only for ourselves but also for younger bands like Trecelence, Incredulous and some others to get out there and play in front of a crowd of friends. So, yes, the scene is growing and it's awesome. Keep going to local shows folks, it's better then sitting on the couch all night. haha! Get out and get your Metal!!

    So I wanted to maybe get a little more background info on how you became a metal maniac and was wondering what were some of the bands who influenced you growing up? Being a bass player who were some of your favorite bass players?     

  Eric: I was 13 and went to see my first metal show, which was Iron Maiden & Scorpions at the Oakland Arena. Holy crap, that opened my eyes, I was front row about 10 feet from Steve Harris playing his bass like a freakin' maniac, wow these guys are badass. So I went and bought my first bass in 1982. Then, my first thrash show was SLAYER and Death Angel at the Stone in 1983'sh. Death Angel came out and killed everyone, but Slayer was just awe-inspiring. At the time, growing up a teenager in this area, we started listening to the first demos from Death Angel, Exodus, Metallica, Megadeth and Slayer. It was a great time for metal, also European bands like Kreator, Destruction, Venom and Mercyful Fate were also huge in my listening collection in the early '80s. Some of my favorite players are too many to mention but the big ones for me would be, for sure Steve Harris, Gene Simmons, Tom Araya, Rex Brown, Les Claypool and of course the man, Geezer F'n Butler.

Eric Lee with Chris Broderick 

    I always like asking this question because some of the shows people come up with sound unbelievably awesome. If you could book a show with three bands along with your own, who would you like to see Hellbender share the stage with for one night?

  Eric: Damn bro, ok, great question there. Thousands of bands come to mind of course, but, if there's any chance to make it happen, this would be amazing. Because they are 2 newer bands compared to old school thrash bands. And they are 2 bands that are the next ones to take over the throne after Slayer leaves. Come to think of it they were the 2 bands that I saw open the Slayer on the Christ Illusion Tour.  That would be LAMB OF GOD & MASTODON. When we started this band, those were 2 bands that were very influential in our development of our sound. Not that we wanted to copy them, but we wanted something new and something we hadn't done before. And both bands we love!! That one show would have to be at Budokan, Japan to a sold out crowd, oh man that would be so fucking' epic!!! Maybe someday Hellbender will tour Japan, sky is the limit my friend, haha!!!

    What can we expect next from Hellbender and what are some goals you have for the band in these coming months? 

  Eric: Summer is here and the time is right, to play some killer shows baby!! We have the Cinco De Mayo Slayer-bration @Spanky's, paying tribute to one of the greatest metal bands of all time. Dollar Bill, Timmy and myself will be playing a few Slayer tunes that night along with some other local musicians. We also have some shows coming up with East Bay thrashers Hand of Fire and Cultural Warfare. Maybe play some Sacramento and San Francisco shows. There's also talk of doing some more LA/San Diego shows, anything is possible with us. Hellbender is always looking for new opportunities and markets to crack into, within reason of course. We are not looking to go on the road for 6 weeks or anything like that. That would be nice but it's not realistic for us. Since we have to work to make money, touring is not cheap or easy. It's hard to do, and costs a lot of money, A LOT!!! So, we just spreading our wings as much as we can, do interviews like this and just trying to get our name out to the Metal Community!! We know you are out there!! haha!! So, we are also write new tunes for what will become our 3rd record, which will hopefully come out by the end of the year?... But I'm not making any promises because there is still a lot of work to be had! Henceforth, we shall bestow upon thee most brutal and in your face metal that we can deliver!... Sorry, I sometimes bust out in Old English banter!! Anyways, we are really excited to be working with Timmy our new drummer who has a ton of experience. We set the bar high for ourselves with Falling Down and our plan is to crush that last record! Things are coming together for us, so we are excited about starting that process of recording when we are armed and ready for it!!

  Well Eric, once again thanks for taking the time to do this interview and look forward to seeing you guys live again down the road!

Eric: Yes, thanks again for this opportunity. Hellbender is excited for the new year and really wanting to get a new record out again because music makes the world go 'round! We will continue to play around Sonoma County as well as the greater Bay Area, so watch our facebook.com/Hellbender707 page for show announcements, live updates, videos, etc but also check out our website www.hellbender707.com... & Remember to kick back with some friends, crack a beers, spark up a fattie and crank some mother F'ing HELLBENDER!!!!!!! Rock On!!!!



