New Noise Magazine - Issue #10

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PET THE PREACHER

stoner/doom scene in Europe?

It’s really big in Europe, though we don’t really see ourselves as being a stoner band, but I think we are. I don’t think Kyuss even considered themselves stoner-rock at the beginning. It’s just heavy, gritty rock. But I understand the confusion because all the bands we’re influenced by are American, except for the old guys like Zeppelin and Sabbath.

INTERVIEW WITH Vocalist/Guitarist Christian Hede Madsen WRITTEN BY Stephen Sigl With world- weary vocals and epic, riffladen songs, Pet the Preacher sound like they were baked in the high desert of California alongside Kyuss and High On Fire. In truth they hail from Denmark and have been touring all

over Europe for the last couple of years.

For a little over a decade, The Amity Affliction has been bringing the thunder from Down Under in a big way. Since signing with Roadrunner Records, the band has been tearing it up consistently on the road and now is preparing to release Let the Ocean Take Me, their most colossal record yet. Bassist and vocalist Ahren Stringer discusses the meaning behind the title of the record, as well as their inspiration and songwriting process.

We signed to Roadrunner around three years ago now, and they’ve really helped us get to where we are in the states at the moment. And to be honest, no one else showed any interest in us at the time, so it showed us they had a great deal of faith in us. I think signing to a major label isn’t necessarily a bad thing, I mean a label is a label; we need them, they need us. To me, it just means that they’re a bigger machine working harder and doing much more for us than an independent could.

When did the writing process for Let the Ocean Take Me begin?

The writing process officially started after we finished the U.S. Warped Tour.

We all got home and finally [got to] relax, and get into a good place mentally to start writing. I was really excited, we all had an idea of where we wanted to go musically and, to me personally, I think we wrote the exact album that we set out to write.

How did you end up signing with Roadrunner? Were you apprehensive about signing to a major label?

When I saw the fan video for “Bright Land-Black Death,” and saw the word “Preacher” in your name, I had no idea you weren’t American. Is there a big

How have you seen your songwriting evolve over the years? Were there any changes in the approach due to working with a major label?

Absolutely not. We have never compromised our art for anything or anyone, and never will. And certainly not for a label. The songwriting process was similar to other records, only this time Dan Brown, our new guitarist, was a huge help. We both have the same taste in music, especially really heavy metal and ‘80s stuff like Steve Winwood and Hall and Oates. It just

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You went in that direction after being compared to other bands?

Yeah, and a lot of the metal bands we

other elements: rhythmic shifts, crazy guitar textures, even weird melodic lines…

JW: Yeah man, we wanted to do some different things on this record.

We brought out some elements that come from our roots, and we also did some stuff that was new to us. We love the outcome.

Let’s discuss “Ego Trip” featuring Ryan Kirby from Fit for a King? How

The blues angle comes through because it seems the songs come first and the style is just happenstance.

I think that’s the way we write as well.

With this new record, we spent a lot of time to get into the songwriting; we took out all the parts that weren’t up there with the rest of the material. We want to do lengthy songs, but two-minute songs as well. The best thing would be for people to really like the band, but not pigeonhole us. What’s really important for us is that all the songs are not just basic rock songs, but have lyrics that are thought out and come from a true emotional standpoint. We want to have darkness and a melancholy approach.

That’s a constant in what we are doing.

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THE AMITY AFFLICTION

INTERVIEW WITH Bassist and Vocalist Ahren Stringer WRITTEN BY Brandon Ringo flowed so easily; there were barely any disagreements the whole time. I think in general, we’ve just become mature songwriters. We’ve been doing it for 11 years, so I guess with each record, we’re mastering our craft that little bit more.

How did you guys decide on the title Let the Ocean Take Me? do you think ego can be good or bad?

JH: “Ego Trip” is all about pride (Proverbs 16:18). I don’t really believe there is anything good about lacking humility. It causes people to become puffed up and they begin to look down on others. In my opinion, that isn’t good.

INTERVIEW WITH Jacob Wilder(JW) & John Healy(JH) WRITTEN BY Morgan Y. Evans Why release another record so soon after 2013’s Unholy Anger. Were you just inspired?

JW: We are pumped on releasing Death Sentence! Yeah, we were definitely inspired. [Guitarist] Trevor [Kope] always has ideas brewing in his head and with my new influence, we were ready to write some new material.

The djent influence and breakdown are still there, but you’ve stepped up

Did you all have the same influences when you started the band?

We all played in different bands. I quit my band and decided I wanted to do something heavy. And the other guys wanted to just jam. We didn’t know it would be stoner rock, it was mainly classic rock at the beginning. People kept referring to us as “stoner rock,” so we checked those bands out, then moved in that direction, but it wasn’t a preconceived idea.

toured with in our area caused us to take on a more metal edge than your average blues rock band. Though all the heavy bands still see us as a blues band.

They can’t get it heavy enough.

Is “Bear These Scars” about stigmata?

Or perhaps just living in a complex world?

JH: “Bear These Scars” is about the struggle and persecution we receive sometimes as Christians. A lot of people are quick to back down in their stance when facing persecution.

This song is all about standing for what you believe, even if it causes you pain. In the end, the scars are like a badge of honor, so to speak.

How do some people get a message of love and tolerance from the Bible and others become closed minded or bigoted?

JH: It all depends on the definition of the terms used. Yes, the Bible teaches us to “love your neighbor as yourself,” but it also offers a system of divine justice that supersedes

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Joel writes all the lyrics and that was a line taken from our second single “Don’t Lean On Me.” It’s a metaphor really. He lives near and loves the ocean. It really helps him out and clears his head, so it’s him saying, “Let the ocean take me” [because] that’s how he finds peace.

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what we may perceive as “right” or “wrong.” It displays a system of objective morality. It also offers a hope of salvation through the blood of Jesus Christ. God loved us enough to send His only son to die a horrendous death, so that we may know life. As a Christian, we are supposed to demonstrate God’s love to our fellow man, but love comes in various ways. Parents may punish their children when they misbehave, not because they hate their child, but because they love that child enough to teach that child right and wrong.

They don’t necessarily accept the child’s bad behavior; they correct the child because they love him/her. For example, I have personally been close to several people throughout my life who were addicted to heroin. I loved those people very much, because they were my friends, family, and fellow human beings. So I showed them God’s love. Does that mean I was accepting of their behavior?

No. They were addicts, but because I loved them, I tried to help them through their struggles.

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ISLANDER

TOMBS INTERVIEW WITH Drummer Andrew Hernandez II WRITTEN BY Brandon Ringo

INTERVIEW WITH Vocalist Mikey Carvajal WRITTEN BY Tony Shrum

In the five years since releasing their Relapse Records debut Winter Hours and its follow-up Path of Totality, Tombs have made a massive mark on the landscape of extreme metal. Thanks to their gritty mixture of black, doom, and death metal – with sprinkles of post-punk and industrial on top – they have quickly developed into one of the hottest bands in the genre. However, they are not ones to rest on their laurels.

Therefore, armed with new guitarist Garett Bussanick and bassist Ben Brand, they are unleashing Savage Gold, their rawest, heaviest, and most monstrous record to date, and easily one of the best metal records of the year.

Hell yeah, Violence & Destruction: two of my favorite things. What made you choose this title for your upcoming fulllength?

First and foremost, Islander is a band made up of four individuals who believe differently from one another. We are just four friends who really enjoy hanging out and creating art together. I write the lyrics, so it can be difficult for people to separate us as individuals sometimes, which I think is something every band struggles with. Violence & Destruction is a concept album about the end of the world. In the scriptures, Jeremiah states that, because of his faith in Christ, he has become a household joke. However, he can’t help but speak of Him, or it burns inside of him like fire. I’m a really big fan of a band called The Drums. The singer has an atheistic world view, and stated in an interview that he can be in a room full of people and say, “There is no God,” and the entire room will go silent to the point of being able to hear a pin drop. He said that it seems like people would want to talk about it, and I agree with him about it being an important topic of discussion, even though I may see things differently.

The album is about ending the habit of sweeping things under the rug just because they are uncomfortable to talk about. It doesn’t take much to realize something is wrong in the world, with humanity, with almost everything. The album deals with getting to the root of that problem, and I believe in order to change the fruit, you’ve gotta change the root, as one of [our] songs states.

We are all in this crazy world together.

When the band released their 2011 album Path of Totality, it was a massive critical success due to its lush, gorgeous atmosphere, seething black metal fury, and razor-sharp riffing. When the band began working on its follow-up, they knew they had a lot of work ahead of them, but were confident that choosing death metal legend Erik Rutan to produce the album would get them the results they wanted. “I think Path didn’t capture everything we wanted,” admits drummer Andrew Hernandez II. “With this one, we wanted more clarity, and I think Erik did a fantastic job capturing that. John Congleton captured the space and size, but I felt it lacked punctuation.

I appreciate what he did there, and I think our performances were good, but I always felt we could do better, and on Savage Gold, we 100% did just that.”

One listen to Savage Gold and it’s obvious that Tombs’ sound has undergone a massive evolution thanks to the production job of Rutan. According to Hernandez, one of the reasons they chose Rutan for the production of this album – aside from being Hate Eternal fans – was for the extra punctuation and clarity that has become his signature.

“On Path, it’s a swirl of sound, very ‘wall of sound’ recording style, like Phil Spector,” he says. “I feel this gave it a very atmospheric feel, but it lacked ground. We wanted to make sure that there was a solid, underlying pulse on Savage Gold that I think Path lacked.

If you look at Erik’s recent work, you hear clarity and separation, but also cohesiveness. We knew he would give us those qualities and we knew the record would be heavy.”

Normally, when a band is knee-deep in the songwriting process and preparing to hit the studio, it is a very exciting time. Unfortunately for Tombs and Hernandez, tragedy threatened to derail the process completely. “We were locked into November at Mana studios, and then in May, I went home and got the news my mom had been diagnosed with ALS [sometimes called Lou Gehrig’s Disease] and was going to die in the next

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six months. It was very, very difficult,” states Hernandez. “I took some time off from practice and just spent every weekend I could with my mom. I’d take a bus to Ma on one weekend, and work five days, and then go to NYC for band practice – I moved upstate December 2012. It was tough. When we got closer, I was pretty sure my mom would pass away around our recording and it was a scramble to figure out what we could do. If we had to reschedule, we would have lost Erik. I didn’t want any that to happen, but of course, my mother came first, we were all on that page.”

Despite being demoralized by tragedy, the band, as well as Rutan, were willing to do whatever it took to get the recording done. “What Erik did next was just above and beyond. He found a recording studio near me and was going to fly up, and we’d record drums together and then the guys would record at Mana,” explains Hernandez. “He set it up, he looked into the space, the flights, he kicked ass because he wanted to help out. I’m still so humbled by this act of humanity. Unfortunately, my mother ended up going downhill really fast around the time of the October date, so I canceled it and spent a week with her, by her bedside in a hospital room.

It was difficult, but I made the choice, no matter what, I would record in November. Erik was supportive no matter what the whole time, and of course, so were my bandmates and Relapse. The support during this time was overwhelming.”

After enduring the incredible sadness of losing a parent, most people would certainly not be able to muster the emotional strength necessary to record an extreme metal album. Hernandez, however, found the strength to carry on and did exactly that. “My mother supported my playing music her whole life,” he says. “As a lifelong artist until the day she died, she supported my need to create and was a big fan of the band, infamously attending a show with my brother in San Diego and standing up front, so I had to yell to the crowd, ‘Please don’t mosh my mom!’ My mother would have wanted me to record, and so I did.

I went back to work, and flew down to Florida three weeks later to record – so I could put in as many hours as I could since I’d been home for ten days – while the rest of the guys drove. So yeah, this was the hardest album I’ve ever had to endure and I know the stress of up and down, ‘Is it happening? Is it not?’ These stresses weighed on us all. And then the professionalism of the recording and the dedication we made to these songs… They are the toughest Tombs songs to play yet, and we confronted that head on in the studio. Thankfully, the material speaks for itself and I think it sounds great.”

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Some are calling you a modern day Deftones. Are you flattered?

Any time people use our name in the same breath as a great band like Deftones, it is a pretty cool and humbling thing. We, however, aren’t setting our sights on being another Deftones. We love Deftones, and we can see what people are talking about, but we’ve never said, “Yo, let’s sound like this one song!” But again, anytime someone compliments us by referring to a great band, we aren’t going to reject it.

I’ve been scratching my head trying to figure it out: who’s “Coconut Dracula”?

“Coconut Dracula” is a song about having a new nature. My family is Hispanic and my uncle said something one night in Spanish that sounded like he said “Coconut Dracula.” I told him I liked the name, so I wrote a song around the idea of Dracula being roommates with a mummy, a witch, a werewolf, and Frankenstein. Count Dracula one day bites into a coconut and discovers that there is more to life than being evil, so he goes and gets his name officially changed from Count Dracula to Coconut Dracula. His roommates

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are curious about the new lifestyle of wearing Batman pajamas, playing video games, doing charity work, going to the movies, and having a garden. So the song is from the perspective of the mummy wanting to partake in the same joy that has captured Dracula’s heart.

We shot the video for it recently, and the video actually explains the idea in a bit of a different light, while still sticking to the main point of having a new nature.

Keep your eye out for that video – it’s going to be crazy.

I didn’t expect to hear the lyrics, “I want to be someone more like you.” Especially on Violence & Destruction. Is there beauty tucked away in this album?

Like I said, the album deals with the end of the world. For some, it is a joyful thing, while for others, it can be a very scary thought. The songs can relate to people however they relate to them.

We don’t believe art is something that you should tell people what they should think [about]. Instead, the hope is that the art would inspire people to explore things for themselves.

Does this record get chaotic, in the same way Pains. blended emotions, going from swooning choruses to screams in an instant?

For sure. We all love different types of music. The album is heavy, but we just play what we like. There are elements of hardcore, punk, hip hop, new wave, whatever. Some of the tracks even have a vibe like The Police or Sadé. We just love music.

Was Pains. a warm-up for Violence & Destruction? Or a sample of what was to come?

Somewhat. We let our sound develop naturally. We had more time to work on Violence & Destruction and our producer, Cameron Webb, helped bring out the best in us and really pushed us to be the best Islander we could be. Pains. was done really fast, but for Violence & Destruction we flew out to California and focused on writing and recording for a month and half.

It was great to be able to just focus on creating art together in a beautiful city surrounded by wonderful people.

Perfect timing with the release! You’ll be on The Rockstar Mayhem Festival soon.

Do you feel anxious playing new songs live when the audience doesn’t know the words yet?

We can’t wait to hang out and meet new fans. This will be the first chance a lot of the mainstream crowd has a chance to hear us, and we couldn’t be more excited to hang out and kill it with them every day. We can usually teach the crowd the lyrics during the songs. We are first and foremost a live band. It’s where we thrive, so we really can’t wait to perform every day.

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ACxDC

INTERVIEW WITH Vocalist Sergio Amalfitano WRITTEN BY James Alvarez “We say we’re an AC/DC cover band, or just a punk band.”

That’s Sergio Amalfitano talking. Lead singer of Southern California noisemakers ACxDC, aka Antichrist Demoncore, a blistering punk/metal hybrid that’s been slaying the American Southwest and confusing the shit out of normal folk since 2003.

Good luck trying to explain the subtle nuances of the band’s “Satanic powerviolence” tag to average Joe Sixpack who just wants to hear “Thunderstruck” played on repeat. Then again that’s sort of the point.

ACxDC has been cranking out chaotic and provocative slabs of metal tinged hardcore since the early millennium. The more than half dozen EPs and splits under their belt are turbulent blasts of anti-religious/anarchist diatribes peppered with humorous odes

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to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and The Big Lebowski for good measure. Their abrasive sound, hilariously blasphemous imagery (Google search 2005’s He Had It Coming EP), and reputation for insanely wild live shows almost guarantee the band would alienate everyone but the most fervent extreme music aficionados.

Now, some 11 years after their formation, ACxDC are poised to unleash their self-titled debut album on Melotov Records this June. Despite its brisk 20 minute runtime, Antichrist Demoncore feels like a pummeling, epic release and is destined to raise the band’s profile to a national level.

Normal folk, prepare yourselves.

Recorded earlier this year by Taylor Young of NAILS and Twitching Tongues acclaim, ACxDC’s long awaited full-length sounds like a vicious dose of powerviolence pumped through

heavy metal speakers. “We don’t want to be limited by any genre,” Mr. Amalfitano says, “so we threw in a lot of little elements of all the extreme music we like and [that has] influenced us.” The end result is a glorious mixture of punk rock vitriol and heavy metal muscle, sure to please members in the long haired and mohawked communities alike. According to Sergio, “…imagine Slayer and Pantera sped up with Black Flag or Minor Threat style catchiness.

Not that I’m comparing us to those bands, but they definitely have influenced us. Basically we’re a punk band with metal riffs.” This made their recording with Young almost seem like a nobrainer. “He did a stupendous job at really blending all of our ideas and coming up with a great tone and sound for it,” Sergio explains.

“He is one of the few people who really listens to all the music we do… It’s great working with someone who isn’t limited in their abilities or knowledge of music.”

like we could do something new and exciting and fun again. So we talked about it. Figured out the right lineup and just went for it.”

The band’s DIY, no fucks given attitude is what makes them so viable and what makes their debut album stand out amongst an ocean of crazy loud metal releases. They have no manager or industry handlers, they work with “friends from the scene” like Young or their peeps at Melotov Records, and they continue churning out shriek-laden, blastbeat drenched slabs of frenzied hardcore with song titles like “Hipler Youth” and “Dead Cops” that promise to offend a wide range of demographics.

Antichrist Demoncore drops June 24 and will surely throw a considerable monkey wrench in the band’s AC/ DC cover story. Be on the lookout.

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The potent tracks on Antichrist Demoncore serve as a testament to the band’s dedication and resolve.

