Randy Rhoads put down a legacy that is eternal in the history of metal.
RANDY RHOADS whose knack for melodic song writing and stunning neo-classical lead guitar style revolutionized metal in 1980s, died tragically thirty years ago today. Rhoads (December 6, 1956 – March 19, 1982) died in a plane crash while on tour with OZZY OSBOURNE, but he has left an indelible mark on generations of musicians to follow.
Rhoads who had been an early member of QUIET RIOT shot to fame when he auditioned for the guitar spot in OZZY OSBOURNE’s band THE BILZZARD OF OZZ. The combination of the soft spoken, but immensely talented Rhoads and Ozzy who felt he had to prove himself to the world after his dismissal from BLACK SABBATH was potent and changed the face of music. Rhoads is always remembered as a terrific lead guitarist and was often compared to the best players of his day like EDDIE VAN HALEN. However, equally important as Randy’s impact as a soloist was his legacy as a songwriter, his use of classical modes and his widespread use of major scales in rock and metal that had predominantly been full of brooding minor keys and old-style pentatonic blues riffs up until that point. He also helped innovate an popularize several styles and looks of guitars with his polka-dot Jackson Flying V’s. Although he is best remembered for songs like OZZY hits “Crazy Train”, “Mr. Crowley” “Suicide Solution”, “Over The Mountain” and “Flying High Again” most of his output, however brief is excellent and worthy of repeat listens.
Popular guitar players who have been influenced by Rhoads such as the late DIMEBAG DARRELL, ZAKK WYLDE, Phil Demmel of MACHINE HEAD and a host of metal lead players from the 80s and 90s used to and still do sing his praises. Although his music is among some of the most popular in the genre, you can still hear examples of his reach in many modern bands like ARCH ENEMY, REVOCATION, ANIMALS AS LEADERS, MASTODON, OPETH, BETWEEN THE BURIED AND ME, JOB FOR A COWBOY, THE AGONIST, CHILDREN OF BODOM, WARBRINGER, ICEDEARTH, DECAPITATED, ALL SHALL PERISH and THE FACELESS among many, many others.
Metal Army America interviewed EPHEL DUATH mastermind Davide Tiso via email. The on the eve of the release of a sprawling new EP, On Death And The Cosmos, Tiso shared a great many insights. The new EP sports an all-star lineup of some of the greatest names in all of metal which enabled Tiso to bring his grand vision to life. In the interview below he not only explained the concept of the record, but broke down each song to its lyrical bones, detailed how the new lineup came together, what the future holds for the group and much more!
MAA: Please discuss the concept behind the new EP On Death And The Cosmos?
DT: The main concept of On Death and Cosmos rotates around the idea of feeling rootless. The creative process this time started from a personal loss: that event marked me so deep not just because I’ve lost a person I felt very close to, but because together with his disappearance I feel I broke the bond with the place I’m coming from. At this point in my life I think I could live pretty much everywhere without feeling home sick. I have a “cosmos” of opportunity opening up in front of my eyes, and while this can be considered a positive things for a human being, the lyrics in the EP dig in the painful process of detachment from what for 30 and more years I felt were my roots. On Death and Cosmos holds together some of the lyrics I’m most attached to. These words erupted from me, and all three songs are lyrically tied together by the theme of Death and mourning, and the escape represented by the Cosmos.
After that loss I mentioned before, I felt in a terrible depression and returning to compose for EPHEL DUATH was the way out from that paralyzing state. Some days I was feeling so bad that I felt my mind getting take over by the spirit of my dead beloved, who was not accepting his death and wanted to keep living through me:
The opening song “Black Prism” pictures the hopeless search of oneself in the splitting process of spirit attachment.
“I lie between layers of perception
I’m neither here or there Twice but still nothing My image multiplies While my sight plays dead and regress”
The song “Raqia”, the ancient Hebrew word for the English “firmament”, marks the pain caused by abandonment and the excruciating consequences of letting go.
“You may be as lonely as I feel
But the emptiness around you is cosmic Immense While mine Mine tastes just like flesh”
Composing the lyrics of On Death and Cosmos I spent a great deal of time out at night, listening music, smoking cigarettes and looking at the sky. Considering the turmoil my life was in at that moment, writing new lyrics I was literally pushing my sight and my mind as distant as possible from that mess I was in. I wrote this way every time I got the chance and I started to feel a pretty strong comforting sensation while immersing my head and thoughts into the sky/firmament/Raqia entity. I read that warming feeling like the confirmation that my healing process was supposed to pass through that stage to get to the core of my pain and I kept going.
The closing track “Stardust Rain” is an ode to self-purification through inner death of senses.
“I am the black coat
Where stars hide in I protect each of them One by one They keep shining to live I let them burning to live To my slow death I aim to”
This is probably the song I feel closer to. Everything in life has a positive and a negative power, I think that bad situations are the one that teach us the most: loss gives us the chance to readjust or even reshape ourselves during and after the mourning process. This positive chance offered by such traumatic experience is blurred out by the big dose of pain involved but I’m confident that each of us while suffering, on the long run, have the chance to know how much they are changing and self transforming day after day.
I changed for better while mourning: I was an unfocused and worse person before my grandfather died. His death brought some good to me, I had the chance to find myself again, and as I wrote inside the booklet of On Death and Cosmos: “It took one’s death to give life back to another”.
DAVIDE TISO leads EPHEL DUATH.
MAA: How did you go about recruiting such stellar talent to join the band?