Hellbender Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/hellbender707/

Interview: Death of Kings

After reviewing their new 7” single, “Hell Comes to Life,” which is expected to be released in late March through Boris Records, I decided to come up with some questions for the Atlanta based thrash metal maniacs in Death of Kings. Two of the members, Matt Kilpatrick (Lead Guitar / Backing Vocals) and Scott Price (Bass / Backing Vocals), were kind enough to answer these questions that give more insight into the band's history and upcoming releases. Their enthusiasm for heavy metal music is undeniable and they are definitely an act to keep an eye out for in the world of metal.

Hi Matt and Scott! Thanks for taking the time to answer some questions about Death of Kings and what you guys have in the works for this year. 2017 is looking to be a busy year for the band.

Matt: Our pleasure, man. We’ve got a lot coming this year. This band has been at it for more than seven years and after numerous line-up changes, these guys are ready to show the metal world what they’ve been stewing on for so long.

Scott: With a single and a full length coming out, this is the year we’ve been working toward for a long time. The anticipation is killing me!

To begin, you guys have a new 7” single, “Hell Comes to Life,” that will be released March 31st through Boris Records. How excited are you about this release and what are your thoughts on the two songs featured on it? One of the songs is a killer cover of, “Hell Patrol,” by Judas Priest and I wanted to know what made you guys decide to choose that song in particular?

Scott: I was pushing for it for a long time. Painkiller has always been my favorite Judas Priest album. For so long I was dying to hear our vocalist/guitarist, Matt Matson, sing it. I’m really excited – it’s the first official release to feature Matt Kilpatrick, and we’ve been waiting to drop the song Hell Comes to Life since not long after we released the Knifehammer single in 2013.

Matt: We’re all really excited about this release. It’s the band’s first official release since the Knifehammer 7” and we’re extremely stoked on how this one sounds. Raheem Amlani (of Withered) of Orange Peel Studios really delivered on engineering these two songs, and Damian Herring (of Horrendous) mastered the tracks to perfection. When I was first thinking about joining the band in early 2015, our drummer, Amos, mentioned covering Priest’s “Hell Patrol” and I think that made me realize I was meant to play with these guys. That’s always been one of my top Priest songs, and I never thought I’d have the chance to play it with such rad dudes.

After the single is released I read that you have an album in the works that is expected to come out later this year. Can you maybe tell readers a bit more about when the full-length will be released? Also, how would you compare the new material to Death of King’s older material?

Scott: Having Knifehammer on the record really helps the transition from the old material to the new material. That song was really a turning point in our sound – and it set us down the path that lead to this album. Compared to the band’s previous efforts, this full-length is a complete work – every one really stepped up their game to bring a crushing final product.

Matt: The full length is scheduled for an early June release. The new material is far more developed, destructive, and vicious than previous efforts. The band has gone through its fair share of line-up’s before my time, and I think the band has really cemented their identity with the songwriting it’s been doing since the last single in 2013.

The band has been around since 2009, however, Matt joined later on from what I read in the bio. Matt, how did you come to join Death of Kings? Also, I know that you play in another awesome brutal band called, Cemetery Filth, so I wanted to know what it’s like balancing the work between two bands?

Scott: THIS IS NOT ABOUT SCOTT. NEXT QUESTION.

Matt: Haha… I didn’t join Death of Kings officially until early 2015. I temporarily left Cemetery Filth in late December on 2014, and moved back to my hometown of Atlanta. Death of Kings drum lord, Amos, knew me from booking a couple of Filth shows, and asked if I was interested in joining DoK. Based off my prior knowledge of Death of Kings, I wasn’t sure if my riffing style would work with the band – but he showed me some secret demos of some new songs that really turned my head. I was extremely excited to finally play in a band with songs in the classic thrash vein. I grew up on 80’s thrash metal and slowly developed into a death metal guy. Being able to play in a band that plays the old thrash style in such a new and refreshing way really fulfilled a lot of dreams I had as a teen in Atlanta, back before the metal scene had fully re-developed.
Balancing work between the two bands can be difficult – but we all make it work. The Filth guys still live up in Northern Tennessee, so I’m about 5 hours from them. It sucks, but we make it work – and Amos’ promotion company, A.Rippin Production, still treats us as Atlanta-locals – so we’ve gotten a lot of opportunities through him that we’re eternally grateful for (thanks man!) Both bands are on different schedules, though. I’m very lucky in that respect.
We all have had more than one project going at once...  Our vocalist/lead guitarist, Matt Matson, recently re-started an old hardcore band (and underground legends), The Despised; Amos has been full-force with Death of Kings while in grind destructors, Spewtilator, new wave vet’s, Lust, and until recently, Magoo’s Heroes, as well as some other fun new projects; and Scott’s been working with a local band called Air Wolves. When you’re into music – you make time for it. If you don’t have the time for it, well…You usually start looking for a new job.