ACxDC have undergone numerous lineup changes throughout their existence and even broke up for five years in the past. Thankfully, like the Christian messiah and the band’s favorite punching bag, ACxDC was resurrected in 2010 ready to piss people off once more. “After those five years I felt the itch,” Sergio says. “I felt

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BROTHER FIRETRIBE

COMRADES All Photography by Callie Gadjdica

INTERVIEW WITH Vocalist Pekka Heino WRITTEN BY Brandon Ringo Originally formed in 2002, Finland’s Brother Firetribe are considered by some to be classic rock, others say album-oriented rock, or even glam rock, with a power metal edge thanks to guitarist Emppu Vuorinen of Nightwish. No matter what you label it, there is a sense of fun that emanates from their music, in particular their long-awaited new record Diamond in the Firepit. Vocalist Pekka Heino speaks about what the band is currently up to.

It’s been a while since your last album Heart Full of Fire came out.

What have you guys been up to in the years since?

We didn’t mean to stay on a hiatus for so long! After recording and shooting our Live at Apollo DVD back in 2010, we decided to take a break because Emppu’s Nightwish got active and the rest of us got busy with different things, basically making a living. I make a living out of singing so I was – and still am – constantly out there doing shows. [Keyboardist] Tomppa [Nikulainen] is a sound designer in a production company. [Bassist] Jason [Flinck] played with different people.

[Drummer] Kalle [Torniainen] is one of the most sought after producers and session musicians in Finland.

Me and Tomppa got together every now and then, and wrote songs really slowly up until we had half the album demo’d. That’s when we kind of woke up and actually started working on an album.

Describe your songwriting process for Diamond in the Firepit. What was your mindset going into that process?

We were officially on a break, so the songwriting process was really slow, as we didn’t have any schedule.

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And of course, when we finally had a schedule, things got even slower!

The first song was actually written as early as 2008, right after our previous album Heart Full of Fire came out.

The mindset is always to come up with the best possible hook, the catchiest possible chorus, that’s what this band is all about.

How has your songwriting progressed?

I’d like to think it’s matured a bit. In a good way, at least from my point of view! Some have said the new album is a bit moodier and mellower than the previous ones, and probably rightfully so, and I’m cool with that.

We’re labeled as [album-oriented rock] after all! Seriously, the elements that make up Brother Firetribe are still very much intact, no worries.

Your songs are very emotional.

Where do you draw your lyrical inspiration from?

Most of the songs deal with the beautiful and difficult relationship between a man and a woman. In this case, more on the difficult side for some reason. It’s more interesting to write from the heartbroken’s point of view, it tends to get more emotional.

There are songs about big changes in life, about moving on, turning the page. I meet a lot of people in my line of work and I get to hear a lot of stories. I get inspired by people around me. [I] draw stuff from those stories, mix them with what’s going on in my life, add some fiction, and try to come up with something that most people can relate to.

INTERVIEW WITH Joe McElroy WRITTEN BY Jamie Coletta I had just returned from SXSW last March. My fiancé took me to IHOP after he picked me up from the airport.

Before we could get our pancake on, he started telling me about this band he saw over the weekend called Comrades.

He raved about their incredible performance, then handed me two CDs with makeshift cases made of brown paper lunch bags, complete with unique, painted artwork. Normally, I only require about 40 seconds of a song before I know if I like it. This time I didn’t want to turn it off. After we got through the first CD, we put in the second. We must have sat in that IHOP parking lot for almost an hour. I was mesmerized. The music was mostly instrumental with the occasional, perfectly placed vocal line, and it took my breath away.

Fast forward and I’m interviewing the band. I tell Comrades’ Joe McElroy my story. “I remember [your fiancé] Juan told me you were at SXSW!” declares Joe, who is calling from the van somewhere in the middle of the country on a tour they more than likely booked themselves.

The DIY booking approach and mentality is a huge part of Comrades.

Joe – along with his wife Laura and their drummer Ben Trussell – spends half the year on the road, maybe more, but often finds himself putting the pieces together as they move along.

Shows get cancelled, added, and moved around all the time, but the community they’ve built along the way has grown so strong, it doesn’t seem to faze them.

“The kind of community we get with playing smaller places and touring like this, it’s just incredible,” McElroy says.

“It’s something that a lot of bands who have skipped that step are never going to understand.“ Thankfully, Comrades found some time in between their long runs on tour to write and record their new album Safekeeper, which came out May 6 on Blood & Ink Records. The album is loaded with surprises, jumping from full-on gang vocals and angelic harmonies to instrumental symphonies that feel like they last for days.

“I feel like we can connect with a lot more people because the vocals don’t pigeonhole us to a certain genre,” McElroy explains. “We can be the weird post-metal band to an Isis fan or an indie band to a La Dispute fan. That’s our range.”

Regardless of who the fans are, you can be certain that Comrades will welcome them in like friends they’ve known for years. They might even write a record about it. “Safekeeper is about finding home and acceptance,” McElroy says.

“The music community and the friends that we’ve made on the road have really defined us more than our home life has in the past two years.”

“To truly feel like we do have a place and that we are accepted and what we’re doing is something that people care about, well, that’s just really awesome.”

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TEST OF TIME

And independent. Vocalist Todd Pollock and Chaussinand put together money, recorded 26 songs and six covers in their basement, and put 500 copies of Inclusion out themselves. “The plan is to keep the music trickling,” he says. “We are not able to tour. The singer and I have jobs not allowing it.

So I want to always have music coming out.” The covers that have been released are eclectic: Germs, Mission of Burma, Skid Row (“Youth Crew Gone Wild”).

Chaussinand also mastered the three tracks on A Place Beyond. The first track is ferocious, blazing out of the gate. It has that Boston stomp, The Rival Mob channeling DYS. Chaussinand admits, “It is a weird little song, one riff. But [the] vocals over it make it seem to move.”

All Photography by Luis Trejo Rojas

INTERVIEW WITH Guitarist Charles Chaussinand WRITTEN BY Hutch Boston Straight Edge Hardcore. Those words evoke an immediate sound, energy, and presence that should accompany any band that boasts that label. Many people will pocket check your cred when you step in a venue with that moniker.

In this regard, Test of Time will definitely, well, stand the test of time.

Yesterday, a white square box was opened in my kitchen to reveal two 7”s preordered from Bridge Nine Records.

I unveiled two versions, red and grey, of the one-sided A Place Beyond EP, and a pressing of their first EP, Inclusion, as my record player tapped its needle impatiently. Salivating, my turntable reminisced about the fury and urgency of their B9 7” from last summer, The

Price.

Guitarist Charles Chaussinand may not originally be from Boston, but the city welcomes someone with such sustained vigor. Hailing from Florida, having been in bands, and having worked at Think Fast! Records, Chaussinand has the resume. He currently spends his days at legendary college MIT doing AV/Sound. This job – specifically a particular colleague – fuels his prolific songwriting.

Test of Time will have existed for two years come September. “I’m nuts about getting things going, moving forward,” Chaussinand says. “As soon as we did our demo, I had other songs written.

Let’s keep it perpetual.”

LA PESTE

INTERVIEW WITH Guitarist/Vocalist Peter Dayton WRITTEN BY Janelle Jones I knew my boyfriend was knowledgeable about all things punk and hardcore, but it hit especially hard when I put on the uncompromisingly cool “Better Off Dead” by SoCal’s The Stitches, and he said, “La Peste did this!” Being unaware of the true origins of the song, I quickly went from embarrassed to

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thankful. Then and there, I was turned on to La Peste, an early Boston band that released this awesome 7” in 1978, but never officially put anything else out. Now that Wharf Cat Records has had the great idea to reissue this gem – which also contains the seductive, darker, equally-formidable “Black” – it

A Place Beyond progresses. The songwriting remains course and aggressive, venturing into Bane and Have Heart territory. While the songs punch with severity, the ethos of Test of Time remains reflected in the packaging, which Chaussinand is also doing. Attached to each copy will be one of 500 unique four by six photos from their Mexico/South America tour. The attachments are handmade and sleeved by the band. “Todd and I sit down and think about the layout and how to make it unique. Too many bands make the artwork seem like an afterthought.”

Musically, A Place Beyond was “written before our new bass player, Robert [Cheeseman], who writes a lot now.”

I compliment the raw intensity that is matched by the dynamic structure of the songs. “That means a lot,” Chaussinand says. “I try to put [in] effort and make the song move forward.

The LP [By Design, out in July] will be more like that. I want it to have a flow.

I use pianos to write. I don’t want it to sound like every hardcore record. I expose it to a co-worker who doesn’t listen to hardcore to tweak.”

“Every instrument is in my head. Not to be Stalinistic,” he clarifies quickly.

“I know the parts and sounds and accents. When I put songs together, I have rhythm guitar and bass. I picture a lot of melodic parts, leads. I have 50% recorded before we move. So I know the record flows in a certain way.”

Hardcore bands have the turnover rate of strippers and pub dishwashers. Is sporting the SxE emblem a hindrance to attaining new members? “I can’t see us having a full time member [who is] not straight edge,” says Chaussinand.

“Especially at our age. Lots of people drop it. I hang out with non-SxE people, obviously. But someone who has the party attitude could not be on board with our work ethic. What we end up needing happens to be SxE; those characteristics and qualities.” Some find the label divisive, but Chaussinand asserts, “I proclaimed Edge when I was 12. Straight Edge kept my head of my ass. It promotes a lifestyle choice. If you’re SxE, here we are. If you’re not, check us out. We don’t have songs that condemn. Many SxE bands are accusatory, but we don’t separate.”

Chaussinand unabashedly admits to emulating EVR or No Idea in the ‘90s.

I contribute that my favorite was The Swarm’s Old Blue Eyes is Dead, the Frank Sinatra one. That’s the pinnacle of packaging for me. He agrees immediately, “That’s the exact record that sparked it. Give people a reason to buy this stuff.”

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gave me an awesome opportunity to get some insight from guitarist and vocalist Peter Dayton.

a lot of Sex Pistols. John Lydon was such a force... Still is actually, for me at least.

Google The Slits.

You never officially put out any other material. Did you play live at all?

We played out soooo much. There is no record of that because no one had phones. Instead of holding an iPhone, everyone held Bud longnecks... It is inexplicable.

How did you get into punk?

I saw the Ramones at CBGB in 1975.

The first album is a kind of Holy Grail for people like me. Short and sweet. Great sound and great, concise drumming.

You re-released this one for Record Store Day. Why this year?

I have no idea, except I guess the song ain’t half bad. The folks at Wharf Cat Records came to my house and asked if they could do it. I said sure.

What was it like when you started?

It was bliss. 1976. Television and Ramones... A little Damned, Clash, and

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How long was the band together?

Not long. We started playing in a basement apartment in Boston in 1976 and starting playing out in late ‘77.

Ahhh, hard to explain, but we were tight. I split in ’79, the year punk died.

Google Better off Dead.

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EMMA RUTH RUNDLE

WRITTEN BY John B. Moore L.A.-based songwriter, singer, and guitarist Emma Ruth Rundle – best known for her work with Red Sparowes and Marriages – has been wanting to write a solo album since her teens. Despite some difficult problems, or maybe as a way of working through what was going on around her, Rundle immersed herself into writing what would eventually become her first solo record, Some Heavy Ocean. The record is dark, but unavoidably beautiful and personal. Thankfully, Rundle thinks it will be the first of many solo albums to come.

How long have you wanted to put out a solo album?

I’ve wanted to put out a solo album for as long as I’ve played music. As a teen, I made recordings often on a small cassette recorder, then on a computer when I eventually got one. I had almost no confidence about what I was doing and, as I got into my 20s, began to hate what I had done. I started to focus on programming

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and, for once, I was not afraid of them. I decided that I wasn’t going to write or play the more “traditional” songs I write under the guise of a band.

Photography by Danielle Hardy electronic music and went on to play in a few different bands as a keyboardist and/ or singer. Even then, I was using so many pedals and anything I could to avoid being a front person. I began to focus more and more on guitar and started collecting songs again, which I started to release as The Nocturnes. Trying to make it seem more like a band made it safe for me in that I could always walk away if I became ashamed or dissatisfied with myself again. I only felt comfortable using my actual name when I made Electric Guitar, which I recorded in the van during a European Red Sparowes tour. I was happy with the ambient, improvised guitar compositions, but there was almost no singing on the record. It’s still my favorite record. After the second Nocturnes record, Aokigahra (which was more of a real band and included some songs written solely by Julian Rifkin and a few that were composed as a group), I was disappointed with the follow through. The songs on that record that were mine meant a lot to me

Was it daunting at all, not having a band to share the pressure of working on a record?

Well, I guess the answer to my first question partially works for this too. There is the other side of things that I do and have felt, being without a band. But I was not alone in this record. I had fully written demos, but was surprised by what the other musicians added. Each had a lot of creative control over what they were doing.

Andrea Calderon played strings and lent her beautiful voice. Greg Burns played pedal steel on a few songs. Henry [Kohen], of Mylets, played on a song, and Chris Common played all the drums, some bass, and sang too. Chris recorded the record as well and we worked very hard together on it.

How long have you been working on these songs?

Most of the songs on Some Heavy Ocean were written last year and some were finished at Sargent House on breaks from recording. There is at least another record’s worth of material that didn’t make it. I imagine I’ll get around to recording those songs when I get a chance, though.

Is there a general theme that ties these songs together?

It’s hard to talk about, but I think it comes across in the music. Conflict and resolution. Love, tragedy, death, degradation of one’s self. You know – all the tried and true stories, but nothing that you could feel abstractly. It’s all heart, I guess.

Would you talk about the writing and

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recording process for this record? You were going through a difficult period while working on it.

Writing was something I was doing every day at the time. The songs came and, as I said earlier, there were many that I chose to leave off the record. Recording was another story entirely.

I had been living at Sargent House under the good graces of the wonderful Cathy Pellow. Chris was also staying there and had his own little studio, a nice collection of gear, and was willing to lend his talents. We had just come home from a Marriages tour on which he filled in for our drummer. During the tour, we talked about doing the record upon our return – which is exactly what we did. We really locked ourselves away. I had been getting progressively more unstable (that’s as much as I feel comfortable saying).

It was intense and I think it translated.

I’ve always struggled with things in this way. Sometimes circumstances serve to stabilize and sometimes the inverse is true. Sometimes there’s no real reason for anything in any direction and no sense can be made of anything, if that makes sense.

Do you think you’ll continue putting out solo records?

Yes I will. Or at least I’ll keep writing this way – just as I’ve always done.

What is next for you musically?

There is a full-length Marriages record set to be released later this year.

Hopefully some touring behind Some Heavy Ocean, as well as the forthcoming Marriages album. As I said, I am still working on ambient guitar music and have some more obscure electronic stuff I do for fun. My real focus is currently on my solo project and Marriages.

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VALLENFYRE

INTERVIEW WITH Vocalist/Guitarist Gregor Mackintosh WRITTEN BY Brandon Ringo There’s something about the magical healing power of music that is absolutely undeniable. This has become increasingly clear to Gregor Mackintosh, lead guitarist of doom icons Paradise Lost. After losing his father to cancer, the only way he found to cope was to get back to his roots and create no bullshit, crusty, old school death metal. What transpired was the creation of Vallenfyre, featuring members of At the Gates, My Dying Bride, and Doom. In 2011, the band’s first album A Fragile King caught a lot of extreme metal fans by surprise. This year, they have returned with Splinters, a record showing they’re even louder, faster, and more intense than before.

point did the songwriting process begin for Splinters?

Probably early 2013. We hadn’t planned on doing a second album, and the songwriting only started in case we could improve on what we had done before. We had a vague idea that we wanted to push the boundaries more, make it more diverse, and to some extent try to hone something of our own sound.

band hadn’t been totally formed yet.

This process began as a catharsis, but ultimately became a little oppressive.

This time around, the entire band was involved from the word “go.” I still did 99% of the writing, but everything was bounced around and discussed.

Lyrically, the first had a theme, which was the death of a loved one. Splinters, on the other hand, has a couple of songs about the longer term effects of grief, but it has many other topics, such as mental illness, self-medicating, plus my views on society and religion.

Do you save certain songs for Paradise Lost and use the heavier stuff in Vallenfyre?

I approach them both totally separately.

I couldn’t write for both bands at the same time, because I throw myself totally into something when I do it, and nothing else can exist. Also, I have a very clear view of what both bands should be, so the twain never meet.

A Fragile King was written during a difficult time for you. Did the songs on Splinter come from a similar place emotionally? Also, are the lyrical themes on the two albums related?

On the first record, I was pretty much just locked away in a room doing the songwriting on my own, as the

How did you decide to record with Kurt Ballou?

Kurt has the same ethos to production that Vallenfyre has to its music. We wanted to make an album with a great vibe, not a perfect album. The albums that I loved growing up had many imperfections, but that made them special. He is great at capturing energy and feelings.

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listen to a million times. To go back to your question, we’re in different places.

We’re in a really solid place and we have all of the tools that we need.

After A Fragile King in 2011, at what

Photography by Ben Davis

INTERVIEW WITH Guitarist/Vocalist Neil Bertheir WRITTEN BY Dustin Verburg Donovan Wolfington is a rock band based in New Orleans, LA. They play blend of punk barn-burners, moody post-punk, and skittery post-hardcore.

If there’s a rock band that defines the term “Southern Gothic,” it’s Donovan Wolfington. Their new EP Scary Stories You Tell in the Dark came out on April 8 on Topshelf Records. Guitarist and vocalist Neil Berthier is at a Mac Demarco show when I call him, but he takes time to talk to me about the new record, the band’s origins, and much more.

Are you in a different place than you were last year? Scary Stories is a different kind of dark than Stop Breathing.

Absolutely, but it’s weird. The way I look at it is that we wrote Stop Breathing our Freshman year of college and we’ve had numerous lineup changes since.

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I was a really frustrated Freshman. I had a girlfriend and we broke up over Thanksgiving. She went to Vanderbilt, moved on to bigger and greater things, and I kind of hated everyone. Everyone was super into electronic music and molly and shit – not that I’m against drugs, but those types of people surrounded me. I couldn’t find a niche and that’s what Stop Breathing was all about. That kind of frustration about not finding a home or a place, and wanting to give up constantly. Scary Stories was different because we had a lot of those songs written. We wrote them our Sophomore year and now we’re Juniors. These songs are about the frustrations of Sophomore year. The concept behind Scary Stories is that we wanted to make the most badass 7” we possibly could. We wanted to make something you’re gonna wear out and

Our bassist [Chris Lathier] and drummer [Michael Saladis] are both studio engineers. They work at a place called festival studios that Lil’ Wayne frequents a lot. It’s a legit fuckin’ place. Now we get to do our record there and we get to make everything sound exactly the way we want to, which we’ve never really had before. We’re super proud of Scary Stories.