DT: Respecting my music so much I try to set the bar pretty high for what concern the other musicians I involve with EPHEL DUATH. In On Death and Cosmos I’m lucky enough to be joined by my first choices in terms of drumming, bass playing, singing, producing and mastering. Thanks to the big support offered by Agonia Records and with a big dose of stubborness, this time around I was able to make the album I wanted with the team I wanted. Planning things right and way ahead of time we made the collaboration with MARCO MINNEMANN and STEVE DI GIORGIO possible. Both these musicians have a pretty tight schedule, but their enthusiasm, professionalism and commitment to the project made the difference. They found the time and the energy to learn my songs, compose and record their part, and they both did a wonderful job.
Having KARYN CRISIS at vocals is like a dream come true. I’m a huge CRISIS fan and I’ve been a fan of her since the very first time I read one of her lyrics. I’m extremely proud of having Karyn spitting out my words on a microphone and I can’t wait to have her record some new material.
To make this shine even more I choose to have the supersonic ears of ERIK RUTAN behind the mix board, and I have to say that I have never felt that connected with a producer before. Erik worked non-stop on this EP for weeks, and I found his work ethic to be frankly stunning. I consider Erik Rutan one of the key elements for On Death and Cosmos successful result and collaborating with him has been one of the best musical experience I had since I started this band.
DAVIDE TISO has truly found his muse in KARYN CRISIS.
MAA: Karen especially seems to fit the music perfectly. Did you write with her in mind originally?
DT: I composed the EP knowing that Karyn was going to sing it. There are some kind of voices that are like a slap in the face and some others that hit you directly in the stomach being that emotionally charged: Karyn’s voice has both these qualities. I think her voice fit the ED music extremely well. Karyn’s raw and cutting way of singing is able to bring the songs to higher emotional picks and I’m blown away by how effortlessly our two different musical backgrounds collapsed together in this EP.
MAA: Is the lineup going to be able to stay together to at least create the next full length album and tour?
DT: This lineup will record also the new album, Marco Minnemann is actually already recording the drums, he did 5 songs and everything sounds stellar so far. ED will return to play live once the full length will be recorded, but just if we will be offered the necessary conditions to do some good shows. To compose music is a very intimate process for me, vital I would say: I don’t do it for passion, I do it because I have to. To bring EPHEL DUATH live usually means to loose a lot of the artistic side of things, and having to deal with just the practical, and worse, side of music: promoters that don’t pay the fees, shows with lack of promotions, bad planned tours, a lot and a lot of expenses. I’m not interested in repeating that kind of experience once again. Returning to deal full time on EPHEL DUATH, I promised myself to not accept anymore compromises and to take decisions solely based on the band’s benefit. To play live in horrible conditions will not be an option for this band anymore. It would be fantastic to have this line up on a stage and I’ll work my ass off to make this happen.
KARYN CRISIS did this custom limited edition print for the new album
MAA: Do you think it is difficult for visionary artists to exist in the framework of “the music industry”?
DT: I would say that for long time it was pretty much impossible for a musician to deal with the music industry without feeling powerless. The whole music industry was in the hands of few greedy ones, now that whole mechanism is collapsing everyone seems to escape from it, trying to save the few money left and finally, the real stars of the game are returning back. Underground labels: small realities run by really passionate people, respectful of the bands and their music, that with labor of love and not the revenues in mind are putting together products with such quality and tremendous attention to details.
What it’s important now is to save the public. Probably what I am about to say could sound like a silly utopia, but I still think it’s important to underline how much the main public need to return to consider music as a form of art that have to be respected. Music is not supposed to be taken for granted, ready to be consumed and disposed with a click. Bands are not supposed to accept to spend their time begging for attention, bands should instead spend their time playing good music. I think that on the long run, quality music will keep being noticed, and it’s up to the bands to believe in themselves, creating unique music and stick to their vision. To compose honest music probably represents the only way to be musically dissident nowadays. I have faith that EPHEL DUATH’s public will keep supporting all the hard work and labor of love we put in this underground reality since day one.
MAA: What bands or artists do you listen to when you are looking for inspiration?
DT: Sometimes I listen to music to get some musical inputs, and I usually finish listening to death metal. This genre makes my brain feels very alert, there are so many nuances to capture here and there and I would say this is the kind of music I’m more fund at the moment. I like so many bands, the more dissonant the better, probably SUFFOCATION, HATE ETERNAL, AUTOPSY, DECREPIT BIRTH and CATTLE DECAPITATION are on top of my list.
Sometimes I listen to it to relax, and to get some unconscious inspiration, I like BARONESS, UFOMAMMUT, ZU, ANIMALS AS LEADERS, ELECTRIC WIZARD.
Sometimes I need music it to write lyrics: I try to enter in the “writing lyrics” mood at least once every week or two and when I do that, the day is gone: I usually finishing drunk and crying by myself in a park bench while joggers swing by. To write lyrics I usually put a song in loop, or I listen a part of a song in loop. I need heavy sorrowful music, but I never compose lyrics listening to EPHEL DUATH. Lately I have been writing listening to MONUMENTUM, AGALLOCH, CULT OF LUNA, NEUROSIS.
MAA: If you could book a festival for EPHEL DUATH to play with any bands of your choosing, whom would you choose?
DT: I would love to have EPHEL DUATH opening the festival so that I would be able to enjoy the other shows. Three stages, a Death Metal one with DECREPIT BIRTH, CATTLE DECAPITATION, SUFFOCATION and HATE ETERNAL as headliners. A Doom stage with DISPIRIT, UFOMAMMUT, AGALLOCH, YOB and PENTAGRAM as headliners. A main experimental rock metal stage with DYSRHYTHMIA, RUSSIAN CIRCLES, ANIMALS AS LEADERS, IHSHAN, BARONESS and REFUSED as headliners. $60 the ticket, not a bad festival!