Death of Kings has shared the stage with some very influential and iconic metal bands over the years. Is there a concert that stands out, or do you have a few memorable performances?

Scott: Dude, D.R.I. were the coolest dudes. We shared a few beers and partied down in their mini-van listening to other projects they had in the works. They put on a great set for about an hour and a half. Playing with Ghoul, Skeletonwtich, and Black Anvil was also a dream line-up for me. They were all great guys and we raged – destroying the place.

Matt: Though it was a year or more after Scott’s favorite show with Ghoul; opening for them was a dream come true. Playing with Horrendous, All Hell, Night Magic (former members of Hour of 13) and so many others at Mac Rock Festival last year was also an incredible experience. Opening for the legends VOIVOD and our bro’s in Vektor was a show I’ll never forget...there’s just so many. It’s so fun to be a part of Death of Kings because they’re an amazing live band – and it’s an endless party at their shows.

Sort of jumping back to the new music and the songwriting process in general, how does the band go about writing songs? Do you all sort of pitch in, or does one person come up with something and then you work together on it from there?

Scott: Matson usually comes in with some riffs and we jam it out from there. Our drummer, Amos, helps us figure out timing and arrangements. Matt and I throw in riffs as the song progresses. Then we just put it all into a Thrash Compacter.

Matt and Scott

Keeping with songwriting as a theme, what do you think makes for a great thrash/heavy metal song? What elements do you like to hear and maybe offer some examples from bands who may have influenced you?

Scott: It’s all about the chug’s (fast or slow), over-the-top solo’s, and crushing change-up’s. Riffs with a little dose of hardcore and crossover. In regards to bands who influence us: Motorhead, Slayer, Megadeth, Bad Brains, DRI, Suicidal Tendencies, Exodus, Cro-Mags, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest – throw all of those together and you get Death of Kings.

Matt: These guys have been playing music for years – Matson and Amos for around two decades. They were punks then (and may still identify that way)…but that raw, spiteful energy flows through in the forms of blood-hungry riffing and ripping drumming. When it comes to excellent thrash and heavy metal songs, we’re all about writing parts that make you want to break your neck to – riffs that release all of your frustration’s with the world.

When the full-length album is released do you plan to go on tour? If so, are you heading out West? I am sure the Bay Area thrash metal maniacs would be ready for some of your headbanging riffs of hellish nature.

Scott: We’ve got a short run planned for the single release, and Amos is vigilantly working on planning a tour for the early summer when the record is released.

Matt: We’ve got plans to do a Northeast circuit as soon as the record drops in June – and we hope to head out West and hit the Pacific coast either late this year, or Spring of 2018. We’ve got a lot of energy built up behind this album and have some awesome new ideas formulating for what’s next – so you’ll be sure to know the reckoning of Death of Kings.

Thanks again for doing this interview and can’t wait for more face melting riffs of thrash insanity from Death of Kings! Keep up the good work and I am glad to know that there are young bands enthusiastically carrying the flag for heavy metal!

Scott: Horns and Hails!

Matt: Many thanks and hails as always, Robert! Hopefully we can get out to the Bay Area and party with you soon!

Follow Death of Kings on Facebook by clicking on the link below:
https://www.facebook.com/deathofkingsmetal/

Interview with Unreqvited

Unreqvited is a one-man atmospheric black metal project from Canada that skillfully combines a variety of different sounding elements to construct an atmospheric world with cinematic like qualities. Last month Unreqvited's debut full-length album, "Disquiet," was released and has received high praise from fans and critics. After reviewing the album for this blog, I thought it would be a good idea to learn more about the band and ask the mastermind behind this brilliant music some questions. Here is the interview...


Hello there and thanks for taking the time to do this interview. “Disquiet,” is a release that I think displays brilliant songwriting and very creative musical abilities. How long has Unreqvited been around for and when did you start working on the album?