We’re down with the songs and we love to play them, but the next record is the one I’m really pumped on.

Tell me about the actual recording process for Scary Stories.

It was kinda strange because what ended up happening was we did drums up at our drummer Mike’s house in Connecticut when he still lived up there. We just recorded it here and at Mike’s house.

We had a million phone calls a day, sent files back and forth, and it was kind of a complicated process. It still ended up being okay, but the odds were definitely not on our side at all. It ended up being something we’re still really proud of. Now that all of us are going to be in the same room and we’re going to get to say what we want to each other face to face, it’s going to be really sweet.

Would you give us a brief history of the band?

Hell yeah! I met Matt at orientation for Loyola University in 2011. I didn’t know

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Did recording with someone with a punk and hardcore background affect your songwriting approach?

No, not at all. It’s about the vibe and capturing the raw sound of the band.

Doesn’t matter if it’s doom or grindcore.

I think Kurt liked the challenge.

Between your two bands, which is easier to write songs for?

Neither. I have to draw on emotions and convey them in a realistic way for both bands, so it’s not an exact science.

I’m not one of those people who can write a hundred songs and pick the best few. I work with a handful of songs and make them the best they can be.

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him that well, but he had a Pavement shirt on, so I asked him about it. He went on for hours about music and ‘90s shit, and it was really cool to see someone so enthusiastic about that kind of stuff. We started jamming with people in college and we hated it. Matt and I finally got together and started to do stuff. [Keyboardist] Savannah [Saxton]’s roommate dated my roommate and it was kinda weird, but we became friends. She was a vocal major and she played keys, so I asked her to join. We had this kid Max who was one of my best homies at the time, but he lied to us a bunch and it was awful. We got our friend Chris to play drums. Chris was in a country band at the time, and our friend Christian was in a band called Coyotes at the time. He was always the best part of that band. So what ended up happening is we did that for a year, and then Chris quit. Then Theo from Ovlov played drums for us, and things weren’t working out. Personalities clash. In fall, we needed someone to record our EP and I called up my buddy Mike, who was my homie from high school. I didn’t really know what he was doing, and it was just almost perfect. He hated Connecticut, so he came down, played a set, and he moved to New Orleans. At this time, Christian left the band, so we needed a bassist too.

Mike met Chris at the studio he works at, so now we have two engineers in our band; two of the nicest, funniest guys I’ve ever met in my whole life. It’s a really great time. And that’s most of it.

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Neil Bertheir

CODE ORANGE KIDS

Photography by Kimi Hanauer

INTERVIEW WITH Drummer Jami Morgan WRITTEN BY Joe Fitzpatrick Forged out of American hardcore and punk in Pittsburgh, PA, in 2008, Code Orange Kids has been leading the new school scene of hardcore while simultaneously crafting music that harkens back to the glory days of Black Flag and Converge. In February the band began production on their second studio album, I Am King.

They announced the new album with the release of a mysterious image of a green panther, which quickly

went viral and was reposted by many other bands including Daylight and Into It. Over It. In addition to the mysterious announcement, the band has been sending out secret messages to their fans through their website Thinningtheherd.com. I spoke with drummer Jami Morgan about these cryptic messages, the progression of their band, and how neither the members of Code Orange Kids nor their fans will be boxed in by any of

THE SHELL CORPORATION Photography by Dawn Wilson Photography (For The LovebyofDawn Punk)Wilson, For The Love of Punk

INTERVIEW WITH Vocalist Jan Drees WRITTEN BY Bryan Spearry Politics – whether personal or inherent – will always be a part of punk rock. Shell Corporation vocalist Jan Drees is an interesting fellow. He is currently helping make the carousel run at Yerba Buena Gardens in San Francisco as the band preps to tour this fall for their Paper and Plastick release Mandrake. Jan is gracious enough to stop by my office for an interview in the city.

With Obama in office, there aren’t many punk bands playing political songs. Why do you think that is?

That’s a damn good question. Well, I think people are lazy. We have even more right to be pissed off that the great hope ended up being more of the same. In many cases, worse than what we had before. In punk rock, everything comes in waves and fads and, when Obama was elected in ’08, that was the start of the beardcore scene, which is now finally, mercifully dying out. Beardcore types don’t go in for the political thing. It’s more songs about drinking beer with your buds, stuff like that. Which is fine, I love hollering music as much as the next guy, but my heart lies with the political punk rock for sure.

What current issues have you most concerned for our future?

This slow, inexorable, slide into a police state. And everyone’s like, ‘ugh.’ When you say that, you immediately get written off as some kind of a conspiracy theorist or whatever.

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I’m not. I’m looking at exactly what’s happened, and especially since 9/11.

Suddenly people are OK, it seems.

At least they’re not making too much noise about agencies under the guise of fighting terrorism. Those [that are] violating very basic rights, which have been enshrined in the Constitution since the ratification of Amendment number four. It shocked me when it came out years ago, when Bush was in office, that they were collecting data on Americans’ telephone calls and, in some cases, wiretapping without a warrant. That’s very clearly illegal.

I don’t care what secret court you go to, that’s against the Constitution.

Yet, you had these people who were defending it, because for some reason, when you say the word “terror,” I guess people have been conditioned mean. Anything goes. Anything goes to defeat terrorism, whatever that is, whatever you want it to be.

The NSA leaks proved that privacy barely exists any longer. We are tracked constantly through our phones and GPS. Is this just the way things are now?

I think if people got educated and got angry. If they really… It’s a hard subject, and it’s not a comfortable subject to think about. It takes a little bit of effort to get angry and let your Congress critters know that you’re angry. I don’t know if we can go back; technology’s there and that is what it is. We could certainly be a lot more forthright about standing up for our rights as citizens and pushing back

society’s limitations.

How was your European tour with Twitching Tongues?

It was great. They are an amazing band.

Who are the “Thinners of the Herd,” and what is your mission with this project?

Thinners of the Herd to us are, in short, those who like what they want and do what they want without fear of unacceptance or consequence.

Blazing their own path. Kings of their world.

Can you explain the significance of each step and what it is leading up to?

You can sign up at Thinnersoftheherd. com if you want, and you can find out.

What is the significance of the green panther?

The green represents the color scheme of the new record. The panther is our logo.

What can your fans expect from your upcoming album I Am King?

People who like the band can expect against the NSA. The very little pushback the NSA has already seen after the Snowden revelations really gave me a lot of hope. James Clapper was up there in front of Congress and said, point blank, “No, we are not collecting this data, we are not recording this.” Two months later, Snowden releases these documents, and, hey, he just lied to Congress! Is he sitting in prison for perjury? No, he is not.

Now, it opened up the fight between Congress and the CIA and the NSA, that there is now friction where there wasn’t before. It seemed that the Congress critters were either complicit, or they were browbeaten, or afraid of directly confronting these agencies.

They just accumulated this power, and they were listening to everything.

Who knows, if a Congressman starts making too much noise, it isn’t a huge stretch of the imagination that someone at the NSA would call the Congressman’s office and say, “Hey, you know that noise you’re making? Well, how about this thing we know about you? Maybe you shouldn’t make that noise anymore.” So it’s a very dangerous place we find ourselves.

We live in a world of corporate citizens and sociopathic CEOs. Do you see personal equality as something that will ever exist?

I think it can exist, but you need to fight for it. It’s something that requires eternal vigilance on the part of the citizenry. We are handed this fairly decent experiment in democracy, and it’s had its ups and its downs, and it’s definitely had its low points.

I would say much lower points than we are at now. But it’s always managed to pull back. Historically, it seems to me, that we were at a similar point during the Robber Baron era in the 1890s; the age of monopolies. It took 30 or so years, but by the 1920s and ‘30s, suddenly you had unions as a legally recognized entity. You had this pushback against this monopoly. It could happen again. The technology changes, the root of people caring and taking action does not change. I’m hopeful, and that’s why I’m a cynic, because I’m always hopeful, and I’m always disappointed.

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the absolute best thing we have created as a unit and a totally new era of our band. It’s our heaviest, hardest, weirdest, and most defined release by miles and miles. We are King.

Are you guys looking forward to playing This Is Hardcore Fest this year? Will you be playing anything new?

Yes. It is our favorite weekend every year, and it is in our home state in what I consider our second hometown. I hope we play This is Hardcore Fest every year until we no longer exist. This is our third year. We will be playing almost exclusively I Am King cuts, as we will from now on.

“No boxes. No boundaries. No fear.”

What does it mean?

No boundaries on what we can do or create. No boxes we will be forced into or categorized by. No fear of the unknown or of anyone else.

What do you hope people will get out of listening to your band?

I don’t think about that. Whatever they want. As long as we get out of it what we want to, we will keep rolling.

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Being a touring band probably isn’t the best financial decision. How do you get by when you’re not on the road?

[Laughs] Well, I’ve got a job. I work downtown here in San Francisco.

Luckily, I’ve been fortunate enough – or at least strong headed enough – to arrange it so that when I’m here, I work hourly, and when I’m not here, I’m not here. So far, it’s working for me. Luckily, my wife is kind of an asskicker and has a great job. So yeah, I’m definitely living the rock star life; my woman is taking good care of me.

You guys just released a new record, Mandrake, on Paper and Plastick. Can you talk about that decision and the recording process?

The record was recorded before we knew who was going to put it out. We went with our buddy Chris Hesse at Lighthouse Studios. With the writing, we actually took a lot more time with this record than we did with the first one. The first one we had written and recorded in two and a half months. It was out in three and a half months.

We were in a huge hurry back then.

This time, we had the luxury of a little time, and so we wrote, and wrote. We got the record done, and started shopping it around. When we went to Fest this year, [owner] Vinnie [Fiorello] asked to sit down and talk to us, and said, “I want to put out the record.” It was kind of a no brainer; it’s the perfect size label for us. It’s been great for the exposure and the distribution.

They’ve just got a much broader reach than Solidarity did.

What makes Shell Corporation stand out?

I’d like to think that lyrically we’re a little bit different than a lot of other bands. Especially the more popular bands these days. We have some introspective songs, but that’s just not what I write. I write angry the best.

I think that anger has been missing from pop for a while. Propagandhi might be the only really pissed off band left that’s of any size. We don’t have beards. We’re the “Old Fat Wreck Chords” sound, I think is what someone said. I’ll take it.

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THE GRIZZLY BAND

INTERVIEW WITH Vocalist Chad Grizzly WRITTEN BY Sasha Miller For those unfamiliar, how long has the Grizzly Band been around? Have you always been a Houston band?

We started October 2009, after my failed attempt at becoming a coffeehouse acoustic solo extraordinaire [laughs].

I moved back home to Houston from Portland and needed a band to help me flesh out the songs I had halfway written. A country trio that was looking for a singer found my ad on craigslist. A few member changes

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later, and the addition of [drummer] Nathan Bandor and [lap steel] Michael Helfenstein, and here we are speaking with you.

Tell us a little bit about the new album and how you came to work with Altercation Records.

How we met Altercation, it was pretty dreamy... It’s the kind of story that is straight out of an ‘80s rocker movie: shitty, smoky hometown

bar, band onstage playing to about 10 people, and a suit walks in the front door and asks some cute, little waitress, “Who is that band on the stage?” And she’s like, “Oh, hunny, that’s just Eddie and the Cruisers.” (laughs) No, simply put, about a year ago, our friend Jason Bancroft [of the Wealthy Beggars] – who evidently had some faith in us – introduced us to [co-founder] JT [Habersaat] from Altercation, and we were invited to play the annual Altercation Mid Summer Night Scream in Austin. We played a grimy 30- minute set with a fill-in bass player, and JT was super nice and a bit standoffish. But a few days after the show, he sent me a message thanking us for playing and expressed that he was interested in working with us. Which brings us to the new album Lost and Found. It started as an EP, but JT said, “Make it a full-length and we’ll continue to talk.” The album is a timeline of sorts for me and the boys. We ended up spanning three different albums stylewise. We didn’t want to do a heavy, fast paced album like our previous EP Victory. We wanted more of a storyline.

Some punk, some Americana, and some country. We are really excited to see how it goes over. Also, we need to get JT a suit!

Lucero is an obvious stylistic influence for you. Have you performed with them? To whom else would you compare

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yourself?

No! We haven’t performed with them... yet! I would be a total liar if I said that Lucero wasn’t a major influence on our music. I take it as a compliment.

Although, through the years, we have tried break the stigma a bit, but we clearly haven’t gotten too far from it.

Me and Matt Peters, my lead guitarist, are huge dorks for Bruce Springsteen and the southern rock legends in general. So with my vocals, it really isn’t too farfetched to believe that our comparison to Lucero was initially unintentional. Now with a lap steel played by Mike Helfenstein, we can keep the country feel without playing country. We have gotten comparisons to the likes of Drag the River, Leatherface... I would simply just say Social D meets The Boss, and they both get drunk with Johnny Cash.

Finally, The Grizzly Band – named for the bear, the beards, or the grizzled life on the road?

Hell, I wish something cool like that was behind the name! [Laughs] Naming a band is the worst part about being in a band. We had a thousand working titles and it came down to the observation that my bass player Joe Varner used to chew Grizzly brand chewing tobacco.

Gross. And that’s that!

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INCANTATION

INTERVIEW WITH John McEntee & Chuck Sherwood WRITTEN BY Brandon Ringo For two decades now, guitarist John McEntee and his goliath Incantation have been unleashing massive slabs of death metal destruction. Through the years, the band’s sound has changed slightly, but their focus on being the absolute heaviest has certainly never waned. 2012’s Vanquish in Vengeance appeared to be the top of their game, but the release of their new record Dirges of Elysium proves that they still haven’t reached the peak of their brutality. In this chat with McEntee and bassist Chuck Sherwood, we delve into their prolific songwriting and the creative process behind Dirges.

After releasing Vanquish in Vengeance in 2012, when did you begin writing Dirges Of Elysium?

JM: Some of the songs were written at the same time as Vanquish in Vengeance, but we felt that they didn’t fit on that album. Plus we had too many songs for just one album at that time. We really started refining the songs about a year ago and tried to find a mix of songs that fit together and [had] a good flow. About a third of the album is older songs. We don’t record all the songs we write, so we have a bunch of other songs ready for another album already. I think the songs we picked for Dirges of Elysium flow in a totally dark and aggressive way. It’s really great to have such massive inspiration going on in the band at the moment.

Dirges is thrashier than the doomier Vanquish. Was this intentional or organic?

JM: It’s all organic; we just go with what feels right. We always try to bring a new feeling into the songs and take different approaches to our songs on each album. We feel that death metal is limitless and, as long as it seems right, we will go with it. I think the album has some doom, just a little different kind of doom than on Vanquish in Vengeance.

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Is there a lyrical theme on the album? Are the lyrics personal or based in fiction?

CS: They’re distinct throughout, save death/genocide. The song “Elysium (Eternity is Nigh)” is a five-part epic piece [about] one’s own journey through the rivers of Hades to find the Elysium fields in ruin, and to drink from Lethe only retains the horrors, forever to reside there.

Which mirrors the title “Funeral Music for a Decimated Paradise.” For my contribution, the lyrics are never from life experience in a classical sense- unless of course you consider dreams/visions as such. Mainly historical events and occult/pagan religions, and the latter is subject to opinion if they’re truly fiction.

Are there books, movies, or records that inspire you?

CS: [Drummer] Kyle [Severn] and I are avid horror film fanatics, but never did it transfer musically. It enters our darkness as metaphors for riff description. “That Sabbath riff,” “this could use a cliff drop,” or, “ya know, like you’re stabbing someone.” Pinpointing an actual film or album isn’t necessary when most of our metal community comes from a background of mutual interest. I’m sure those familiar will discover the influence.

What keeps compelling you to create such brutal music?

JM: As for now, I just feel inspired!

We have such a killer lineup and great people to work with. The ideas just don’t stop. We will do the band as long as we feel we have something worth contributing to the death metal underground. When the inspiration is gone, we will have no problem stopping the band, but for now, the ideas seem endless.

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DEAD BARS

INTERVIEW WITH Vocalist John Maiello WRITTEN BY Janelle Jones With two records set to come out in May – a four-song, self-titled 7” and split with Sunshine State – Dead Bars’ frontman John Maiello talks about the band’s beginnings, and what’s next up including a May through June West Coast tour and their first Fest appearance.

When did you guys start?

We’re pretty new. We played our first show in March 2013.

Were you in different bands before that?

We’ve all been in different bands for a long time. I was playing drums in a few bands in New Jersey, and then a few bands here in Seattle. I started writing Dead Bars songs over the course of a couple years, and I just didn’t make it a band until 2013.

The first song I ever wrote was “Party At My House.” I played drums for so long, so playing guitar and writing songs, I recently learned how to do that in the past couple of years. The way it started is I was playing drums in a band called The Hunting Club, and I was just casually writing my own songs. Since I knew how to play drums and kinda knew how to play guitar and bass, I just ended up doing some demos myself pretty much from 2011 to 2013.

You have these two releases coming out…

Basically what ended up happening is we recorded six songs and we sent them over to No Idea [Records]. Var [Thelin] got back to us and was like, “I love this. I just got a demo from another band today and you guys would be perfect. I wanna put you guys on a split with them.” We were like, “That sounds cool, but we obviously have too many songs for a split,” and he’s like, “I wanna do your own record too.”

We just figured we’d take two songs and do a split ourselves and put it on a comp or something. So the split was an extra bonus, which was rad.

What exactly made you transition from drums to fronting a band?

If it was up to me, I’d probably still be playing drums. The whole idea of Dead Bars was I really couldn’t find the right group of people to play the type of music I wanted to do. I was playing in different bands. Everybody I had shown the demos to over the course of that year kept telling me, “This is what you should be doing. You should just do this.” And finally I just had to accept, “All right, I guess I’m just gonna be the singer in a band.” [Laughs] I never really thought that was gonna be the case, but I really like how everything’s come out and I do love how the band is structured.

It’s still me and [drummer] CJ [Frederick] working out the songs before the rest of the guys come into the mix, so it still feels like I have the capability to do the songs

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I wanna do. And what’s cool is everyone who’s playing with me now is onboard and they’re fans of the band, and that’s how they got in the mix to begin with.