(Special thanks to Davide Tiso, Agonia Records and Nathan T. Birk)
Few bands have come along on the metal scene that have changed the game like PERIPHERY has in the last few years. Along with ANIMALS AS LEADERS that have paved a new ground by combining progressive rock, math metal, MESHUGGAH’s patented riff style and other forms of music like jazz fusion influences to completely change the palate of what modern metal can be. Of course our denim vest clad brethren will hate this for being to “core” or melodic and whatnot. Still, it is refreshing to see the evolution of a band that is just scratching the surface of what it can do. This is likely the first of several releases by the band in the near future as they are said to be sitting on two more albums worth of material.
In many ways Periphery II features somewhat of a new band. What started out as a project in uber guitarist/producer Misha Mansoor’s bedroom has blossomed into a full, living monster of a group. In particular the additions of guitarist Mark Holcomb and Adam “Nolly” Getgood on bass/production have bore much sonic fruit on top of the impressive, layered approach the band already had with their writing. “Muramasa” crushes out of the starting blocks as the opening track. Massive guitars and drums pound you as vocalist Spencer Sotello’s melodies soar over the din. “Have A Blast” really starts to separate this album and the band from its peers. Starting off with cello and violin riff and some programed synth sounds, the track is not unlike most of the bands’ older material. Prog, djent and even some death metal blast beats rock the otherwise sunny sounding melodic track. Sotello’s amazing tenor voice glides into the upper registers easily and his screams are often terrifying. What really sets this song apart is following the breakdown is a stupendous solo from shredder supreme GUTHRIE GOVAN. If you don’t know his name, go YouTube one of his videos and pick your jaw off the floor later. “Facepalm Mute” leans heavier on the death vocals and bruising riffs which will interest heavier music fans. Songs like “Ji” and “Scarlet” will have you smiling from ear to ear and are pretty up-tempo ragers. There are many bands with three guitar attacks, but few have the thoughtful writing for three voices like Mansoor, Holcomb and mainstay Jake Bowen. “Luck As a Constant” features more insane beats from Matt Halpern, who lays down a phenomenal performance overall. “Make Total Destroy” is the single and is as heavy as it is harsh. The small section of death metal people who enjoy this song will gravitate to this track in particular. “Erised” has a guest appearance by DREAM THEATER’s JOHN PETRUCCI uniting these modern prog heads with the last generation of prog metal’s heroes. Another great guest appearance is made by Wes Hauch, recent addition to label-mates THE FACELESS. This another, mostly brutal track with fantastic thematic motifs, twist and turns. Sotello again joins the upper echelon of vocalists of the sub-genre like TOMMY RODGERS, Rody Walker and ex-TESSERACT singer Elliott Coleman. Other top tracks include “Ragnarok” and “Masamune”.
Randy Rhoads whose knack for melodic song writing and stunning neo-classical lead guitar style revolutionized metal in 1980′s died tragically thirty years ago today. Rhoads (December 6, 1956 – March 19, 1982) died in a plane crash while on tour with OZZY OSBOURNE, but he has left an indelible mark on generations of musicians to follow.
Rhoads who had been an early member of QUIET RIOT shot to fame when he auditioned for the guitar spot in OZZY OSBOURNE’s band THE BILZZARD OF OZZ. The combination of the soft spoken, but immensely talented Rhoads and Ozzy who felt he had to prove himself to the world after his dismissal from BLACK SABBATH was potent and changed the face of music. Rhoads is always remembered as a terrific lead guitarist and was often compared to the best players of his day like EDDIE VAN HALEN. However, equally important as Randy’s impact as a soloist was his legacy as a songwriter, his use of classical modes and his widespread use of major scales in rock and metal that had predominantly been full of brooding minor keys and old-style pentatonic blues riffs up until that point. He also helped innovate an popularize several styles and looks of guitars with his polka-dot Jackson Flying V’s. Although he is best remembered for songs like OZZY hits “Crazy Train”, “Mr. Crowley” “Suicide Solution”, “Over The Mountain” and “Flying High Again” most of his output, however brief is excellent and worthy of repeat listens.
Turn this record up loud for full enjoyment!
Popular guitar players who have been influenced by Rhoads such as the late DIMEBAG DARRELL, ZAKK WYLDE, Phil Demmel of MACHINE HEAD and a host of metal lead players from the 80′s and 90′s used to and still do sing his praises. Although his music is among some of the most popular in the genre, you can still hear examples of his reach in many modern bands like ARCH ENEMY, REVOCATION, ANIMALS AS LEADERS, MASTODON, OPETH, BETWEEN THE BURIED AND ME, JOB FOR A COWBOY, THE AGONIST, CHILDREN OF BODOM, WARBRINGER, ICED EARTH, DECAPITATED, ALL SHALL PERISH and THE FACELESS among many, many others.
Metal Army recently caught up with James Monteith, guitarist of UK progressive/djent merchants TESSERACT. They are out on the road supporting BETWEEN THE BURIED AND ME and ANIMALS AS LEADERS and winning over new fans nightly. Life for a young band these days is not without hurdles as they are breaking in new lead singer Elliott Coleman (ZELLIACK/ex-SKY EATS AIRPLANE) who replaced Daniel Tompkins who retired over the summer. James chatted about this, touring, American breakfast habits and the future of the band who is still supporting their excellent release One (Century Media) from earlier this year.
One was released this past March. There is also an instrumental version available.
MAA: How is the tour going so far?