Unreqvited: Thank you! I began writing for the project towards the end of last winter. I wrote the title track off the record before I had even decided that I wanted to start up a black metal project. As soon as the song was complete I put it up online and Pest Productions sent me a message within two hours of it being up. This was my confirmation that I wanted to follow through with the project.

From what I have read on your Facebook page and in the album’s description, you play all the instruments on the album. Is that correct? What is it like being in a one-man band? Do find that you get to have more creative freedom?

Unreqvited: Yes, I composed all of the music and recorded, mixed, and mastered all of it myself in my bedroom. Of course one of the main perks of having a solo project is having full control over everything creatively, which isn't something I necessarily had in previous projects. Unreqvited is not my only active music endeavor, however it is the only project where I can conduct everything exactly as I want it to be done.

The production quality on this album was very impressive and that really stood out when I first listened to the release. Where did you record the album and maybe walk readers through how you recorded some of the songs? Were there any songs you felt took longer to record, or maybe need extra time to compose?

Unreqvited: I've heard quite a lot of mediocre production coming out of the scene recently, and although it is not traditional to do so, I set out to create something that was produced well enough that it could appeal to people outside of the strict genre confinements that it may be categorized as.

I would describe Unreqvited as atmospheric black metal with an incorporation of different musical elements that mainly focus on creating a strong atmosphere. However, I find labeling and describing music to be a difficult task, as musicians can have a variety of influences and reviewers can possibly ignore certain aspects of an artist’s album. I was wondering if you could talk about the different styles of music that have influenced you and may have contributed to Unreqvited’s sound?

Unreqvited: I was heavily influenced by many different genres in the creation of Disquiet. Apart from the newer wave of black metal/shoegaze hybrid bands, I am very interested in film scores, New Age music, and generally anything with a huge cinematic feel. I think you can see a lot of this influence in the very last track on the album. I set out to create something that could still fit within the genre of atmospheric black/post-black, but to put enough of my own influences into it to make it unique.

To me the entire album is one massive story divided up into chapters, but instead of using words you have created a tale with dynamic and captivating sounds. I would describe it as almost cinematic at times. Could you maybe talk about what inspired you to write the album? Also, can you maybe explain your decision to not use actual lyrics to narrate your songs?

Unreqvited: I've always been a huge fan of instrumental music, because it can tell a story that is very open to interpretation by the listener. All of the songs on the record are written with a very personal story in mind, and the meaning behind them will never be unveiled to anyone. I want to put the creative process back into the hands of the listener to create their own meaning.

Unreqvited "Death" : 

This is going to be one of those commonly asked questions, but is there a track on the album that you personally think stands out amongst the rest? Let’s say someone has never heard of Unreqvited before and this is the song you believe they should hear first?

Unreqvited: I think The Autumn Fire and the title track Disquiet are the two songs that really hold the quintessential Unreqvited sound. Any new material will revolve around keeping that core sound, and expanding on it.

Right now you are a one-man project, but would you be interested in performing live with other musicians? Do you think Unreqvited could one day have a full line-up, or are you perfectly content with working on all the music?

Unreqvited: Although I am perfectly content with remaining a studio project, I would love to take the project on the road if the right opportunity arose. There are no plans to do so as if right now, but I won't rule it out as a possibility.

Well, this is the final question and I am going to ask if maybe we can get a glimpse into the future. Are you already starting to work on new material for a follow-up to “Disquiet?”

Unreqvited: I have a few ideas brewing, but I've been very wrapped up in other projects to really put the time into new music right now.

Thanks again for the interview and hope to hear more exceptional recordings from Unreqvited in the future.

Unreqvited: You're very welcome, take care! 


Unreqvited Facebook Page:
https://www.facebook.com/unreqvited/?fref=ts

Unreqvited Bandcamp:
https://unreqvited.bandcamp.com/

Interview with Jacob Lizotte from Feign

With the release of his first full-length album, “Atlas,” due out later this month, Jacob Lizotte the mastermind behind the band, Feign, was kind enough to take the time and answer some questions I had for him. This one-man band combines atmospheric black metal and melodic death metal to create one unique and enjoyable listening experience. You can find a link to my review of, “Atlas,” at the end of this interview. 

Hi there Jacob! Thanks for taking the time to answer these questions. Also, congratulations on your first full-length release, “Atlas.” How does it feel to have a full-length album out and available for people to check out?

Jacob: It feels mighty fine.