Lyrically, what inspires you?

It’s mostly just simple stories about simple things in my life. Anything that piques my interest, I’ve thought where can I take that lyrically. But I always wanna keep a lighthearted element in the songs. I never want it to get super dark, and I never want it to get super serious even if it has serious things or serious internal messages. I always wanna keep it silly and fun in a way.

Not overthink it, too. I mean “Party At My House” was about a party at my house.

Did you send songs to other places or just No Idea?

We actually only sent stuff to No Idea, which was pretty incredible. It didn’t happen the way it’s supposed to happen; it’s not a normal thing. We basically sent an email to Var and he sent us a text message the next day, “Howdy, this is Var. It’s on.”

[Laughs] We didn’t really know what we were gonna do. We just figured we were gonna record some stuff, send it out to a couple of labels we really liked, and if nothing happened, we were gonna put it out ourselves and take it from there. It happened really fast. Var has been nothing but cool with everything. He’s been so helpful. I can’t thank him enough for supporting us.

That’s awesome that you got your first choice.

They were our absolute number one. I feel like our sound makes so much sense [with them]. We started doing the full talking with them in October, and I feel it’s been such a long time without anything actually coming out, but now that we’ve received some of the test pressings and looking at the art… The art looks really cool, and our buddy Tom Lowell, who does all of our show posters, did the art for both records.

Have you been writing for a full-length?

We’re actively writing. Since we’ve had the full band while we were playing out, it’s been kind of just teaching guys the songs that already existed. Now that we’re a unit, we’ve been working on a lot of new stuff. We’ve already added I’d say three or four new [songs] that aren’t recorded on anything into the set list. There’s about four more in the works. We’re definitely thinking full-length at some point in 2015 would be ideal. The whole goal is to get these out, do a couple of these tours, go play Fest, and then make a plan for the full-length. We have the rest of the year planned out for sure, but full-length all the way.

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WAR OF AGES

Photography by Chris Zibutis

INTERVIEW WITH Vocalist Leroy Hamp WRITTEN BY Morgan Y. Evans War of Ages are one of the handful of bands in the Christian Metalcore scene that are open to having difficult dialogues.

They have made consistently rocking albums for over a decade, proving they are a band that sticks to it and only gets better with age. Vocalist Leroy Hamp takes us behind the scenes of their new record Supreme Chaos.

How did you know it was time to rise up “The Hills Have Eyes scared the shit out of me growing up,” explains Carter Hardin.

“Halloween is great. The Amityville Horror is always good. I just like getting scared. It’s fun.” Hardin, the vocalist of Atlanta-based band Nightmares, is a horror enthusiast and used his love of scary movies to help inspire Nightmare’s debut album Suspiria.

Though they formed in 2011, Nightmares have already made huge strides, going from local jam sessions to signing with Rise Records and preparing to release their first full-length record. “All the songs are based off of old horror movies and old horror books,” notes Hardin. “We just came across the idea of a whole horror movie soundtrack feel. So, that’s why we decided to name every song after one.”

Nightmares have added their own twist to masters of fright such as Stephen King on songs “Cujo” and “The Tommyknockers,” John Ajvide Lindqvist on “Let the Right One In,” Gaspar Noe on “Enter the Void” and “Irreversible,” and even Hammer Film Productions on “Hands of the Ripper.”

Hardin explains, “A lot of the songs don’t really have to do necessarily with the movie in the title, therefore there’s only one song that is actually just like the movie.

another batch of songs?

Timing was perfect! We all had some nice time off with new additions to our families and felt it was time to write a new record and hit the road touring again.

Why name the record Supreme Chaos? It’s a bold title.

The title reflects what we see as the current state of the world. [Everyone seems] hell bent on pushing agenda

Apart from writing, Nightmares have been in the midst of collaborations all over the scene, from Hardin lending vocals to Cursed Sails’ “The Great Gold Rush” to Tyler Carter of Issues being featured on the first single off of Suspiria, “In the Mouth of Madness.” Hardin notes, “[Tyler Carter] grew up in our same area in Atlanta, so we’ve all known him for quite a while.

When we decided to get a guest feature, we just asked him on a whim and he was down for it. He’s like a big brother to us, so we appreciate everything he’s done so far.”

The record – which was produced by Drew Fulk – took over a year to record due to incompatible schedules and the

INTERVIEW WITH Anders Manga WRITTEN BY Hutch

@ NEWNOISEMAGS

What are your thoughts on “Chaos Theory”? This is how hi-fi hardcore should sound, still raw and powerful, even with crisper production.

Anger is the emotional vibe we are capturing with “Chaos Theory.” The lyrics dig at the heart of apathy found in most icons we seem to look up to these days. I [see] most of the so-called “men of integrity” today as mindless robots mesmerized by their own reflection in the mirror. Musically, we wanted raw aggression heavily laced with production that would pull out the strength in our chord progression and song structure. We honestly did not have an agenda. We just wrote songs one by one.

The guitar solo on “From Ashes” is

full-length triggered praise and head banging in the underground.

Home to the Moog factory – which produces the electronic instruments originally created by Dr Robert Moog, as chronicled in the fantastic documentary Moog by Hans Fjellestad – Ashville, NC, has a huge electronic music scene. “And bluegrass is big here. But yeah, I have made several

amazing. Did you know you’d captured lightning in a bottle on this track?

To be honest, “From Ashes” almost did not make the album. The song finally took shape in the studio. We were not exactly sure what we had until all elements were recorded and we listened back to roughs.

Now it sits as one of our favorites. Never judge a book by its cover, right?

Are you looking forward to Creation Festival 2014 in Mt. Union, PA, in June?

What are the most boring and most exciting things about Pennsylvania?

YES!!! Pennsylvania weather is pretty boring, at least in Erie it is. I personally feel Pennsylvania collectively has some of the most genuine fans, and that’s exciting!

Is it weird that I used to make the Rotting Christ album Aealo fight your album Eternal? Both feature helmeted warriors and they look like they want to fight…

Not at all! I take all our covers out and play with them like my old G.I. Joe and Transformers action figures.

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NIGHTMARES

It’s called “Enter the Void.”” Hardin says the track is sung from the point of view of a dead man watching his past world unfold without him. Other songs, such as “Let the Right One In,” though named after the film and novel, focus more on the personal ideologies of the band than the fictional macabre. “[The song is] more about someone who’s kind of controlling, and trying to build something that’s not really there with a person, instead of letting someone just live how they want to live,” Hardin elaborates.

BLOODY HAMMERS

You wouldn’t assume the atmospheric, multi-layered, spooky tracks from Bloody Hammers’ Under Satan’s Sun were a culmination of one man’s labor.

A “modest home studio” became a modern day Frankenstein’s lab, which unleashed Anders Manga’s first album as Bloody Hammers in 2012.

Anders humbly explains, “I put it on line. Soulseller [Records] called the next day and put it out.” That initial

after agenda. The War of Ages agenda is simple. Are you hurting? YES! Well, here is the hope we found in Jesus Christ that gave us the strength to fight another day.

And guess what? He doesn’t give a shit about your past or skin color because His love is unconditional.

INTERVIEW WITH Vocalist Carter Hardin WRITTEN BY Natasha Van Duser majority of the band still being in school, contributing to the widespread range of sounds and influences invoked during its creation. This discord would inspire the sound that led to the final title of the record. “There was another name for [the album] and then it got canned and we decided on Suspiria. [The song “Suspiria”] is very creepy. It’s also catchy and very dark, so as whole, that song just best represents our whole record.” electronic albums,” Anders says, again unassuming. That he is prolific seems more accurate. His songs have been used in films and, appropriately, in The Vampire Diaries.

Something of a contradiction, Anders plays blasphemous, treacherous metal in a sun-soaked, hippie-filled, electronic music town. “There is not a lot of metal here,” he admits. “The touring band members live four hours away.” All except for one: his wife and organist, Devallia. “Bloody Hammers was something I wanted to get out of my system,” Anders explains. “The songs consist of older stuff I wanted to put out. For example, Spiritual Relics, the second album, is re-recorded music from years before.” After the release of this record, “Napalm Records called to do something. So the new album is new.”

This darkwave wizard doesn’t exactly wear his influences on his robe’s sleeves though, as he rattles off random, but strategic albums that had an impact: “Gary Numan, Pleasure Principle, and then Alice Cooper Goes to Hell.” But how did he get interested

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Now midway through their first major tour – The Rise Records and Friends Tour – Nightmares gets to prepare for all the releases and shows to come, including the official release of Suspiria and a new music video in the spring. “It’s been a great first tour for everybody,” concludes Hardin reflecting on the humble beginnings of the band. “We’re just really excited to see where we’re all going to be a year from now.”

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in metal? “A gateway to metal?” he reiterates. “MTV. I liked videos by Twisted Sister and Mötley Crüe and Metallica.”

Anders exerts control over all technical aspects of the music he creates and the seclusion helps hone the execution. “I worked a long time on guitar tone,” he explains. “I spend crazy [amounts of] time buying different mics, and then I hate them all, and just resort to my SM57 against an Orange [amp]. Keep it simple. I engineer it. I mix it. I have been in bands with lot of cooks in a kitchen, so many egos, so many personalities.

Then, a producer gets involved. This is just me. I am like a painter.” Anders then corrects, “except for my wife playing organs. And drums on three songs…”

Anders displays strength, and once again, his penchant for independence, in his ability to look within for the gratification. “I am stoked on this album,” he says. “Definitely my favorite that I have ever done.

Everything came together, nothing was forced.”

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BEACH SLANG

been? What are you expecting?

I have never been to or played Fest. I am expecting lots of cheap beer, sweaty hugs, new friends, loud bands, good mistakes, and a much bigger bank of memories.

Ed is a veteran. This will be his seventh Fest. JP went for his first time last year and Ex Friends played with Crybaby.

See, Beach Slang really is one big punk rock arranged marriage. They did give me this advice: “Expect to be balmy and to take more Vitamin C than you’ve ever taken in your life.” Balmy…

What a great word.

Is it difficult to find time to tour?

There’s always a way to make a thing work. And, really, who’s going to try and stop a rogue gang of swans like us?

INTERVIEW WITH Guitarist/Vocalist James Snyder WRITTEN BY John B. Moore

W

hile every other punk band today tries to resurrect the ghost of emo (despite the fresh dirt on the grave), Beach Slang are too busy churning out fantastic rock – that brings to mind The Psychedelic Furs and The Replacements – to notice the recent obsession with emo revival. The trio – comprised of guitarist James Snyder, bassist Ed McNulty (who also plays in Crybaby) and drummer JP Flexner (also two-timing with Ex Friends) – all call Philly home.

What in the hell are they putting in the water here? Philly officially has more punk bands than Jersey has corrupt mayors. Beach Slang plays a blazing concoction of mid90’s college rock mixed with late70s punk rock attitude. Their foursong EP, Who Would Ever Want Anything So Broken, is frustrating only in its brevity and will have you pining for more songs before the last distorted chord escapes your speakers. But have no fear, the band is heading back to the studio shortly. Snyder speaks about the band’s arranged marriage, getting psyched up for Fest, and the phenom that is Philadelphia Punk.

How did the band first come together?

Ed booked Ex Friends’ first show at the legendary My Parents’ House [venue] in West Chester [PA]. After that, [he and JP] kind of just kept crossing scene paths and, eventually, began knocking around the idea of starting a band.

JP told Ed he knew this guy James who also plays in Weston. One day, he sort of sheepishly slipped 22

the idea to me. I had a bunch of songs charging to go somewhere and this felt like a pretty right-on place. We got together, made our first little bit of noise and knew we had something. JP has this real matchmaker thing about him. And now we are Beach Slang.

I live in the Philly burbs and am pleasantly surprised at how many bands are coming out of South Jersey/Philly right now. Why do you think the scene is so fertile?

I think there are three major things pushing this engine. 1. An influx of wildly talented art kids – musicians, painters, writers, and so on. There’s a very tangible thing just clobbering the city.

And it’s perfect. 2. The scene is unapologetically supportive. So many rad venues and promoters and bands and kids who really want to go to live shows and sweat their guts out. There’s this real idea of “if one of us moves forward, we all move forward.” And that’s exactly what’s happening. 3. The economy is dead and it’s creating this really great restlessness. Loud guitars, cheap beer, and long make-outs have always helped numb things like student loans and stolen bikes.

full-length. We plan on spending the better part of summer getting those things in loud, working order, and recording before we leave for Gainesville.

I love the fact that you have a strong 90s college rock sound. Was this a conscious decision? Who influences you?

I think it was less a conscious decision than a what-felt-right decision. I mean, really, everything I’ve listened to since all of that stuff happened, is that stuff. I just really wanted to mash Teenage Fanclub, The Replacements, Jawbreaker, Hüsker Dü, The Pixies, and The Psychedelic Furs together and see what happened. We’re getting there. Or, at the very least, still really trying. I remember when we first sat down to talk about things; the three bands we all shouted out were The Pixies, The Replacements, and Hüsker Dü.

The rest are just my stingy little songwriter obsessions. Ed and JP have assured me I’m forgiven.

You mentioned Fest. Have you ever

How did you guys connect with Dead Broke Rekerds?

It was mostly by just being involved in the DIY scene, kind of a “six degrees of Mike Dumps” [aka Mike Bruno of Iron Chic] thing. We recorded a record and then made a very short, in-aperfect-world list of labels we’d love to work with. We sent Mike our songs and he dug them. And now they are out on the mighty Dead Broke. Digital is available now on Bandcamp, iTunes, and Spotify. The Vinyl comes out in June.

What is next for the band?

We just signed with The Agency Group. And we’re floating. We have a run of dates with Crowbait in mid-June (Long Island, Brooklyn, Philadelphia, and New Brunswick). Of course, in October we are flipped out about playing Fest. Did you see the lineup this year? Insane and perfect. For most of the summer, and I know I’m repeating here, we’ll be glued to our rehearsal space getting our second EP and first full-length ready to be proper records. In all the time between these things: writing more songs and finding good trouble. And exercising; at least a little.

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You have this new EP out. Have you started thinking about a fulllength?

Yes, absolutely. In fact, we’ve already committed our second EP to [label] Tiny Engines. We are recording in late June (again, at Gradwell House in Haddon Heights, NY). The label is planning a pre-Fest vinyl release. I also have the songs written for our first NEW NOISE MAGAZINE

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a few times over. I have great friends. Most importantly, I’m happy. You can’t say that for many of my peers who chose a different path.

ANGEL DU$T

INTERVIEW WITH Frontman Justice Tripp WRITTEN BY Joe Fitzpatrick When you combine members of three of the best hardcore bands in the scene, and you throw in influences like Bad Brains, The Ramones, Suicidal Tendencies and Black Flag, you get an infectious new breed of music that paves its own way in punk. Led by Justice Tripp, this Baltimore-based band also includes Daniel Fang of Mindset, Praise, and Turnstile. Last year, they released their debut album Xtra Raw, which showcased the brash four-piece and their energetic old school skate/surf punk vibes. Currently, the band is on the verge of releasing their much anticipated sophomore effort A.D., which promises to be just as raw, but with more refined skill. Tripp speaks about the upsurge in quality bands from Maryland and Virginia, how he initially got into hardcore and how it has impacted him over the years, as well as his thoughts on A.D. and the possibility of doing more mixed genre shows.

You recently said about your most recent single, “Let It Rot,” “was born in a mosh pit, inspired by the entire timeline history of hardcore punk rock.” Why was it so important for Angel Du$t to pay tribute? @ NEWNOISEMAGS

I wouldn’t say that “Let It Rot” is a tribute, but it is inspired by the bands before. There are bands that want to be tributes to other bands or eras, and that’s cool, but that’s not what I want for Angel Du$t.

We pay tribute in other ways, like covering songs. Covering bands is so cool because it keeps people in tune with the history. How else will I get to sing along to a Ramones song live?

It seems like the East Coast is having a huge impact on the hardcore scene, and bands like Trapped Under Ice, Turnstile, Down to Nothing, and Paper Trail have been getting most of the attention. Do you think that trend will continue?

I think Maryland has a lot of creative juice right now, but not enough young people. It kind of bums me out. My favorite thing in Baltimore right now is Noisem.

They are a very young metal band from the same area where I was raised. Virginia has an endless supply of young people that will be making hard pits that my grandbabies will spinkick in. I’d like to say something arrogant about how the East Coast rules all, and it does rule, but that would mean playing out the huge amount of influence coming from

all over the place. Black Flag is so influential. Everyone wants to be Suicidal Tendencies right now. I have a Take Offense tattoo.

How did you initially get into hardcore music?

I had a lot of people showing me hardcore and punk music starting in middle school. I listened to my friend Brian’s Minor Threat, Youth of Today, and Pennywise CDs on a boombox while we were skateboarding. My personal collection really got started when my brother broke into a car and stole a bunch of hardcore and punk CDs that he gave to me. I think it was his way of apologizing for beating me up, or something. I would go to local punk rock shows with my friend Dave and his mom. Misdirected was the local band that everyone loved. When I was maybe 13, I saw Hatebreed with Death Threat and Mushmouth at a tiny club in Baltimore called The Sidebar Tavern. That was probably the single most life-changing event for me.

How has hardcore impacted your life since then?

To an outsider, they would see a shitty tattooed, borderline homeless man with nothing of value to show for his time and effort, because I’ve spent so much of my time gone on tour or getting my stupid, little teeth kicked out in a mosh pit. In reality, I’m one of the few people to come from the neighborhood that I came from and get to leave to see the world

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What are the similarities and differences between your debut record Xtra Raw and your upcoming album A.D.?

Xtra Raw was kind of openended in the fact that there was no formula. It doesn’t humor the idea of a definite direction with the band. We took the same influences and things that we like playing together and built on them for A.D. The new songs were written with the same clear vision of a 1982 Bad Brains CBGB’s mosh pit in mind, but we wrote them with a better understanding of what Angel Du$t is. Brian McTernan did a great job with the recording. I think the quality is as good as it could be without losing the raw vibe.

What do you do in your free time? Still hitting the squat rack?

Yeah, I like to lift weights a bit.

I like hanging out with my dog a lot. Really I’m never not doing music, though. I spend more time writing music alone than most people do at their nine to five job.