JM: Hi there! Tour’s going great thanks.. it takes a few days to settle in and adapt to the road lifestyle, but we’re off to play our fifth show today so we’re in full swing now. It’s pretty awesome to be on the road with two great bands, BTBAM and AAL and we’re playing some great venues too.. so yeah.. it’s good!
MAA: How has the experience of touring the US been?
JM: Touring the US is always great; the people are welcoming and it always amazes us that so many people over here listen to our music. I’m probably seeing this through rose tinted glasses, but the American crowds seem to be very open minded to what we do, which is awesome and has helped us pick up new fans at most of the shows so far. Previously we’ve traveled the states in a small van and trailer, but this time we’ve upgraded to an RV, so the long drives are a lot more comfortable which makes a massive difference. However, we do have to smell each other each morning which I’m sure will become more potent the further south we go. The other great thing about the RV is that we can cook and store our own food, so we don’t end up in diners every day. Don’t get me wrong, I love American cooked breakfasts – meat, butter, maple syrup, butter, Texas toast, butter, more meat, super-size shakes, cream, biscuits and (more) butter are all awesome. But I think we all nearly died from fat poisoning on the last tour! The other great thing about being over here is being able to use our ‘accents’, which comes in very handy if you’re trying to blag something!
MAA: Why do you think some of the fans have been slow to adopt Elliott?
JM: I think the majority of the Fans who are taking a while to come round to Elliot are possibly ones who have fairly recently got into us and are genuinely disappointed as they dug what Dan did and to an extent it’s understandable – you get into a band then a key member leaves – and especially with vocalists this can massively change the dynamic of the band. However, I urge those still unsure to check out the new “Eden”, and also come to see us live. You can even download “Eden” here for free, so there’s no excuse:
Elliot is different, as he’s a different person, but he brings a load of different and exciting sounds and strengths to the band and we couldn’t be more happy with how he’s working out. I remember when Keith Caputo left LIFE OF AGONY and being gutted as a kid, but I checked them out with Whitfield Crane on vox, they still slayed and all faith was restored. Not that I want to pull a direct analogy, as I doubt Dan will have a sex change and rejoin TESSERACT in 5 years…not sure he’d make quite as hot a chick as Keith.
TESSERACT are opening on of the best tours this fall.
MAA: For those not familiar with you who are the influences of the band?
JM: As individuals we take influence from a huge rang of influences ranging from prog rock, metal, electronica, jazz, classical. We probably have most bases covered between us. However, the main influences which can probably heard in TESSERACT are PINK FLOYD, MESHUGGAH, THE DOORS and anything with groove!
MAA: The video for “Eden” was just released and I think it’s terrific. Is there a meaning behind the video?
JM: I think our director Ganesh Rao can explain this the best -
Ganesh Rao Director- “This symbolic piece represents the unnatural habits we find ourselves hard to break away from, and our weakness to control its effects. Desensitized to the harshness of reality, we carry on with our artificial lives. We can sense that our only Eden is dying, but we’re too tied up to try and save it”
MAA: Do you feel the band can transcend the “djent” genre and do other music down the road?
JM: TESSERACT was a project that started in 2003 by Acle (guitarist) and we started jamming as a band in 2006, way before the popularization of the word. From the beginning the band has always been on an evolutionary path, so as great as it is to be part of a current popular scene, it will no way restrict us musically. The demos we’re working on from the second album are already veering away from the standard ‘djenty’ sound as a result of our material progression. Don’t worry, we’re not releasing a collection of smooth lounge numbers with a bit of twinkly clean guitar over the top. There are a lot of heavy riffs in there, but we’re definitely exploring other musical ideas.
over the summer the band completed a successful tour of Australia with PERIPHERY.
MAA: Has the band already begin writing the follow up to One since Elliot joined?
JM: To be honest we’ve not done all that much as our primary focus has been to get the band up to scratch to tour this Autumn.. (Fall?!) although we’ve been working on a few ideas and we’re really excited about what Elliot is bringing to the mix. He has a very groovy, soulful edge and also the most brutal aggressive roars, so has injected a whole new dose of excitement and enthusiasm! We’ll be releasing an EP early next year, so make sure to check that out.
MAA: What is on tap for the band for the remainder of the year for touring?
JM: The BTBAM/AAL tour takes right up to the 11th December, so that’s pretty much what we’ll be doing. The Deserts of Utah, the sun of Cali and the snow of Ontario await us! Please check out the dates and come down. Following the 11th we’ll all go into hibernation until the work on album two kicks off properly in the new year!
(Special thanks to James Monteith, TESSERACT and Century Media Records)
Perhaps no band has had a more anticipated album this year than ANIMALS AS LEADERS. As the best and most popular band and progenitor of the now ubiquitous “djent” style of progressive metal music fans and other bands are looking for them to lead the way. Of course you can make a case while the band has prodigious talent, some of their success has been an anomaly even among bands within their sub-genre. Not too mention the inevitable backlash of growing popularity and the masses of other fans and bands who just don’t care for them. The self titled album was really a solo album for Tosin Abasi (with an assist from Misha Mansoor of PERIPHERY) which grew into a a full fledged band later on. On Weightless that band has made a truly collaborative album of more of the same adventurous style people are expecting.