Now I reviewed, “Into the Void” last year and have heard some of the songs from “Lost to Eternity,” and I really enjoy those recordings, especially the songs on, “Into the Void.” What did you learn from those releases that might have helped influence you when writing and recording, “Atlas?”

Jacob: I liked the demos but I hadn’t fully captured the essence of how I wanted Feign to sound until now. The sound will continue to evolve, but now I feel as if it’s really established itself.

Production quality is extremely important and it can truly make or break an album in my opinion. How you do feel about the album’s production quality? Also, can you maybe talk about where you recorded the album and briefly go through the process?

Jacob: It gives the exact vibe that I wanted it to give. I wouldn’t change any aspect of the production, I want it to sound a bit old and weathered but while conveying a certain amount of clarity and allowing all of the layers to stay audible. I recorded it in my bedroom with an SM57.

I feel there are a lot of solid tracks on this release to where I would have a hard time picking out a favorite. Is there a song on the album you feel most proud of writing, or are there maybe a few tracks you think really standout?

Jacob: I like the title track a lot, mostly because it’s like an entire beast in its own. The title track was written last summer and it took me by far the longest it’s ever taken for me to write a single song. I’m proud of it, I think it’s sort of a good “overview” of the album and ends it on a good note. Other than that, I really like “…A Visitor” and I will definitely be exploring more emotional and melodic ideas like that in future releases.

As much as I hear atmospheric black metal in your music, I also hear a variety of other unique sounding musical elements at times. I was wondering if you could talk about some of the bands who influenced you growing up and maybe inspired you to write your own music? 

Jacob: I could give you a list of super obscure black metal bands to sound musically savvy, or I could be honest and tell you what really influenced me and potentially shift the way you see or hear the music. Feign is more influenced by melodic death metal then anything. I grew up listening to a ton of In Flames, Metallica, At The Gates, Soilwork and even Killswitch Engage. You get the point, I love all forms of music and appreciate all forms of metal and music. In my mind Feign is early In Flames with blast beats, high screams and a heavier emphasis on atmosphere and progressive elements. I love Black Metal and everything but it’s not where my heart lies completely by any means.

Not only do I find the instrumental compositions to be extremely creative, but the lyrics on this album also seem to convey great imagination. I was wondering, where do you look for lyrical inspiration and maybe talk about the lyrical origins for some of these songs?

Jacob: I’m not really sure. I sort’ve just try and use imagery and metaphors to convey certain ideas about society, relationships and even my own personal thoughts. It’s not THAT well thought out, to be honest, it’s just as thought as the music itself.

Are you interested in getting other musicians to come in and play with you in Feign, or do you want to keep this a one-man band? Also, are you interested in having Feign play live shows at some point?

Jacob: I wouldn’t mind collaborating but I’m sure I’d be hard to work with at this point, after years and years of creating music on my own. Playing shows would be neat but again, I don’t know anyone that plays instruments and I don’t mind doing it solo. If you know anyone who can play drums or something have them give me a shoutout.

I know this might be a bit early since, “Atlas,” is just being released, but is there already another potential album in the works? Will there be more creative atmospheric extreme sounding music in the future listeners can except from Feign? If this is top secret classified information I understand you might not be able to give the readers the full details, but maybe subtle hints might be sufficient...

Jacob: It’s top secret. Only 3 people in the known world possess such highly volatile information, and will be shot on command if they utter any word or phrase that hints at its existence. Kidding! Yeah, I mean I’ve actually recently been working on newer stuff and it’s been super fun. I’ve enjoyed writing for Feign now more than ever, the sound is expanding and I’m drawing on new elements, as well as other cool things going on. It should be fun to see how the newer music will compare to Atlas and such. I’m thinking about bringing in some electronic elements and maybe more thrashy/death metal type stuff just lingering in there. But of course the sole sound will stay and there will be moments of “classic Feign” sprinkled all over it. It’ll be like an ice cream cone with chocolate sprinkles!

Well, congratulations once again and I truly believe your hard work has paid off, because “Atlas” is definitely an album that I highly recommend people check out. Can’t wait for what Feign has to offer up next! Cheers! \m/

Jacob: Thanks mate. Hold up them devil horns for me! I appreciate the interview!

Link to Review of "Atlas":

http://rockandmetaltemple.blogspot.com/2016/06/feign-atlas.html

Link to Feign Facebook Page: 

https://www.facebook.com/feignband/?fref=ts