When I die, my headstone will probably say, “Justice did music.”

I saw on Twitter you are interested in doing a show with Fireworks. Do you think there should be more mixed genre shows?

Of course! I hate seeing the same band four to five times in the same show. Mix it up, baby! Also, I just really like Fireworks, and I want to tour with bands that I like. The worst thing is being on tour with a band that sucks so bad you have to find something to do for an hour when they play every day. I never want to do that.

What does Angel Du$t have planned for this summer?

Definitely going to Europe.

Hoping to start a few weeks worth of slam pits across the U.S. We’ll probably eat really bad food and perpetually search for gyms in the city we’re playing that night. Half the time, we won’t. Wish us luck.

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cranton’s Tigers Jaw has classic emo sensibilities, indie rock catchiness, and a punk rock demeanor, all in equal measure.

Last year, the band took a brief hiatus when guitarist and vocalist Adam McIlwee, bassist Dennis Mishko, and drummer Pat Brier all unexpectedly left the band. Despite lineup changes, Tigers Jaw has a new album called Charmer out now on Run For Cover Records.

Sites like Pitchfork and the AV Club have been featuring songs from the record and saying they’re excited that you’ve come “back to life.”

It’s pretty crazy. It’s not that I never thought we’d be able to do any of this, but it’s still pretty surreal. Especially because we’re not a full-time band. When I’m working at my job and I get to read about the band I’m in on Pitchfork, it’s pretty crazy. I think it’s really awesome.

Tell me the story of Charmer.

Two Worlds was our last fulllength record and that was in 2010. That was early on, when I was in college, and we’ve done 7”s and stuff since then. But it got to a point where everybody had songs – it’s always been a challenge for us to get together and practice, we rarely practice.

There’s school and work and we all didn’t live in the same city, so that’s why it took so long to get to a point where we could get this together. There were a good majority of the songs written before Adam, Pat, and Dennis [who left the band in 2013] let us know they weren’t going to do Tigers Jaw anymore. We already had the recording time booked with Will Yip and we asked them if they’d still want to do Charmer. We had all these songs and why not do it? We were still figuring out what we were going to do with Tigers Jaw. [Yip] had tour dates booked and time for the record. We were all really excited when they agreed to do the record, because it was something everyone put a lot of work into. We all agreed it was something we really wanted to do. A lot of the stuff was written before they decided to leave the band, so we decided that we still wanted to do it. It was the last thing they were going to do with us. As far as working with Will, we got to do some stuff we’ve never done before. We got to do some layering. A lot of the lyrics weren’t exactly finished when we got into the studio. It was also the first record I contributed lyrics to. I’m trying to get more involved, especially now.

So you’re on tour soon with Pity Sex, which leads into a tour with Touché Amoré and Dads. Who’s filling out your lineup on tour?

Yeah. One tour meets the other.

Derek Sherman from Sainthood Reps is playing guitar. Luke Schwartz from Loose Planes, who’s touring with us on the part of the tour with Pity Sex, is playing bass. Elliot Babin from Touché Amoré , who’s crazy, is playing drums for us the whole time. Including the dates that Touché is playing! We have a group chat going with all of the people who are going to be in the van and it’s already hilarious, so I can’t wait to actually hang out with everybody.

“Hum” is probably my favorite 24

All Photography by Rose U.S.

TIGERS JAW INTERVIEW WITH Keyboardist/Vocalist Brianna Collins WRITTEN BY Dustin Verburg

song on the record. The instruments all hit perfectly, the vocals are great, I can relate to the lyrics, and I love that Thin Lizzy-style guitar part at the end.

What are some of your favorites?

[Laughs] That guitar part was all Ben [Walsh]. This is a hard question. I really love the record and I listen to it fairly often to get familiar with it, but let me think.

I love “Nervous Kids,” because it’s very catchy. I just love that guitar part that Ben wrote. Not to just mention the singles, but I also love “Slow Come On.” Both of those songs have been Tigers Jaw songs for a while. We played them a couple of times before we even had Will booked. I like how it’s really upbeat. I really like “Teen Rocket” too, it’s kind of a sad, slow song. I love all of them! Good thing, right?

Adam, Pat, and Dennis were on, it’s really important that we all agreed on everything and all had input.

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So Charmer took over a year to come out? It must have been kind of hard to sit on for that long.

Yeah, but I’m kind of glad, because everything turned out how we wanted it to. Especially for it being the last album that NEW NOISE MAGAZINE

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SEPTICFLESH INTERVIEW WITH Guitarist Christos Antoniou WRITTEN BY Eric May

S

epticflesh are a group of Grecian symphonic death metal titans who need no introduction, so it makes perfect sense that their latest album would indeed be called Titan. After splitting up temporarily in the mid 2000s, the band reconvened to record Communion (2008) and The Great Mass (2011). Their new release carries on their legacy.

Guitarist Christos Antoniou offers some wonderful pointers that all up and coming bands should pay attention to. The man is a veritable pioneer, so sit back and learn from this master of the craft.

are some new things that listeners might experience or not expect to hear on this album?

We have expanded our orchestral vocabulary by adding a children’s choir. With the use of the children’s choir I wanted to achieve a spookydark color. The children’s choir added a really dark and unearthly texture for Titan. Sometimes it’s ironic and innocent, but sometimes it is dark and epic. Also you can expect a bigger section especially on strings. I had a six-part part string section! And on top of that I recorded the normal choir in Athens in our Devasoundz studios.

The new album is called Titan, which certainly seems like a monolithic statement. It reminds me of Meshuggah’s Koloss in that level of bravado. In addition, it’s also very Greek and fitting of the band’s legacy. What can you tell me about this new release?

Titan is a step forward for the band and stands as our most heavy and dark work yet. Although it kept the old flame alive with some “bright” melodic ideas, the album is characterized by an aggressive mood. It was our intention to create a solid sonic result like a fist unified under a dark atmosphere. Imagine a giant that walks and the earth trembles before it. This is Titan.

Now that the reissues are coming out, is there any chance of live material being released? Perhaps some of the shows from the tours that you’ve done throughout the years, or the recent shows from The Great Mass?

Yes it will be with the Deluxe box by Season of Mist. The live material is from our Tour in 2011 with Amon Amarth and As I Lay Dying in Toulouse.

Compared to the orchestral theatrics of The Great Mass, what @ NEWNOISEMAGS

Where do your lyrics come from?

You’ve explored occult mysticism and mythological elements for years now, traversing several different ideas - everything from Shamanism to Demonology to Grecian Paganism to Egyptian lore. Yet there’s also the song “We The Gods” which has certainly

left its mark on me. I believe that those are some of the most powerful lyrics you’ve ever written and whenever I read them, they still manage to elicit a slight chill from me. Do you believe in the existence of these things, or would you describe it more as fiction?

Do you believe in an afterlife?

Sotiris has been responsible for all of our lyrics since the beginning.

For Septicflesh, lyrics are of equal importance to the music. Our thematology is about ancient civilizations like the Greek, Egyptian and Sumerian. Yet we also deal with science and the occult etc.

He uses the world of lyrics so greatly that in combination with the music, it achieves emotions. I believe that saying a direct answer on whether the afterlife exists is rather funny.

Nobody can tell that with certainty.

However to my mind there is always an open window to something that is not explicable or explainable in the first place. I think that our existence is not in vain and possibly there is another purpose that we serve in another life after death or in another form. Skepticism and metaphysics is something that attracts my attention, although there is not anything that I can say with certainty.

What have you learned, both as a musician and as a person in the many years that you’ve been creating music in SepticFlesh, Chaostar and others? What advice would you give to bands that are first starting out?

Music requires a lot of sacrifices.

If you are able to overcome the difficulties you will find your way.

Don’t give up and always follow your dream. But your efforts will not be awarded by copying others. I know

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that art has been oversaturated and everything has already been told, but there are things that can make a difference. Experiment and seek for different paths to create something that has a quality sound and not the cheap easy rubbish that we are bombarded with every day.

Being a composer of classical music, do you think that there is a link between classical music and heavy metal? Also, how is conducting an orchestra different from playing in a metal band?

Difficult question. We have seen many metal bands adapt a classical music style in their music.

Sometimes it works, but sometimes it does not. In our case, it seems that it works and we try to give fresh air to the symphonic metal genre instead of making replicas of Bach and Mozart. Classical music gives elitism in every genre. There are dark, epic, lyrical and melodic elements that blend really well together. My opinion is to try to be innovative in all you artistic moves.

Conducting is another difficult subject. You need to be onehundred percent focused and be able to communicate with so many musicians. I had problems, and keep in mind that it was my own music! I was really nervous but it was an amazing experience I really enjoyed it. I had to conduct players from one of the most famous orchestras in the world, the Prague Symphony Orchestra. Not so easy but I think I did a good work for the time I had. Serious conducting needs many years of study and practice. It is a science that you can’t really compare with playing in a band. Both require a lot of work, but conducting is something else.

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EXPIRE

Photography by Adam DeGross

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INTERVIEW WITH Guitarist Zach Dear WRITTEN BY Janelle Jones

uring a rare instance of not being on the road or working on a record, Expire guitarist Zach Dear discusses the many facets of the hardcore band who are set to release their sophomore album Pretty Low on Bridge Nine Records.

Earlier this year you played Japan. How’d that come about?

This guy Tohru [Saitou] who does Caboose Booking and a friend who plays in Loyal to the Grave both set me up a few times to bring Expire over, but it never worked out, the timing, financially. We were able to make it all work and finally get over there and play shows.

That was a pretty jaw-dropping experience for us. It was crazy.

You’ll never feel like more of the foreigner, being an American, as you do when you go to a country like that. As much as things are the same, there’s so many cultural differences and so many things [that make] you just go, “Holy shit.

I’m so far from home.” But at the end of the day, you load in, you play the show, and kids are there to see your band. It’s really cool how despite language barriers and cultural differences, you still have that common ground of hardcore, so that’s really a beautiful thing.

You’ve only been around, what?

Four years?

This August, we’ll be at five years on the dot, so it’s been a trip.

It’s definitely nothing any of us expected, but you just get to a point where you think the band is gonna go, and then when things 26

just start snowballing, you kinda lose control and say, “All right, I’ll just roll with it and see where things go.” You don’t really expect anything, and everything new that comes up you just are stoked about it. It all becomes a blur, but a really good blur.

Your press release mentions you’re always on the road...

We try to be out six, seven months a year. We definitely try to keep things fresh. It gets long sometimes, but I think we’re all at the point where we know this is just how the band operates.

And then you’re going out June and July?

Yeah, we’re actually on a little break right now. We haven’t had a break this long in… I don’t know how long. It’s been a long time since we’ve had two months off and not had anything to do. We’ll have time off, but last time we had December and January off we were finishing writing the new record and recording. Before that, it was August and we spent that month writing Pretty Low. Was writing the new record a similar process to the first one?

It was a little different than Pendulum Swings. Half of that record was written almost a year before we finished it. And that record, our drummer Marcus [Boldt] wrote a lot more of the music. I feel the first LP was pretty 50/50 between me and Marcus musically. But the new record was more myself, and then Marcus would throw a little thing in here

and there, and our bassist [Caleb Murphy] would throw in a thing here and there, and we brought it into practice and it became Expire songs. As far as the new record, it was definitely different. We wrote almost all of it in August of last year. The month we had off, we probably wrote probably 90 percent of the record. Even lyrically, where Pendulum Swings was all [vocalist] Josh [Kelting], this record is myself and Josh. It’s both of us and it’s a little more broad, not as much an inward thing. People change, things are a little different now, so it just worked a little better that way and it flowed really well. I feel the record came out better. The writing process was definitely different, we had time, we had a practice space, which we’re not used to. We’re used to writing on the road, being under crazy time restraints, recording on tour, which is a fuckin’ nightmare.

I don’t care what anyone says.

Yes, you’re well practiced, but to go from totally exerting yourself every day and being cramped in a van to “you need to be creative,” and you need to [do all this] with a tired mind and body, and to record it needs to be really, really good. Onstage, my thing is always I’d rather it be really loud and really mean and be exciting rather than be perfect. You could watch me play and you could hear all kinds of wild shit, but that doesn’t matter to me. If you wanna call that being an imperfectionist or if you wanna call that the punkrock kid in me who doesn’t give a shit and just wants to be wild, that’s how I feel live. But when you

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go to record, you have to be that perfectionist, you have to make things sound good. I’m not a fan of when bands don’t care much about their recordings. I want it to sound good, but I don’t know much about it, so that’s where Marcus and Caleb come in. I just play as well as I can. But this was definitely different: we had all the time in the world to finish it. I think it came out really well. I’m excited about it.

So one of your favorite bands was Rancid.

Absolutely. Influential. There’s definitely things on the new Expire record that no one except myself – even guys in the band would never catch it – but there are little things musically that in my head, I’m like, “Man this sounds like a Rancid song.” But you add our guitar tones and how we play, no one in the world would ever think that. But I can go back and listen to the record and be like, “Yeah, that part…” One of the songs, I straight up took a line from a Tom Waits song.

What song is it in?

It’s in “Rejection.” Little stuff like that. After the fact, I told the band, “Just so you know, this line is from a Tom Waits song.” Nine out of 10 hardcore kids are never gonna know what that is. I like when bands do that. There’s some bands that pull that off really tastefully and it’s not blatant, direct, “I’mjust-gonna-cop-this-other-band’slyrics.” I fuckin’ hate that shit when there’s no originality and no creativity.

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INTERVIEW WITH Vocalist Bobby “Blitz” Ellsworth WRITTEN BY Brandon Ringo

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t’s been almost 30 years since the release of Feel the Fire, the debut album by New York thrash icons Overkill. In the three decades since their stunning debut, the band has been consistently heavy and uncompromising, and their impact on extreme metal has been massive. When you look at Overkill compared to some of their ‘80s thrash contemporaries, one thing has become increasingly obvious over the years: rather than living off of their reputation and phoning it in, their sound has been steadily evolving, an evolution that has helped them continue to win over fans both old and new with each record.

In 2013, the band began working on the writing process for White Devil Armory, their 17th full-length.

Their iconic vocalist Bobby “Blitz” Ellsworth states that the band’s approach to the process of writing the new album was actually very straightforward. “I think [our] mindset… We were looking to do more of what we had done in the past. Obviously, we’re a thrash band, we’re looking to have that vibe. We’re making an Overkill record, so it’s not rocket science.”

The album follows in the massive footsteps of their two critically acclaimed records Ironbound and The Electric Age, each of which feature different elements of the band’s sound, “I think that The Electric Age came off more to me as a thrash record, whereas the record that preceded that, Ironbound, had more elements in it that use more of our characteristics that we use when writing,” says Blitz.

Photography by Alan Snodgrass

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With White Devil Armory however, the band has brought their sound full circle. “I think, at this point, that White Devil Armory has more elements in it than The Electric Age had, and that is more traditional heavy metal, a little bit more punk, there’s some rock ‘n’ roll in there,” explains Blitz. “So I think that we’re looking to – again, nothing wrong with the thrash record, ‘cause you have to know what you’re doing or you have to know what you are – but I think what we were looking to do FACEBOOK.COM/NEWNOISEMAGS

for our own interest was add that third dimension like the Ironbound record and I think we succeeded with this one.”

The band has been around for 30 years, and there have been a lot of contributing factors to the band’s recent evolution, but the key reason is their unyielding old school approach. “Obviously we enjoy what we’re doing first and foremost,” Blitz states. “We’re not looking to go out and please, we’re not even looking to go out and sell records. We’re just looking to make great stuff on our own terms, and I really think that’s the key for us.” Being together that long can be extremely beneficial, and Blitz adds, “The guys have a good chemistry with each other. I’ve said this in the past, that we’ve gelled and are kind of in the zone when it comes to what we do, in regard to writing, performing, recording, so we’re just really exploiting that at this point. Kinda jump all over it when it’s there, because it’s [not] gonna be here forever. So I think that when it comes to White Devil Armory, we’re enjoying a little of that – like the later releases we’ve had, it’s got that energy, it’s got that kick, it’s timeless.

It doesn’t necessarily show age, it doesn’t sound like old guys playing metal. It sounds like young, energyfilled, newer bands. I think it comes down to loving what you and that’s the way it works for Overkill.”

Overkill has allowed their music to transform. At this point in their career, the band continues to write with emotion and conviction in order to make their impact and, according to Blitz, it is the real reason the band is still firing on all eight cylinders. “I think that, to some degree, is part of the reason that the band has that modern day relevance to it. We accept the evolution of different things within ourselves, but are still a thrash band, still a band that’s looking for that type of an impact, or that type of a feeling with White Devil Armory. Writing from those emotions, or trying to never repeat those riffs that we’ve used in the past. This is an evolution that is something that we’re embracing at this particular point in our careers.”

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I

n recent years, you would be hard-pressed to find a more prolific extreme metal band than Milwaukee’s Enabler. The brainchild of vocalist/guitarist Jeff Lohrber, Enabler have released two EPs and two full-lengths in the past three years, the most recent being their new record La Fin Absolue Du Monde. Lohrber talks about his songwriting process and inspiration for the new record.

Would you tell me a bit about the process of writing La Fin Absolue Du Monde?

When it comes to writing music, there is no real rhyme or reason, I just constantly write new material.

If I have an idea, I just go with it. I never sat down and said, “I’m going to start writing a new record.” I’ve just had a back catalog of songs, and I’m also always pushing for new material.

Some material on this record (“The Exiles, “Felony”) had shells dating back to 2005 or 2006, but then “Close My Eyes” was written a month before we recorded. As a songwriter, it’s never a bad thing to have too much [material], but you just have to keep in mind that you can’t release every single song you have, and sometimes it’s better to sit on something you’re unsure of. You can always tweak and change songs along the road to your liking.

Is it a group process or do you do most of it on your own?

As it stands right now, I have written every single song the band has on my own. I use a drum machine to demo out my ideas. I also play drums – I actually just rejoined Today is the Day behind the kit – so programming drums comes very easy to me, and the ideas that I write out are very natural sounding and playable. From there, we bring the song to life with [drummer] Ryan [Steigerwald] and [bassist/vocalist] Amanda [Daniels] and things sometimes change, sometimes they don’t. If Ryan has a better idea on drums than I do, I’m all ears. At the end of the day, he plays drums in Enabler and I don’t. The writing process has never changed over the years, it’s only progressed.