Right from the hyper fast finger tapped intro to “An Infinite Regression” you know you are getting more of the same spastic creativity as the first album. The frenetic main riffs crash in and bring a sense of the new and familiar all at once. Of course Abasi’s phenomenal and smooth lead skills are on display quickly with all of the emotional warmth of before. There are definitely some new proggier leanings on this album in addition to jazz and pop influences. Co-guitarist Javier Reyes and drummer/producer Navene Koperweis are now fully integrated into the fold as writers and players and the sound is a little less cold and robotic than before. Not that there is anything wrong with cold and robotic for this style of music anyhow. It is almost a pre-requisite left over from the MESSHUGGAH influence. Second track “Odessa” is chock full of sick rhythmic experimentation like that of a jazz fusion band with the heaviness of modern metal make for a heady sonic cocktail. Reyes gets to shine but mainly holds down the dusky riffs since there is still no actual bassist, Koperweis really gets to go all out and the less synthetic and more natural sound of the drums is a definite improvement. Parts of this track could almost be a DREAM THEATER song. “Somnarium” stars out mellow before giving way to dramatic changes and tempo shifts. There is less an emphasis on being hard or metal, but that is made up for in pure musicianship. The main theme returns a few times with a flourish while more trademark computer bleeps and bloops sound like R2-D2 trying to fix the hyperdrive on The Millennium Falcon. “Earth Departure” definite continues the sci-fi theme and has a hint of Danny Elfman in the breakdown. Another solo from Abasi is pure musical heaven. “Isolated Incidents” is another jazzy workout of a song. First heard was first last summer on tour as a warm up to the coming album. Hearing here in its full glory this song is even better than before. Again, abundant creativity and careful choice of song styles seems to be first and foremost among these writers’ minds. “Do Not Go Gently” is the gruffest sounding track, but still packs plenty of melodic muscle. “New Eden” could be considered the most strictly “djent” track on the album for the first minute or so, but even then the song has a few surprises. Other top tracks include “Cylindrical Sea”, “To Lead You To An Overwhelming Question” and the title track. The band has really not expanded on the formula as much as they have grown together more. The their growing legions of fans that will be enough for now.
Texas prog metal merchants WHITE ARMS OF ATHENA just released their excellent debut album on Prosthetic Records, Astrodrama. Metal Army caught up with bassist Tom Sifuentes to chat about the band, how they make music and what it’s like for a relativity young and humble group of musicians trying to make its way in the game in 2011.
Astrodrama dropped on 8/16.
MAA: Astrodrama is out today, so congratulations! Can you take us through the writing and recording process.
TS: Yeah, sure. And thank you by the way. As far as the writing goes, I’d say all three of the guitar players, I play bass guitar and the two other guitar players we are all really about writing our own stuff. Writing full parts and full songs too. I play guitar too, so all three of us have a big input as to how the songs go. As far as that goes it’s pretty hard to get everybody’s input in without taking away from someone else. I think we did an alright job of including everybody’s and all their writing input. As far as recording goes it was one of the best experiences I’ve ever had. We went out to North Carolina and recorded with Jamie King, who is a pretty famous producer. That was our first real band experience. We haven’t done any big tours yet or recorded in a cool studio like that so to be out of town with the guys was a really great experience.
WAOA only take their music seriously. Photo by Chantelle Renee Photography.
MAA: I hear a ton of different influences on this album. How do you make it all work together so seamlessly?
TS: I think a lot of has to do with, like I said there being three song writers. All three of us, in order to really make it work we need to incorporate everyone’s ideas. I like a lot of jazz and a lot of the smoother stuff and I bring that to the table. While the the other guys really like the grimier, metal stuff. We just try to bring everybody in and that’s how we make it all fit together.
MAA: Is there a loose concept tying the album together?
TS: A few years ago we stumbled upon this little website called Astrodrama. I don’t know if it still goes under that name. It’s kind of like an improve, role playing game, as nerdy as that sounds. I’ve looked on the Internet recently and it’s pretty elaborate with dressing up in costumes. They like to take certain characters from the horoscopes like Pisces and Taurus characters and and what they represent in their human forms. What we wanted to parallel that to with our music is that all of us have very different backgrounds and styles. The same thing with Astrodrama, everybody has totally different styles and a totally unique perspectives. Bringing all these different people together from these backgrounds, it’s like us. It’s kind of the same thing: a lot of people coming together.
Tom Sifuentes is a name you will hear a lot in the future of modern metal bassists.
MAA: You have a pretty unique bass style. Who are some of your influences and what gear do you use to get that sound?
TS: I’d say some of my biggest inspiration as of late comes from Joe Lester of INTRONAUT. His bass lines are out of this world. They are smooth when they have to be and really rocking when they really get into it. One of my all time favorites is Sean Malone. He recorded with CYNIC and he did a lot of other stuff as well. Those two guys really influences me and I can’t even count how many guys other I’ve been inspired by. As far as gear goes I’m with Ampeg right now and I just got an Ampeg 7. I’m playing through all Ampeg from top to bottom. And of course I use Ibanez basses. Where I really get my tone from is this little MXR pedal and I keep it on all the time. Even in the recording, Jamie King had another special DI box, but we wound up using my pedal because it sounded so good and Jamie liked so much.
MAA: The cover art of Astrodrama is very distinctive. How did you hook up with the artist?
TS: Around the time we were about to go record the album I came across this artist from Germany, Dennis Constantine. We thought we’d just reach out to him and he corresponded. We started talking and getting along. He was really cool and understood us, where we are coming from. Being that we are such a young band without too much money, it was cool that he still wanted to work with us. He did an original new piece of art for us which was cool. So we gave him the album and he brought it to us and the front cover and back cover run along together like the same piece. It looks crazy, like it’s from another world. We are really happy with it.
MAA: Do you have any touring plans lined up?
TS: We have a few months off until late October and early November where we will be out for two and half, maybe three weeks. We’ll do some local shows here and there. Then we are meeting us with a prog band from New Jersey called EAST OF THE WALL. We’re gonna do a few weeks out with them, getting out to California and New Mexico and then back to Texas. We have some other stuff in the works too that you will hear about soon. We are always looking for good tours and good shows to play.