I think that is a huge reason that Enabler has seen multiple lineup changes, but still the sound of the band remains the same. The writing has progressed over the years because you have one mind behind it.

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Are there any records, movies, or books that spark your creativity?

Anything and everything will spark my creativity. My favorite guitar player of all time is Steve Clark from Def Leppard, and you can hear his influence and taste in melody over everything. My all time favorite rhythm guitar player is James Hetfield, the first four Metallica records are impeccable.

Some of my favorite recent records have been bands like Thou, Watain, Inquisition, Carcass, Gorguts, Ringworm, Yautja, Northless, Portal... John Carpenter has been an influence in creating a vibe for the songs and records, but I’m also a huge fan of Ridley Scott, James Cameron, and I’ve been getting into Dario Argento movies recently. As far as books go, I read a lot of the Star Wars Expanded Universe, and as nerdy as that sounds, there are some truly amazing stories in those books.

I’ve really love the Legacy of the Force series and the Darth Bane series. I also really enjoy Ray Bradbury, Mary Shelley, Stephen King, H.G. Wells...

I would also say that I’m equally inspired by things that I do not like, as it gives me a taste of what I would never ever want to do.

How much of your lyrical material is based on fiction and fantasy, and how much is everyday life? Do the two converge?

I would say that none of the lyrics are inspired by fiction or fantasy, and that all of the lyrics are based off of things that have happened to me in my life. I try to write in a way that is personal, but also give the audience something to latch on to and relate to.

Where the two converge is that I can relate lyrics to certain movies, books, or themes that are more based in horror or science fiction, and we are able to create art out of those ideas.

I think that the horror and science fiction genres are actually a lot more real than people give them credit for. Science fiction has predicted so many things that are reality now, and horror is a way for people to explore the dark side of humanity without actually acting on it. I think they have been the two most groundbreaking genres of literature and movies of the past 50 years, and it goes hand in hand with metal, because extreme metal is consistently one of the only music genres that can still break new ground.

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Photography by Nathaniel Shannon

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INTERVIEW WITH Vocalist Ryan McKenney WRITTEN BY James Alvarez

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ife sucks, then you die. We might try to ease the pangs of our shitty existence with burritos, cat memes, and Disney propaganda, but as a whole, humanity kind of sucks.

The lads in Trap Them are well aware of this. They don’t shy away from the ugliness of modern life. Instead, they’ve spent the past decade basking in its gloriously deprived shadow. New Noise catches up with Trap Them vocalist/chief misanthrope Ryan McKenney to pry into the sordid details behind the band’s new album, the aptly titled Blissfucker.

Sometimes hate leads to more than suffering… It leads to gnarly ass tunes.

Let the record state that Trap Them make royally pissed off music. Bandleaders McKenney and guitarist Brian Izzi have been cranking out nothing but sonic malevolence from day one. The short, frantic bursts of grind tinged crust punk from the band’s earlier releases have evolved into the certifiably anthemic odes to discontent found on Blissfucker. If one thing has remained clear throughout Trap Them’s existence, it’s that the band’s dedication to hatred is unwavering.

McKenney explains that “nothing really gets better in our lives, so there’s never going to be any change of heart as to how we make our music…

There wasn’t a point in the last 30

Photography by Angela Owens

few years where Brian and I talked about the next recording with a spoken intention of making it anything other than simply a new Trap Them record.

We both know what that means.

I know that Brian will filter through the seven billion riffs in his brain and find the right ones to make the right album.

Alternately, Brian knows that I have an unlimited supply of hostility that just seems to keep getting worse, so he can depend on me to show up to every recording in a shittier mindset than the last. That’s how we work.” See that? Unwavering.

That’s the reason why Blissfucker, their fourth album, is the angriest of their career.

McKenney himself describes the album as “…undoubtedly our most direct and bitter record to date.” Lead single “Salted Crypts” veers off the rails in all the right places and, upon its release online, caused the Youtube community to change its collective diaper.

The crushing breakdown in “Organic Infernal” will have you shouting “Goddamn!” at the top of your lungs, while the black metal-ish Imperial March of “Sanitations” will inflict serious headbangingrelated neck and spine injuries.

New Trap Them skinsman Brack Fickeisen unleashes some pummeling double bass drumming throughout the record, and like usual, Izzi’s guitar tone is heavy enough to split the Hoover Dam wide open.

Blissfucker was recorded in late 2013 at Kurt Ballou’s legendary God City Studios in Salem, Mass. Ballou – the musical mastermind behind Converge and the production wizard responsible for more than half the records in your collection – has had a hand in nearly every Trap Them recording to date and is considered the band’s unofficial fifth member.

Regarding their long history with Kurt and God City, McKenney says, “We all share the same mindset about what needs to be done when we go in, and there’s always been an unspoken, ‘It ain’t broke, so leave it the fuck alone.’ He’s there to offer assistance when needed and he’s always been able to bring out the best we have without ever attempting to change our sound. We trust him and he trusts us. I think.

Maybe.”

Blissfucker’s recording also marked the debut of the latest recruits in Trap Them’s army of dread, bassist Galen Baudhuin and blast beater extraordinaire Fickeisen [ex The Red Chord]. Aside from shredding their respective instruments to pieces, the band’s newest members actually created a small miracle during Blissfucker’s recording process… They brought an air of positivity into Trap Them’s world of doom and gloom.

“Galen and Brad are extremely talented, easy to work with and quite simply put, all around good dudes,” McKenney gushes.

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It appears that Trap Them’s newly christened rhythm section helped foster a, dare I say, blissful environment in the studio, a stress and bullshit free zone that allowed the band to properly channel their rage toward all of humanity’s foibles. “I noticed a difference with Brian in the studio this time,” McKenney explains. “It seemed like there was less of an overwhelming load that he had to carry, which gave him the chance to finally enjoy the actual creation of all the ideas he’d been thinking of. It was nice to see and I believe these guys were a big part of it being like that. They gave him the assurance that the record he wanted to make would definitely be made.”

Don’t worry folks, that brief love fest at God City Studios hasn’t caused the Trap Them boys to go soft. They’re as weathered and battle hardened as ever, and with Blissfucker’s release on June 10 via Prosthetic Records, they’re prepared to rain down all sorts of exciting new “shitstorms” this year. “We do what we want and we do it when we feel like it. Hopefully, when we do, we piss some people off and make some enemies,” McKenney warns. “The title speaks for the record itself… If you’re finding anything to feel good about, finding some little ray of sunshine in these songs, then you’re listening to them wrong.” Unwavering. Utterly, unwavering.

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FALCONER

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alconer have been going strong for many years now, ever since their self-titled debut in 2001. Their latest effort, Black Moon Rising, is easily the band’s strongest album to date, up to par with their debut and the highly acclaimed Chapters from a Vale Forlorn. The band has returned, much heavier, louder, and reinforced with more metal and majesty than ever before.

The new Falconer album Black Moon Rising reminds me of your debut. Was it your aim to make a much heavier record?

It was my plan. After the last album we had a long break due to a family tragedy for me. It came to the edge of me thinking of breaking up the band, but I slowly returned and felt I had to get vengeance on something. I had no desire to do overly folky material or sweet acoustic stuff after the Armod album. I wanted to riff out and do metal with speed and attitude. The things that Armod somewhat lacked for a few albums we have gotten more into, like multiple harmonies, keyboards, and guest musicians. We produced the album and made it sound as professional as possible, and I felt it was time to just scale everything down now. For this album, I had a stronger will or hunger, and an opportunity to take a step back and do more traditional songs. Anyway, now we’re back on track!

This album has a great deal of structure and muscularity, as well as pumping thrash riffs.

Who inspired you?

In fact, it was myself to some extent. During the off-time we had, I listened to what I had @ NEWNOISEMAGS

INTERVIEW WITH Guitarist Stefan Weinerhall WRITTEN BY Eric May

recorded during my life, but also to music that I listened to when I was younger. I guess I got nostalgic. So Mithotyn, Falconer, and also more of Death, Kreator, Bolt Thrower, Running Wild... I guess all of that influenced me somehow, but I still would call my feeling something of an “Aaaaaah, time to shape up and play some metal!” sort of thing, because of the shit I went through during that time. I had to get an outlet for these emotions.

Where did you record the album? What was the atmosphere like in the studio?

All our albums are recorded by Andy LaRocque in Sonic Train Studios. It feels somewhat like a home of the band, so it’s a cozy, safe, and calm place.

Not a place of production, but more of a place to do our thing once again. The studio is the essential thing for me as a musician. Most bands would say that live gigs are the reason they play music, but for me it’s more about the creative side of music. I’ve always seen myself more as a songwriter than an artist.

My top three are “Locust Swarm,” “Scoundrel and The Squire,” and “In Ruins.” I think that the first one is already booked in the future live set, whenever it will take form.

Are there any new acts that you think have a great deal of potential?

Wow, now we sound like a bunch of old guys! [Laughs] I have never been much into the fellow bands of my time.

The old bands I listen to have set the standards quite high.

I’ve always felt that I was born 15 years too late. The newer bands that I do enjoy are not so unfamiliar anyway. Some would be The Devil’s Blood,

Ghost, Blood Ceremony, and First Aid Kit. All of them very ‘70s sounding.

What albums are your personal favorites? What are you listening to now?

At the moment, I’m listening a lot to whatever Dio sings and, of course, KISS. As we say in my household: “When Dio sings, you shut up.” My personal top five is easy: Black Sabbath - Heaven and Hell, Jethro Tull - Heavy Horses, Iron Maiden - Seventh Son of a Seventh Son, Rainbow – Rising, and Guns N’ Roses - Appetite for Destruction.

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What inspires the band’s lyrics?

Since I’m very interested in history, that is always inspiring me, but whatever I tend to write about – be it personal things, politics, religion, or the destruction of the ecosystem – I always tend to write the lyrics in a historical, poetic kind of way, at least I think. In fact, I was not enjoying the lyrics in the beginning, they were just a must have, but during the later years, I started to enjoy doing them more and more.

What songs do you think are the strongest?

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new guitar player. Nothing against hired guns or gig chasers, but this is a band of brothers. So finding him and getting him comfortable took some time, because that’s how we work. So here we are, a complete band, and Brett Gurewitz is taking us to the prom. It’s a nice feeling.

Photography by Bryan Sheffield

You recorded the record in 2011.

Did you make any changes?

We added a song called “Pistolero,” which was recorded after as a b-side. But other than that, the only thing we did was get it mastered. There was never anything wrong with the record. It was the world we made it in that needed tweaking.

ROLL THE TANKS T INTERVIEW WITH Singer/Guitarist Danny Carney WRITTEN BY John B. Moore

he guys in Roll The Tanks were getting a little antsy in 2012. It had been a year since they finished Broke Til Midnight, a fantastic Clashmeets-Petty full-length that they couldn’t wait to release on the world. Then their label imploded.

They got resigned… and then dropped. Another label really dug the record, if only it had synths instead of punk rock guitars. One shitty year bled into the next until Epitaph founder and Bad Religion guitarist Brett Gurewitz saddled up his white stallion and rode to a Roll The Tanks gig in L.A. He loved the band and offered them a home. They managed to stay together and won the punk rock indie label lottery. Singer and guitarist Danny Carney – who also happens to be one of the funniest guys in punk rock – talks about their Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day(s), and the eventual release of Broke Til Midnight.

Congrats on signing to Epitaph!

How did that come about?

Thank you! The simple answer is, we sent them the record and Brett loved it. Then he came to see us play at the legendary Troubadour and offered us a deal in the alley as we were loading gear into the van. Either that’s what happened or I’m in a mental institution right now, whipping shit at the wall like a monkey, and none of this is really happening. Either way, we’re having a blast with it all.

When I interviewed you in 2012, you were frustrated about the Broke ‘Til Midnight delays. Why did it take so long to come out?

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Yeah, we got put through the ringer. In retrospect, and I say this with zero sarcasm, we must have been wearing signs that said, “Please kick us in the privates and bury us in the desert like that Joe Pesci scene in Casino.” And a valiant effort was given by all those who participated. Our whole approach to making the record was that we had to pull a rabbit out of a hat, both creatively and logistically. We needed to take a leap that was either going to make or break us, and we had to do that against a series of harsh internal and external realities, and using extremely limited resources. We managed to pull that part of it off on a shoestring budget in a garage with our producer Fred Archambault, who deserves all the credit in the world for making this record possible in the first place. But then getting it put out was like pulling a bull out of a very small mailbox. When we finished the record, we shared it immediately with some of our trusted contemporaries who were more than encouraging and validating. We probably should have realized we would receive the complete opposite reaction in trying to find a home for it.

We were still under contract with our old label, and [they were] in limbo. We got signed by another label, but they dropped us before the album even came out, which felt really great! We were courted by several indies and majors, but the general consensus was always basically, “This is the best fuckin’ album we’ve heard in ten years, but we’re not going to put it out, because it doesn’t fit

anywhere.” There was always a sad look in their eyes like, “Sorry, we’re just making the donuts these days.” It was all very confusing and disheartening. We had one major label offer us a pile of cash if we replaced all the guitars with synths and traded in our drummer for a laptop and started wearing neon hats and shit. So we had to tell that guy to scram. It was a nobrainer, but I do remember being genuinely hungry at that meeting, and for many days after. But the song we wrote about that meeting will probably be the first single off of our next record, so there’s that. And nothing against that dude, I hope he’s well, I’m sure he had a blast at Coachella this year. But anyways, to cut a long story longer, all that matters about all this drama is that the reward came after the punishment. I was lucky enough to have the Tom Petty documentary on Damn the Torpedoes to constantly reference.

They went through so much bullshit with that record, but in the end, all that really mattered was Damn the Torpedoes. And that’s where we are at… All that matters is Broke Til Midnight is finally coming out. People who are trying to do the right thing no matter what should never have to feel alone. So hopefully this kind of spirit continues on for others.

During that period, did you guys think about calling it quits?

On one hand, I think we were too traumatized to quit. Luckily that was our collective left hand, and we’re all right-handed. On that hand – the one we use to write, jerk off, and throw machetes with – our attitude was like, “Fuck you!

We will never die, motherfuckers!”

But another big part of that time was finding Aaron [Stuart]. We needed a second guitar player and it needed to happen naturally.

We’re not the kind of band that just goes to Guitar Center to buy a

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Tell me about the songs…

Well, in true Roll the Tanks fashion, it’s a mix of songs that took either ten minutes or ten years to write. That’s my philosophy as a songwriter. Anything in between is creepy. It’s mostly songs about life, being broke, and being brokenhearted. I congratulate anyone who can’t relate to those things. All in all, I think the songs on this record represent a bigger picture, one that we’ve only just started to paint.

Do you have a stockpile of unrecorded music now?

You could say that. I recently hit the 1,000 song mark as a songwriter, and this is our second record. That’s been our genius marketing plan all along: “Write a ton of really great songs, and put on an amazing show.” We’ve never been good at selling t-shirts, but man can we bang out some tunes!

Just because that’s not in style right now doesn’t mean it’s time to stop doing that. I think it’s only a matter of time before people start to demand songs worth their damn time again, so to speak.

What’s next?

Touring a bunch on this record, letting it have its day in the sun finally, and then get back into the studio to record an even better one. The next one is pretty far along. We’ve taken advantage of our time in the corner by writing our asses off and setting the bar higher and higher for ourselves.

Anything you want to add?

How about some juicy band trivia? One time in 2004, I kinda shit my pants while delivering a pizza, [bassist and vocalist] Mikey [Wakeham] has an Andrew Dice Clay tattoo on his lower back, [drummer] Joe [Sirois] doesn’t believe in Bigfoot, and Aaron can’t stand the TSA.

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FOXY SHAZAM

INTERVIEW WITH Bassist Daisy Caplan WRITTEN BY Morgan Y. Evans

F

oxy Shazam are one of those rare bands that you can’t pigeonhole. They are just too creative.

Think anything goes, freak flag vocals married to a bedrock of rock, soul, funk, and punk rock influences. Their latest record, Gonzo, will probably cause Hunter S. Thompson’s ashes, currently circling the sun, to reform into an alien savior and beam back to Earth in a hurry to shake some booty. This is dementia at its grandiose finest.

high school reunion, and she remembers herself as unpopular, but she was actually just kinda mean... That was me as a kid.

Everyone else I can see getting beat up a lot, except [drummer] Aaron [McVeigh], who was probably doing the beating.

Were you cool kids growing up or did you get picked on?

There’s an episode of 30 Rock where Liz Lemon goes to her

Why let fans have the album for free?

We gave it away for free so that the album would be more like

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As weird as you guys got on this album, it is still very soulful.

Yeah, but people are frightened of real soul at this point. It’s treated like a puddle of spilled milk in the aisle of a grocery store: a liability.

Photography by Steven King

a present we were sharing with people than a product we were foisting upon them.

Are you excited to play this new material live? “Brutal Truth” is upbeat, genius, and impossible not to sing along to.

Oh yeah. We miss playing live.

Glad you like “Brutal Truth.” I also feel like that one will go over well.

Does it feel good knowing you can hit the stage and lay down some dangerous grooves?

It feels kind of like how I imagine a glass panther in velvet booty shorts must feel.

Do you support gonzo journalism?

I wouldn’t describe myself as a “supporter” of gonzo journalism they way someone is a “supporter” of public radio, because I have never contributed to a charity phone-drive fundraiser for gonzo

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journalism. I am, however, an appreciator of some of what is called “gonzo” journalism, and I have the added scene cred of my first band practicing in Hunter S. Thompson’s childhood home.

“Don’t Give In” is another standout. Is this a band motto?

It’s not yet, but I wouldn’t be mad if it was.

Was it hard writing all this madness? It sounds so effortless…

It took time and effort to assemble and perform until it was effortless, but no, it wasn’t hard. Working in a coalmine or as a nurse in a war-torn country is hard. Playing music is a gift, and we are grateful to have the time to create to our standards. I try to keep that in mind when things get us down.

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eavy metal plunderers Corrosion of Conformity have returned with their ninth studio album, aptly titled IX. The band (Mike Dean on bass and vocals, Reed Mullin on drums and vocals, and Woody Weatherman on guitar) is based in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Bruising in its sound and raw in its production, IX exemplifies classic C.O.C. while spotlighting a musical evolution spanning over 30 years.

Mike Dean reveals some of the methods he and his bandmates employed in the studio, and admits to using, as he calls them, a few “Black Sabbath record-type of tricks.”

“This one and the EP that we did called the Megalodon (2012), we did them at the same place. They were real hands-on and we made a point of using the gear that we would normally use on the road. We had the opportunity to record at a nice studio in California that happens to be where the Foo Fighters camp out. It’s their rehearsal facility, and it’s a recording place called Studio 606. We enjoyed making it, but this time we made a point of setting up Woody’s entire guitar rig and standing in front of it, trying to figure out where to put the mics to 36

make it like being there.”

IX is punctuated throughout with C.O.C.’s characteristic heaviness, as fans would expect. The messages in the songs are a rally against a growing ignorance in our society.

“One thing that’s there across the album on probably three or four songs is the concept of where people take an off-the-shelf perspective on the world,” Dean says, describing how impressionable people can develop a scripted opinion and state of mind. “They seek out messages that reinforce how they already think. The mass psychology is not reading and reacting, but trying to continually reaffirm an existing script, basically. That theme runs through several songs. That could be your religious point of view, or your political point of view, or it’s your judgments you make about other people.”

“The Nectar” is a hard-hitting song, both in decibels and meaning.

“The Nectar is like a remedy for what ails you. It could be a spiritual idea that helps to medicate you from the world. It’s kind of like drinking the proverbial Kool-Aid. It’s at that point where people will suspend logical thought to go along with something that makes them feel good about where they are.

Regardless of what is actually going on. It’s basically comparing religion or a feel-good type of ideology to a drug. Just a form of self-medicating and, perhaps, a type of slavery that you willingly go along with.”

While guitarist Pepper Keenan has been a member of Down since 2006, he remains on the C.O.C. roster. Although the band has taken different forms personnel-wise, it started off as a trio in 1982 with Dean, Mullin, and Weatherman.

Keenan’s return to the group seems likely, according to Dean: “We talked to Pepper about doing some more stuff at some point. It’s just a matter of working out the schedule around other things to where it’s worthwhile. I’m feeling pretty confident that we can make it happen eventually. I really enjoy this lineup, too. I like the responsibility of singing and playing a lot. I like some of the territory we’ve explored since we came back with it.”

After three decades as a band with four of those years in hiatus, Corrosion of Conformity released its self-titled album. Dean says holding out that long was a little contrarian and seemed provocative: “I think at that time we had people who seemed to be questioning whether the band should go on or

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should come back without Pepper.

He was busy and occupied doing Down and living 14 hours away in New Orleans and all that. But we felt that those people weren’t taking a historical perspective and not realizing the story of the band, having been a three-piece lineup and, you know, in all our different incarnations in the past. So it was like two middle fingers in the air to that idea of thinking.” Six and a half years after the release of In the Arms of God (2005), Corrosion of Conformity was issued, and the band resumed active status.

“We’re just trying to perfect our craft. Part of that is not seeking absolute technical perfection, or working on something to the point that all the life goes out of it. But we’re trying to perfect the art of doing things spontaneously, but yet finding some kind of clarity that people can get into. We’re just trying to have fun and rock out and just borrow from all the different influences of all the different eras in music that we’re into. Just let it come together in a way that people can identify with that sounds familiar, but it’s not like some verbatim ripoff of somebody else’s work.”

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hey say, “All good things come to an end,” and “Nothing gold can stay.”

This is proven true yet again as hardcore heroes from Massachusetts, Bane, put out their last and final album, appropriately titled Don’t Wait Up. This album has been in the works for quite some time. Their last full-length, The Note, was released nine years ago and it’s been six years since their last EP. Come 2015, Bane will have been together for 20 years, and their presence and influence can back that up.

It all started in 1995, when guitarist Aaron Dalbec had an idea to start a side-project from his then-current band, Converge. “[Dalbec] felt creatively stifled and wanted to make music that sounded a little more like the traditional hardcore bands he grew up loving,” lead singer Aaron Bedard says.

Converge was adopting a more technical metal sound, but Dalbec had other thoughts. He began a side-project that took a backseat to Converge. As time went on, his passion and dedication to this new band made it his main priority. They decided on a name that was short, sweet and to the point: Bane.

“It was something that really fit. It’s something that basically poisons you and has a strong negative aspect to it,” Bedard explains. “We wanted something that looked strong on a shirt, something short and snappy like that. It didn’t hurt that it was a comic book reference either.”

Unbeknownst to them, Bane was about to make some waves in the hardcore scene that will be felt for generations to come.

Things happened rather slowly for the band, but they pushed hard and hit the studio to record.

In 1995, Bane released their first five-song demo with the help of a few friends. 1996 saw the birth of the band’s first self-titled EP. Early in 1997, Bane released a second EP Free to Think, Free to Be, and in 1998 they released their third, Holding This Moment.

At the same time, they found a home at Equal Vision Records, who decided to combine all three EPs into a full-length album, also titled Holding This Moment and @ NEWNOISEMAGS

released in 1998, though it’s more commonly referred to as the XXX 7”.

Their determination and pure grit drove them to put out three more full-length albums: It All Comes Down to This, released in 1999, Give Blood, which dropped in 2001, and The Note four years later, which stifled any rumors that Bane was packing up shop.

In the summer of 2008, Bane landed its first U.S. tour with Saves the Day. To borrow a few more clichés, “Nothing good comes easy,” and “Good things come to those who wait.” Bane waited their turn and paid their dues.

When the tour was done, they were infected with more feeling and more drive to keep the band going.

“Two and a half years into being a band and we got our first tour.

Normally things don’t happen that slowly for bands these days,” Bedard chuckles. “We all believed that we had something special here.”

After nearly 20 years of spreading messages about brotherhood and unity, the original hardcore objective, the boys of Bane have decided to put up their hoods and walk away. They have produced amazing albums and mind altering songs like “Therapy,” “Swan Song,” “Can We Start Again?” and “Some Came Running.” The new songs on their final album will fit in well with all of these fan favorites.

“We didn’t want to try and change things up too much,” Bedard says.

“There’s some stuff on there that I felt that could have been more like the songs on Holding This Moment: short, fast hardcore songs.”

Listening to the album, track by track, day after day, I couldn’t agree more. A lot of albums are growers, not showers. The songs take time to sink in and reveal their greatness. Awaiting a band’s new record brings much anticipation and many high expectations, and some fall short. This is not one of those albums.

The thumping of the drums at the beginning of “Non-Negotiable” sends chills down my spine and a cross between a schoolboy smile and a maniacal grin creep onto my face. As the gang vocal chanting and guitar’s feedback at the end of “Final Backward Glance” wrap

it up, I am left wanting more, so much more. The chants, the breakdowns, and the screaming are back with so much passion!

The heart, energy, and exuberance ooze all over the place. Don’t Wait Up is comprised of 10 earthshattering songs that leave you feeling like you’ve been hit in the face with a brick.

“The theme is a reflective one: having to say goodbye to something that you love very much and that has been a big part of your life, a sort of coming to terms with the things that are about to change in a very drastic way,” Bedard says.

It’s extremely difficult to peg one or two favorite songs on the album. Bedard feels the same way and tells me that there isn’t a single song that he isn’t super stoked on.

It makes me feel good that I’m not the only one.

We talk about a few of the songs that stand out, such as “Calling Hours.” Bedard tells me that during recording, it took forever to get it just right. “It took a lot of assembling and coordinating and getting the stars aligned for us in terms of getting those guys and girls to come together,” he admits.

The song is a collaboration of voices from the hardcore world, beginning with Bedard and David Wood, the lead singer of Down to Nothing and bassist for Terror.

The rest of the song is spilt up with parts sung by Pat Flynn, the voice of Have Heart, Wally Delgado from Rotting Out, Reba Meyers from Code Orange Kids, and it all ends with Zach Jordan, one of Bane’s guitarists.

write a song that says, ‘Goodbye guys, thank you for everything, but we gotta go.’”

With the 20- year benchmark right around the corner, people throughout the hardcore scene can look back proudly on everything that Bane has accomplished and contributed. “It’s crazy and I didn’t expect to be in a band for half of that many years. I don’t know if a hardcore band is supposed to stay a band for that many years,” he laughs. “We managed to do it for this long and still matter to a handful of kids. I mean, 20 years, that’s a fucking crazy amount of time for a hardcore band.”

Bedard has always been a humble guy who doesn’t allow sold-out shows or world tours go to his head. He says that he doesn’t feel some overwhelming sense of pride. He’s just sort of shocked that it happened, and continues to wonder how 20 years went by so fast. If you can say anything about Bane for sure, it’s that they’ve always been a frontline, touring hardcore band for nothing but their love of the music.

The music and the scene are going to thrive and grow thanks to the impact that Bane has had, just as the scene and music have impacted each member of Bane.

Bedard says that he’s not leaving the scene completely and that he will still go to shows and hang out.

“It’s gonna be a little sad not to be the dude from Bane anymore. I really liked that, that was fun for a long, long time,” he says.

The final track on the album is purposefully titled “Final Backward Glance.” Bedard says that he knew that song would have to close the record because of its powerful ending.

Bane is going to be touring the states until the end of June, then they head across the pond in July to hit up their summer tour in Europe. They will be sharing the stage with friends Code Orange Kids, Converge, Turnstile, Take Offense, and many more! This is not, by any means, Bane’s last tour, but you should never miss one of their shows. Make sure you get your tickets and pay homage, and give thanks to a band that laid a strong foundation and paved the road for many amazing bands to come.

“There wasn’t a way for me not to write a song like that. I wanted to write a song that said, ‘This is it, we gotta go and it sucks even saying this but, this is the end,’” he says. “Maybe it’s a little OCD thing, but I feel that if we’re gonna make a final record, I need to

Bedard says in the official trailer for Don’t Wait Up on YouTube that this album is like the guys with their jackets on, their hair clean, walking out the door and looking back at their loved ones saying, “Don’t wait up. We’re gonna be out late tonight.”

“They all wrote their own parts, that was the hardest undertaking of writing a song that Bane has ever faced,” Bedard recalls. “There are vocal parts in that song that literally just give me the chills.”

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Photography by Lisa Johnson 42

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ndrew Jackson Jihad have returned with Christmas Island, their follow up to 2011’s critically acclaimed Knife Man. Along the way, the band have found a larger fan base, a new label in SideOneDummy, and new challenges confronting them. We chat with vocalist and guitarist Sean Bonnette from his temporary home in Lansing, Mich., about these challenges, the importance of art, and working with former the pAper chAse frontman and Grammy-nominated producer John Congleton.

Andrew Jackson Jihad has had a long working relationship with Mike Park and Asian Man Records, but with the release of Christmas Island, you made the move to the larger SideOneDummy. How did you make that choice?

As much as I think we resisted the move, we always kept ourselves open to the idea. That was pretty much based on Mike Park’s encouragement to do so. The decision to do our records on SideOneDummy [is] not so much a parting from Asian Man. We’re still very much involved with Asian Man. Mike is our mentor.

We wouldn’t do anything without his blessing, honestly. After meeting SideOne, and really, really liking them, and getting Mike’s two cents – he really likes them as well – Mike thought it was a good idea, so we did it.

Your eclectic songs have a dreamlike quality, while producer Jon Congleton’s former band the pAper chAse could be the soundtrack to a nightmare.

How natural is the pairing of you two?

I think that there is a weird little thread that puts Andrew Jackson Jihad in the same kind of lineage as pAper chAse, as far as music that is not afraid to go to strange places to do what it needs to do. I saw the pAper chAse about ten years ago at the Modified in Phoenix, Ariz.

I was just floored and terrified of that band. They were so good, and so powerful live. At the time, I had now idea that the singer of that band would become someone I would put a lot of trust into, and have a really good relationship with.

How did you choose Congleton for this project?

Oh Man! It was no contest!

[Laughs] He approached us as @ NEWNOISEMAGS

a fan. Andy [Bothwell] from Astronautalis turned him on to us. He wanted to get the music, but he never downloads things illegally. He ordered records off of our webstore and sent us a little email saying, “Greetings! This is John Congleton!” It just said, “Hey man, I just heard your stuff I really like it. I’d love to record you guys sometime. Anyways, stay in touch!” We continued talking and I would send him demos and stuff.

It was great! If we did do a record together, he offered to just record it or to produce it [as well]. He gave us two options. We inquired about the production thing. He laid out what it would be like with him producing it. It pretty much involved both parties – AJJ and John – trusting each other’s instincts. That’s what we did and it was great!

It’s been three years since the Knife Man LP. Was it challenging to record a follow up record?

Especially when Knife Man is so beloved?

For a time, it really was [challenging]. I think I was still kind of in the Knife Man frame of mind when I was trying to write stuff for this record. There are definitely some songs from the period before.... I don’t want to say that they are Knife Man songs, I was kind of writing them around the time Knife Man was getting ready to be put out. I think it was before I really said goodbye to any anxiety over not following up that record, which I am super proud of, with another record. If that makes sense. I was super proud of Knife Man, and for a while, I was scared that whatever would come afterwards wouldn’t be as good. As soon as I relinquished that thought, and as soon as I gave up that feeling and control, the songs started coming a lot easier.

As soon as I stopped giving a shit whether the record was going to be good to anyone, that’s when I really got to get in touch with myself and made a record I was super proud of. I think that has kind of happened with every record we have done, except for the first and second. Having a catalog to try to measure up your next record with, it’s useless to think that way for me.

I have to approach every song now with a fresh start.

You’ve mentioned that you can’t control the way you write songs. Do you feel you are a conduit for something greater?

I think so, but where it comes from

for me is, I think about songs like drawing a picture. When I draw a picture, I’ll take prompts from my girlfriend and little brother. I’ll say, “Hey! Give me something to draw!” That’s a game that me and my brother both play. We think of weird things and challenge each other to draw them. My girlfriend asked me to draw a hippo wearing a sweater the other day. My drawing of a hippo wearing a sweater turned out to be a hippo, with kind of a big body wearing a nice Christmas sweater and a pair of human legs. I don’t know how to draw hippo legs. I kind of ran out of patience trying to get it exact. Then I modeled the legs after my own legs, which have a bunch of scars on them from skating accidents over the years.

My drawing of a hippo wearing a sweater has human legs with scars, with a little spec of water running down the leg from where I just got hit by a skateboard. [Laughs] I’m getting somewhere with this.

When I try to write a song, I’ll try as hard as I can to write a song that I have in mind, but the only thing that makes it myself is when I give up on making it perfect and just make it something that I could do, that turns out to be unique to me. Whether it is a conduit thing, or songs are just up in the air waiting to hit people’s heads like a lightning bolt and get them to write them, or it’s kind of me just sketching out the best I can.

Your songs are like a lyrical treasure hunt. You throw out obscure references and encourage people to go Google them…

I like making references. I think it comes from being a long time rap and hip hop listener. I appreciate things like callbacks and samples

and little references to stuff people might understand. If they don’t, it’s just part of the poetry. I think that’s where it comes from. One thing I am encouraging people to Google is the album title Christmas Island.

I’m consciously not telling people what it’s about.

Do you like your songs to remain cryptic, or do you mind telling people what they are about?

I prefer leaving it cryptic, or doing it interpersonally if someone asks me in person. I’m pretty happy to oblige. I think I do prefer [keeping] it cryptic. I like that people can interpret the songs in their own way. That’s how I like to enjoy art, personally.

You’ve done so much in the last 10 years. What you as a boy would think of the man you have become? What kind of advice would you give him?

I think I would be pretty stoked on myself. I think 18 year-old Sean would be a fan of 28 year-old Sean.

I think if could give myself advice, I wouldn’t have turned out. There are plenty of things I’d love to give 18 year-old Sean advice on, but I think at this point, all the lessons I learned really hard and really well.

You guys are already a successful band, but Christmas Island may take you to that next level. How do you prepare yourself for that ride?

I think I’d rather be unprepared. I have no idea what is coming up. I don’t want to get my expectations too high, but I don’t want to set them too low, either. I’m excited for it to smack straight into me.

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Photography by Steph Carrico

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KILLER BE KILLED M INTERVIEW WITH Guitarist/Vocalist Max Cavalera WRITTEN BY James Alvarez ax Cavalera isn’t a legend. He’s an institution. Over the past three decades, his work with trash metal titans Sepultura, tribal enthusiasts Soulfly, and the industrial/punk one-off Nailbomb has become tantamount to required reading for anyone entering the school of heavy metal.

Greg Puciato has spent the past 13 years wreaking havoc as the highflying frontman of The Dillinger Escape Plan. Puciato’s penchant for breathing fire, smashing equipment, climbing venue walls, and walking on audiences have helped cement Dillinger’s reputation as one of the gnarliest live bands- ever.

When word broke that Cavalera and Puciato were teaming up to record an album together, the buzz behind the project was palpable.

When it was announced that the project had morphed into a fullfledged band – and that Mastodon bassist Troy Sanders and former The Mars Volta basher Dave Elitch rounded out the rhythm section – hype went through the fucking roof. This heavy metal supergroup with the unfuckwithable lineup now has a name.

Killer Be Killed began on a whim.

Cavalera and Puciato met backstage at a Deftones benefit show and sparked an instant friendship. This 44

meeting led to Greg guesting on a Soulfly album and talks of future collaboration down the road.

When the clouds aligned, the two convened in Phoenix, AZ, and busted out roughly 15 demo songs in a marathon week-long desert session that cemented Killer Be Killed as an official project.

“I wanted the beginning to be very Nailbomb-like [referring to Max’s 1994 collaboration with Fudge Tunnel’s Alex Newport), with just me and Greg,” Cavalera explains.

“Greg is a crazy fuck [laughs], the original name for this thing was ‘Negative Fucks.’ I told Greg that was a great name; you’re right on with the attitude of this band. The two of us playing guitar and writing riffs together was really fun… Greg is very exciting to work with. He’s very enthusiastic, and had a lot of very cool riffs.”

Once the pair had laid the project’s foundation, Puciato went about recruiting its all-star rhythm section. According to Cavalera, Elitch was brought onboard first and Converge bassist Nate Newton was poised to join as well. As fate would have it, Newton was unable to take part in the Killer Be Killed sessions, but ultimately wound up joining Max’s own Cavalera Conspiracy instead. That’s when Greg threw Sander’s name into the mix.