MAA: What does it mean to you to to have your band on Prosthetic Records?
TS: I don’t know what to say except that we all really so happy and are ecstatic to be on a label with such a great roster. There are so many bands on the roster that are legendary. We are this little nerdy and new prog band on a label with so much history, it is such an honor. Cliche as that may sound, I mean it. Someday we’d like to be in the class of a GOJIRA or even now ANIMALS AS LEADERS, they are getting so big now and bringing out so much of their genre’s music. We’d like to be one of those bands someday.
Metal Army caught up with Sacha Dunable of INTRONAUT while the band was on tour as direct support for ANIMALS AS LEADERS. We chatted with Sacha about life on the road, writing new songs, indispensable gear, his various side projects and other topics.
INTRONAUT spent their summer opening for ANIMALS AS LEADERS.
MAA: How is the tour going so far?
SD: The tour is going great. All the shows have been packed with lots of enthusiastic kids, all the bands are great. So we couldn’t be happier.
MAA: I have seen you several times since Valley of Smoke has came out and every show has its own unique vibe. Is that predetermined or spontaneous?
SD: Yeah, it’s usually predetermined especially on these support tours you’re working with a pretty strict time restriction and so it’s always a pretty well rehearsed set. We do the same thing pretty much every night, but yeah I mean the last couple times we’ve been through here it’s been different so we’ve had different time restrictions so sometimes we’ve been able to, kinda let loose and play more songs. Play some of our more adventurous songs just because were a little more relaxed.
MAA: Valley of Smoke is almost a year old. Looking back on it now did you accomplish everything on it you hoped to ?
SD: Yeah, I think so. I mean at this point we are already starting to write new riffs and stuff. When that happens you get excited about the new stuff and automatically the last record just doesn’t really excite you as much anymore, but I still think it was our best record up until then and definitely a good progression for us. I still love the record I’m really proud of it, but I’m just already kinda getting antsy to work on new stuff.
MAA: Do you have one piece of gear for the road that you can’t live without?
SD: I don’t know. I guess… what I would need? I would need a delay pedal. Other than that, you can just give me any kind of crappy guitar or gear and I can make it work. I wouldn’t be happy about it, but I could make it work.
Sacha's side project GRAVITON saw the release of Massless this spring on Translation Loss Records.
MAA: Would you to talk about the GRAVITON record?
SD: Yeah, it’s just a record that I do with my two friends Derek (Donely) and Darin (Tombascio), who have their own band called NATIONAL SUNDAY LAW, which actually is no more because one of the guys moved away. Yeah, I mean, they’re just old friends and have a home studio, the drummer Derek does and so we would just get together. I mean this is what I do, I just make music when I’m at home and we’re not touring or whatever. We did a lot of it while INTRONAUT was writing and recording Valley of Smoke, just whenever I wasn’t doing that, we would just be in there cranking shit out. It took us a year to finish, but we’re pretty happy with it. I’m not ashamed of it or anything. It was a fun record to make and obviously we were doing it ourselves so there’s things that if I could go back and change a couple of things, I definitely would. It was a super causal thing. The fact that Translation Loss even put it out was kind of unexpected. We weren’t even expecting that, it was supposed be just be a pretty casual thing. But that band is pretty much done now. I mean we might do something, with technology nowadays you can make anything happen with people living all over the country, or the world. I actually have a new project going with Derek from that band on drums along with Charles Elliot from ABYSMAL DAWN, Derek (Rydquist) the now former singer of THE FACELESS doing a total slow doom metal thing. We’re still working on a name for the band, but we finished the record and that should be coming out pretty soon I think too.
INTRONAUT. Not pictured: Dave Timnick, Katy Perry fan.
MAA: What kind of music do you listen to on the road? Anything out of the ordinary?
SD: What have we been listening too? Dave (Timnick) has been doing a lot of the driving on this tour and Dave s to just flip through the radio. That’s what he does for five hours straight. He’ll just flip through the radio, stop on a song and sing along to it. That’s just how he rolls, so there’s been a lot of that. The last actual record I think we listened to was, well, the last record that anybodies ever heard of would probably be, THE FLAMING LIPS covering Dark Side of the Moon, that record. I think Dave got annoyed with it after two songs and put the radio back on. We’ve heard a lot of KATY PERRY on the radio, nationwide.
MAA: Well, at least she’s visually pleasing!
SD: Yeah, visually pleasing. Actually it’s visually pleasing watching Dave sing those songs! (Laughs)
MAA: After this tour wraps up what else does INTRONAUT have on tap for the rest of 2011?
SD: We’re going back to Europe in October and then maybe some more U.S. touring after that. Just the whole waiting to hear about stuff thing. If we don’t do another U.S. tour this year, which I hope doesn’t happen, but if that’s the case we’ll probably start working on some new material, slowly but surely.
(Thanks to Sacha Dunable, Century Media Records and Danny Graf.)
Metal Army caught up with bassist extraordinaire Evan Brewer during his stint opening for ANIMALS AS LEADERS this summer. He chatted briefly about his solo album, his background as a player and his new role playing with THE FACELESS.
MAA: What was your motivation behind making an album like Alone (Summerian)?
EB: My motivation was really just to share with other people what I’ve been doing for years. I’ve been doing things of that nature since I’ve pretty much started playing so, I just wanted to let people hear it.
MAA: I think this is a great time for musicianship in metal. Why do you think there are so many baddass players and bands out there like you have on this tour?
EB: You know, I don’t really know. All I know is I’ve seen the trend happen through out time where musicianship seems to go in cycles of levels of appreciation. I’m happy to be a part of it right now. It seems to be a good time to be doing what I’m doing, so that’s a good thing.
MAA: How long were you working on the songs for and how much spontaneity do you rely on in the studio?
EB: Really besides that last song on the album, all the other stuff was pretty much written for the album. I think the writing and recording process was about six months and it went kind of simultaneously. I definitely work inside a recording platform, you know. I found that to be the most effective way.
Evan Brewer live at Northern Lights, Albany NY 7/20/2011.
MAA: Please talk about your history in relation to bass guitar.
EB: Yeah, I’ve been playing bass for about 16 years. I grew up in Nashville, Tennessee where there was just really a lot of fantastic musicians. So it wasn’t hard to be inspired. Started playing in metal bands at a young age, toured with a band called REFLUX, toured with a band called ANIMOSITY. Did fill in work for a slew of other bands. I’m in THE FACELESS now, you know just kinda one step to another, just evolved.
MAA: What is your live rig like and how many basses do you bring out on the road?
EB: I’m not using anything that out there, in terms of custom instruments or anything like that really. You know I just put a video up on You Tube actually last night that shows all the gear, so if you wanna link that, add that in.
MAA: Name you top five personal bassists.
EB: All around, I mean I like different guys for different reasons, but all around I’ve probably taken the most from the Wootens. Victor Wooten, Regi Wooten. I don’t really have a single favorite bass player, although I appreciate all kinds of bass players from different genres and varying levels of show-off-ness. Some of my favorite bass players are just very conservative and play the right bass line for the tune.
MAA: How will you fit what you do into what THE FACELESS does?
EB: Well Brandon (Giffen), the original THE FACELESS bassist is a fantastic bass player. He’s a great friend of mine. The music already had ambitious bass lines, you know. So for the old stuff I try to swing it like him and add a little bit of my flavor because I really like the bass lines he wrote. They weren’t far from what I would have written. For the new stuff we’re gonna incorporate a little bit more the percussive stuff I do. I’ll be doing some tapping parts, but I’m not gonna stray that far from what the bass approach has always been. I feel like it’s the right approach. I’ll be playing backbone bass and laying it down a lot of the times as well, so you get a mix.
(Special thanks to Evan Brewer, Summerian Records and Danny Graf.)
Back in the day, before ASH AVILDSEN was signing, managing and booking guys like EVAN BREWER and TOSIN ABASI, he was actually in a band with both of them called REFLUX. I’m actually a big fan of their album, ‘The Illusion of Democracy’ (which was released on Prosthetic Records back in 2004), but not much happened for the band and everyone went on to bigger and better things. For Avildsen, he became a mega-agent, booking some of the most well-attended tours and most popular bands in the scene. He also created SUMERIAN RECORDS and manages bands like WINDS OF PLAGUE. Needless to say, he is a true metal mogul in our scene.
Avildsen is also known for being outspoken about the value of music in today’s society, even making YouTube videos encouraging fans to buy records and not pirate them. Now, he has taken issue with MetalSucks over their very public war-of-words with Century Media and their love of Spotify. Coming from one of the industry’s most important figures, I think it’s important to hear what he has to say about Spotify and the state of today’s music industry.
Here is his statement in its entirety!
“After far too long of ignoring many requests for me to do this, I will now write a bi-monthly blog about my thoughts on music and the biz.
Episode One:
(Now playing: Radiohead “Karma Police”)
A lot of people have been asking me about my thoughts on the recent MetalSucks vs Century Media drama in regards to Spotify, the modern day way to run a record label and the livelihood of artists.
First off – I believe all music should be able to be heard for free. This is why every song on Sumerian can be streamed on our YouTube channel, for free. However I don’t agree with the popular modern trend of just conditioning humans to always go for the most convenient, quick and lazy way possible to do anything and everything. This happens regardless of the consequences on our culture, the consequences on the quality of the activity, the experience or the product, or the consequences on community and the negative impacts made on the equanimity of society.
I don’t mean just music specifically. You can text your best friend to congratulate him on something incredible happening in his life, or you can call him on the phone and express your feelings with pitch, tone, inflection and human emotion. You can microwave your pizza (i.e. prepare food by means of radiation) or you can cook it in a conventional oven. I prefer my crust crisp and crunchy. I like a little golden brown goodness on my mozzarella. I have to wait a little longer for a better outcome? No problem. Other people will send the text while eating a nuked, soggy pizza. I recently had an intern send me a hand-written thank you letter in the mail to give his appreciation for his enjoyment of his summer internship. He purposely hand-wrote it and mailed it to make it special and magnify his gratitude. I was beyond stoked with his approach. It definitely worked.
So… about this Century Media vs MetalSucks beef…
I get really tired of people who hide behind aliases on the internet. I get even more fed up with these characters when they attempt to write articles about why their uneducated opinion and perspective on the music business is accurate, factual information. I want to thank Ben Umanov, aka Vince Neilstein for being so exceptionally ignorant in his latest ramblings towards Oliver Withöft, the owner of Century Media. It has inspired me to throw in my two cents.
Three or four years ago, Ben and his other buddies who also hide behind internet aliases began posting pretentious, overly opinionated blogs on a website called MetalSucks.net and started to get a bunch of people to read them. After awhile, he got enough hits to where he started selling ad space on the site to a lot of metal record labels… record labels who are advertising albums to buy. He got so many labels to write him checks, he then quit his day-job and just ran his mouth as a blogger on metalsucks.net full-time, earning a nice living.
Recently he has been telling Century Media, along with everyone else who looks at his site, that record labels shouldn’t bother to sell recorded music, that the concept of paying to have albums recorded and people buying these albums is a dead thing of the past and that the only real way to survive is for record labels to become management companies for bands. He also said that almost none of these bands can actually live off their music anyway. Hmm, that’s an interesting business model. The bands can’t live off their music but maybe other people can? Like Ben “Vince Neilstein” Umanov?
The fact that he is arguing selling recorded music is no longer a way of life for anyone to live but yet he pays his bills by selling album ads to record labels is just the most painful case of irony since Alanis Morisette circa 1996. All the labels who spend money on Ben’s site (the ad rates on MetalSucks are expensive) need to stop and instead use all that money to shoot music videos for their bands and give them financial support to stay on the road. Touring bands who have a great live show and their own distinct identity are who will have careers and who will survive. There are more artists on Sumerian Records that live off their music than those that do not. This is because they work hard and have both fans and a label that are there to support them. Talented musicians shouldn’t have to be broke because guys like Vince Neilstein say so.
According to Ben, record labels need to wake up tomorrow and just shift to management companies. Maybe nurses should show up to hospitals tomorrow as surgeons. Until then, let’s talk about Ben’s management career. He has one band on his roster, who happens to be on one of my tours in September. They are a great band and are from Europe. They are coming to the US for the first time and cannot currently yet afford to live off of being in their band. I wonder what he will do to pay for their immigration costs/visas, international flight tickets, van and gear rental. His first phone call will be to their record label. Hopefully they are willing to invest the money in bringing the band over. Hopefully they didn’t blow all the money on metalsucks.net banner ads. In a perfect world, Ben would front the money out of his own pocket to his band as a real deal manager and make sure the show gets on the road. Let’s see what happens. Speaking of seeing things, I see Century Media ads all the time on MetalSucks.. I bet that’ll end quick. I work with bands on CM and they are a label that still spends money on music videos and tour support. Let’s keep it that way.
This guy Ben tried to start his own label a while back. It was called Wrong Records. No, I’m serious. It really was and he couldn’t have picked a more suiting name. I found a quote from him upon the launch of his label.. Ben Umanov, of Wrong Records, said, “Wrong Records is founded on the principal that we put out quality music that we like, and we have the experience and resources to make it happen.” This guy is like a living, breathing, oxymoron. Well maybe they had the experience and resources to make it happen, but they lost them all.. Or maybe the experience and resources he was talking about never really existed? Kinda like the Tooth Fairy.. Or maybe they just streamed them and couldn’t find them afterwards? Regardless, I couldn’t seem to find any albums he has ever released. Ben is just a guy who runs a blog site that sells advertisements to record labels who haven’t yet realized they are wasting their money. But it’s OK.. I have been guilty of it too. I’ve bought his overpriced ads for new albums before and I’ve even allowed them to sponsor some of my tours like Summer Slaughter in exchange for some free ads to promote the tour. You won’t see that happening anymore. Every company/label with a logo on the SS Tour Poster paid to be there to support and promote the tour and for the marketing of their bands and brand. MetalSucks got there for free, because that’s what they do: figure out ways to make a living off other people’s ignorance.
As my boys in Karnivool say.. “It’s a Newwwwwwww Daayyyyyy!” See ya Ben. You better start soliciting some ad proposals to Spotify and Grooveshark. After all, that’s the future according to you, our favorite industry fortune teller. Oh and by the way, I heard that Axl Rose (not to be confused with Vince Neilstein’s co-founder Axl Rosenberg) is going to be sending you a cease and desist for your Appetite For Destruction MetalSucks shirt you’re selling. You might want to take it off your site right away.
So to end this first episode… When I listen to music on my computer, I do it with headphones or external speakers. I like to listen to my favorite songs on CD or with ripped WAV files. Why? WAV Files and CDs sound better than MP3s and sound significantly better than streaming music on the internet. I refuse to sacrifice the quality of my music experience for the sake of convenience and laziness. I stream music all the time if I’m checking out a new band or a song I haven’t heard before, or casually listening to different artists. I love streaming when I want to listen to the radio, whether it’s Pandora, KROQ, or my own personal Spotify playlist. If I don’t really like something I won’t buy it. Obviously if I can’t afford to purchase it then I won’t buy it either… but if it’s something I really enjoy? I want to own it. I want to own the best version of it and I want to know my support mattered.
The last guy I want to be is the kid who just got his new cell phone plan setup with AT&T or Verizon without realizing they both stopped offering unlimited data plans but decided to just stream all of his music via the internet on Spotify every day from his iPhone for a month straight…. and then checked his bill.
Today, there’s too many 21st century digital boys who don’t know how to live but got a lot of toys.
P.S. I think buying physical books to read is way cooler than staring at an LCD kindle and increasing the already abundant amount of electromagnetic frequencies around your body. I like to turn pages and highlight sentences that make an impact to me, not scroll down a glowing screen. I get enough of that from my computer. Now go cook your pizza in the oven and call someone you love on the phone.
-Ash
Added: MetalSucks has plenty of cool content, reviews, interviews and fun articles. They just need to stop preaching and pretending like they know how to run record labels. Ben “Vince Neilstein” Umanov actually stayed at my house once. I respect the guy, just not his argument on this particular topic.”
I am very interested to hear what our readers think about Spotify, Century Media pulling out of Spotify, etc. Obviously, as seen on this very blog, there are many pros and cons to the situation so I want to hear what the fans’ perspective on the service is. Do you think Spotify is beneficial to artists or do you agree with Avildsen?