“I was totally into it,” Max gushes.

“I knew Mastodon and I knew Troy could sing. That’s what sold me, the idea of having me, Greg, and Troy singing, for me was completely cool.”

What could have turned into a “too many cooks in the kitchen” type clusterfuck of epic proportions, Killer Be Killed’s three-pronged vocal barrage is actually the bread and butter of the entire operation.

“The voices complement each other perfectly,” Max says. There was no rockstar ego trips on display in the studio either, just a friendly competition between three seasoned vocalists. “I’d go in there and sing the chorus of ‘Face Down’ and everybody would be like, ‘Man you brought the fucking house down,’ then Troy goes in there…

Then Greg’s like, ‘Watch this.’”

Killer Be Killed’s star-studded lineup naturally piqued the interests of each member’s own devoted fans and industry-types alike. This created a wee bit of pressure for Cavalera and the gang to meet the metal world’s lofty expectations.

“This shit better be good,” Cavalera says, laughing. “There was a lot of pressure because we had been building this thing for two or three years, telling the world about it.” Lucky for them, it turns out Cavalera, Puciato, and Sanders know a thing or two about songwriting. Killer Be Killed is an eclectic whirlwind of an album.

The band successfully merges elements of thrash, prog, hardcore, and straight up rock music, while boasting three of the most

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prominent and distinct voices the metal realm has to offer, and pulls the whole thing off remarkably well.

There’s chest beating aggressive tracks like “I.E.D” and “Face Down,” that feature trademark Cavalera mosh riffs, sandwiched between oddball prog/math jams like “Snakes of Jehova” and “Twelve Labors.” Then, we have the satellite metal/rock radio songs that completely curbstomp the drivel that dominates the charts.

It’s still early in 2014, but I think it’s safe to declare Killer Be Killed’s first single “Wings of Feather and Wax” the catchiest song of the year.

Puciato’s voice takes the tune into the stratosphere, with his unique wail crooning over a normal time signature for a change. Troy Sander’s famous bellow is put to good use on “Melting My Marrow,” another anthemic rocker with a haunting refrain that would fit alongside any Blood Mountain era Mastodon jam. Puciato spends the most time switching gears between screaming and singing throughout the album, Sanders does mostly clean vocals, while Cavalera is strictly relegated to “bad cop” territory (that raspy growl though!). Drummer Dave Elitch is the glue that holds everything together, effortlessly shifting from galloping punk beats, to tribal drumming, to double bass salvos galore. This may not be the most cohesive record in existence, but there’s a dizzying amount of talent and variety on display here.

Or as Max Cavalera describes it, “it’s a very fun record to listen to from beginning to end.”

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All Photography by Adam Degross

CROWBAR INTERVIEW WITH Kirk Windstein WRITTEN BY Nicholas Pendergast

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rowbar have been running the circuit as the undisputed kings of sludge for 25 years. They started as a New Orleans- based hardcore band called Shell Shock with a lineup of members who are now either deceased or have gone their separate ways, including Jimmy Bower from Down and EYEHATEGOD. After the death of Shell Shock guitarist Mike Hatch, the band reformed around Kirk Windstein’s visceral and ear shatteringly loud guitar playing and music inspired by the likes of Carnivore, Thin Lizzy, Black Sabbath, and Motörhead. The band went through a brief series of lineup and band name changes, and at one point Windstein almost joined the post-thrash outfit Exhorder, popularly known for influencing the groove metal style of Pantera. Had that happened, Kirk Windstein may have never founded Crowbar, but instead we have nearly three decades of some of the heaviest metal in existence because Windstein doesn’t fucking die, and neither does Crowbar. We have the chance to talk with the legend of New Orleans doom about the new album Symmetry in Black, as well as his love for his family, his relationship with Down, and his love for really diverse music.

Tell us a bit about the new album, Symmetry in Black.

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It’s a Crowbar album. I’d like to say it’s Crowbar 25 years later. It’s just Crowbar being Crowbar. It sounds fresh and it has everything we really want on it.

been on Retaliation. That’s just how I feel. The opening line: it’s about suicide and it’s a shout out. It’s not about him. I just wanted to write an aggressive Carnivore song.

Your co-producer on the album is Duane Simoneaux. What was it like working with him? The new album is killer, so he must be great.

He’s a great guy. He produced it along with me. He’s a very well rounded musician. He plays piano, bass, sings, and understands music really well, which is very important and played a huge hand when it comes to my vocals or guitar harmonies and range. When we’re playing in the studio, he’ll come up to me and say, “Well, let’s see what this does here.”

Very great person to work with.

You’re influenced by Motörhead, Thin Lizzy, Carnivore, Type O… None of whom sound alike. How is Crowbar different from other bands in heavy metal?

We don’t sound like anyone else.

Within one song, you’ll hear Black Sabbath, Carnviore, Motörhead, fucking Trouble, and whatever. We take our influences and embrace [them], but it’s not noticeable. It’s original. I create something out of influence. There are a lot of guys out there who are heavily influenced by bands like Pantera, and you’ll have great talented musicians in some of those bands, but everything sounds exactly like Pantera. We’ll take our influences and put ‘em in a blender and come up with our own sound.

That’s what I think is special about Crowbar. We’re proud to have so many influences. Every style of music. I might be listening to Paul McCartney and Wings in the car and get some melody out of that.

The broader the spectrum of music you listen to, you’ll become a better songwriter. It’s hard to explain it, because it sounds nothing like it, and I don’t know how it works, but for whatever reason, Crowbar comes out sounding super heavy aggressive

“Symbolic Suicide” is dedicated to Peter Steele. What is your connection to him?

He was a huge, huge, huge influence on me, and basically on Crowbar’s sound. Carnivore’s Retaliation was so good. When I was listening to records and cassettes, that album came out. We were listening to that constantly around the time we came out with the first Crowbar record.

It was a huge inspiration, and when he passed away, I had been listening to a lot of Carnivore and Type O [Negative]. I happened to be in Type O and Carnivore world and [“Symbolic Suicide”] could have

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like no one else. That’s what we want to sound like and it works.

There’s one song on this album that sticks out like a sore thumb called “Amarithine”…

I was talking forever about doing an acoustic album with just me and a guitar. It’s actually two guitars, but they play the same thing on that.

There are a lot of songs like that. I want to bring that element into Crowbar.

It’s one of those things where it’s an emotional song, but it’s eerie, and it’s heavy. It might be mellow, but lyrically, it’s the first song I wrote the lyrics for on this record, and it’s about my wife. It’s dedicated to her.

She’s such a big influence on my life and has turned my life completely around. She’s my best friend and understands me. She’s wonderful and I love her, so that song was for her and she said, “That’s beautiful.”

People might be like, “Oh, he wrote that about his wife. That’s gay!”

How completely ignorant for someone to say that…

I’ve always been the kind of dude to wear my heart on my sleeve. I don’t try to act tough. I am who I am. I’m proud of that. I wrote a song to my daughter called “Echo Into Eternity” on Sever the Wicked Hand. I write about things that touch my life, whether it’s positive or negative. A song about my wife, my daughter, friends, drugs, alcohol, anything

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in life. Anything that pisses me off, whatever it is, I just write from my heart.

When you quit Down, you discussed your struggles with alcohol. What about now? Are you straight?

It’s not about being straight. It’s about the on/off switch working! It’s what Phil [Anselmo] said and it’s true, because he is true. To be honest, I always talk about it publicly, because it’s important for younger fans or older people who may be older than me. I think it’s important to talk about things that are negative. To me, it’s having so many days off – it’s hard to explain, but the last tour I did with Down. It was so hard to have my heart in it and try so hard on stage, and I had nothing against the music, but for me – in order to have control over my life – I had to make a decision when I would tour, where I was going to tour, how long I was going to tour. When we were doing the Down thing, we’d take maybe 20 days off at a time and then go play a show, come back and then maybe take 20 days off again. I don’t like days off. It’s a waste of time.

It’s a waste of money. It’s a waste of everything. I’m on tour to play. I’m on tour to be on stage and be who I am and perform. I’m not on tour to go sightseeing. It’s not what it’s about.

What works for me, it’s best to land and get some rest, wake up the next day, and knock out 20 gigs in a row.

That’s how it works for me. For Phil, it’s different with his singing style, he has to take days off in order to rest his voice. For me, my singing style is different and I don’t need the days off. I don’t want them off. Being away from my family, in a hotel, bored out of my mind – I didn’t want to do anymore. So I had to make the choice that was best for me and my life, and for the band as well. I’m still friends with them. I talked to them a few days ago, before they left. I have Crowbar. I’m touring and seeing the world and still jamming every night.

I have the best of both worlds.

Do you have any plans to return with Kingdom of Sorrow?

What happened with Down was, though Down was the side project, Down became the head project.

When Kingdom of Sorrow started, Crowbar was the main project and added Kingdom of Sorrow as the side project, but we were working too much with three bands. Trying to juggle that shit… And I had a family so it just didn’t work. With Jamey [Jasta], it works because 99% of him is Hatebreed. We tried to do some Kingdom stuff and it worked. @ NEWNOISEMAGS

We record mostly with Kingdom.

We don’t really tour with Kingdom.

We might play a few short dates or some festivals here and there. Jamey and I work together, and managing Crowbar, it’ll never be a conflict of schedule. People forever are asking how do you play in three bands and I didn’t know, but it became too much. Now, with my professional life changing for the better, I have a better relationship than ever with my daughter, and I have a family now and it’s wonderful. For me, everything works out great. I’m really, really blessed and in a good place mentally and physically.

Your album covers have religious significance. Jesus on the cross on the self titled, the angel with the sword on Sever the Wicked Hand, a statue of Virgin Mary on Sonic Excess, a cathedral on Broken Glass. Why this theme?

It’s weird to bring that up. A lot of times, we do have religious imagery to the band. Personally, myself and Tommy (our drummer), we’re Christian in the sense we believe in God and Jesus. We don’t go to church or follow religion. We don’t believe in the hypocrisy of organized religion.

My personal spiritual relationship with God is between me and God. I don’t force it down anyone’s throats or talk about it.

That’s fucking awesome.

I don’t need to put a fish on the back of my car. I’m not being sarcastic – well, I am being sarcastic. My spiritual belief is that I believe in God and Jesus, and that gives me strength.

I don’t need to preach to anyone. I’m not going to force it down anyone’s throat. I’ll walk into Phil’s house and he’ll have goat heads, and I’ll be in my house with a cross on the wall, drinking a beer, and we laugh about it. That’s the way it should be.

If you feel better talking to a tree, whatever, so be it, whatever makes you feel better is all that counts. We are who we are and we pray. My spiritual beliefs give me strength, and if you get it – there’s so many ways to open your mind. A lot of people jog. There are so many different things that people do to open their mind and lift their spirits. Whatever it might be, if it’s God or animals.

As long as you’re not harming anyone, right?

Exactly! I don’t want to get too far into it, because I’m not a televangelist, but anything that doesn’t harm children or animals, I don’t care. I do my own thing for me, my wife, my family, and my band. We’re all happy.

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47

J

oyce Manor thought their punk rock fantasy had come true when Asian Man Records, a favorite label of front man Barry Johnson’s since his teens, agreed to put out their debut full-length. But they would be even more stoked when their label head thought they deserved a bigger audience and persuaded them to sign with the punk rock powerhouse Epitaph. The first offspring from the Joyce Manor/Epitaph Records marriage is Never Hungover Again, a fantastic record that is just as dark as it is funny. The album is crammed with plenty of “did he just say that?” moments and destined to be a best-of pick for many by year’s end. Johnson takes some time to talk about how they first got their name (deception), working with his childhood punk rock hero on his first record (pretty cool), and writing this latest record with his bandmate, guitarist Chase Knobbe (blowing each other’s minds daily).

Was a last minute show with Andrew Jackson Jihad really the impetus for you naming the band, spur of the moment?

Yeah, when I was 18, we were playing in Phoenix. We played with them super early on, when they were just working on their first batch of songs.

I said that [they were] the best fucking band that no one is ever going to hear.

I booked their first show in L.A. at my friend’s house and, of course, they got a lot more popular. So we’ve known those guys forever. So when they came to L.A. on their fourth or fifth trip, Sean [Bonnette] called me and said, “Does your band want to play?”

not realizing my old band had broken up. I said I had a new band, which I didn’t, and he said what are they called, so I said they’re called – pause – Joyce Manor. We kind of stuck with the name after that first show, which was pretty good.

You guys and Andrew Jackson Jihad were both on Asian Man Records. How did that come about?

I have been a huge fan of that label since I was 14. I used to love their comps, because I could afford them and hear about a lot of new bands that way. I was also a fan of their mail order club. I was really into the label and what they were about. It was fun because there was a little bit of a serious side and then a funny side and it really appealed to me. I still love that label. When Andrew Jackson Jihad got signed to the label, it was crazy to me. My interests were melding. I knew these guys and they had just signed to a label that I followed religiously. It wasn’t until a few years later that we were opening for a band and Mike [Park], who runs Asian Man, came out to the show. We said to ourselves, “We’ve got to bring it.” After we played, I gave him a copy of the record and he said, “Oh, thanks man.” And a couple of days later, he sent me a message on Facebook and said, “I can’t stop listening to your record.” I asked if he would have any interest in putting something out for us and he said, “Yeah, totally.” Interesting sidenote: us going to Epitaph was Mike’s idea.

Really?

He said, “Who are you going to do your next record with?” and when I said, “I don’t know.” He said, “What about Epitaph?” There was no “We were unhappy with how he operates” or anything, because we love the way he operates, he just thought it was time we moved to a bigger label with more resources.

Do you know why he suggested that label? Did he have connections there?

I think he just felt like it was a natural move for us. He felt they were similar to his label in the sense that they weren’t going to make us do anything we didn’t want to do and they were from a punk background. They are just very down to earth people. He just thought they would be a good fit for us. I wasn’t too sure about it at first, but the more I thought about it, I realized we should meet with them and we hit it off really well. Mike’s label is run out of a garage. It’s a really simple operation and it’s really just two guys shipping records.

Did you have any second thoughts about going to Epitaph? They have had some great bands over the past couple of decades, but they’ve recently been slammed for their disparate collection of metalcore and emo bands.

Absolutely, we were really skeptical. I am a control freak and like to handle everything and know how it is being presented. Yeah, a lot of the bands they had worked with were just not my cup of tea. [Epitaph] has publicists and great distribution, but I was still worried about giving up control. And the more I talked to other people, they

JOYCE MANOR Interview with vocalist and guitarist Barry Johnson by John B. Moore

told me that I was still going to have plenty of control. They weren’t going to tell me to dye my hair and get a lip ring. They have Weakerthans and Converge; they have some fucking great bands that are in control of their own aesthetic and, the more I thought about it, the more I realized who cares?

It is kind of bratty to start picking apart the bands that I don’t like. I needed to get over myself. [Founder] Brett [Gurewitz] is a really cool guy and their enthusiasm was great! They had some great ideas right off the bat.

I really dig the songs on Never Hung Over Again, but lyrically it’s not exactly a feel good record. Was that intentional?

I wouldn’t say so. I feel like all of our stuff has been pretty pessimistic and negative. I don’t feel like we’ve ever had an uplifting… Well, sometimes we will have something positive. [Pause] Yeah, you’re right, we have had some more sentimental or even sweet stuff in the past. This one has more of a…

I always try to be funny about it. I like being so dour and negative that it becomes funny. I want people to be able to quote it out of context. I don’t think like that all the time, but I do like to focus [my writing] on the heavier/ funnier stuff. The goal was to make it so negative, it was funny.

Did you write all of these songs specifically for this record or were some of them holdovers?

The last record we didn’t spend much time on. We were so excited that Asian Man wanted to do a record with us.

We were still pretty young as a band.

We were so excited; I think we jumped the gun a little. We didn’t edit as much as we should have and we didn’t play those songs live enough. I think we were afraid Mike was going to change his mind, so we had to do it right now.

With this one, we started writing songs before our last record even came out. We had a lot more time to try these out, scrap things entirely and start over. There were a lot of songs – and even a lot of versions of these songs – that didn’t make the record.

We actually recorded five songs a year and a half ago and none of those made it on. They all got scrapped.

Was this the first album on which Chase wrote with you?

Yeah. Like I said, I am really controlling and like things to be a certain way.

But Chase just really blossomed as a guitar player on this record and started writing crazy good stuff. He’s always been really good at guitar, but has never really written stuff. I think he just kind of left it to me. As soon as he started showing me some riffs he wrote, I knew we had to have that stuff on every song. This is what we had been missing. So anytime I’d write a song, I’d write the skeletal version, sit down with him, and we’d just start to play until we had something good. It got to the point where we were both blowing each other’s minds.

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PLOW UNITED

destruction on both a macro scale – the internal conflict of Delaware County – and a micro scale. Tannenbaum says, “‘Live Like a Viking,’ one of the new tracks, is a saying that my dad used to use. He had a very long, difficult career in Delaware County. He was a high school disciplinarian in a school that was segregated by county order in the 1970s. With that phrase, the idea is that there’s a certain type of self-destruction for a person who goes out in a very predicable way.”

“When I moved from West Philly to the area, I was already disconnected from my friends,” McGee adds. “I moved to the suburbs and became a suburban teenager. When I went back to the city, it felt weird and foreign – I got disconnect[ed] really fast.”

INTERVIEW WITH Joel Tannenbaum, Brian McGee & Sean Rule WRITTEN BY John Gentile

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hen bassist Joel Ta n n e n b a u m of Plow United turned ten, the Ku Klux Klan marched through his neighborhood and right past his front door. The weird thing was that he didn’t live in the Deep South, but in Brookhaven, a middle class suburb just outside of Philadelphia. But the KKK didn’t pick Brookhaven incidentally.

Brookhaven is just two miles from Chester, Pennsylvania, a predominantly African American city. Due to a number of factors, including economic depression, business moving overseas, and people moving further out into the ‘burbs, between 1950 to the1980s, Chester went from a booming town with one of the nation’s largest paper mills to a city suffering from financial collapse with one of the nation’s highest homicide rates. The KKK had chosen the intersection of @ NEWNOISEMAGS

Brookhaven and Chester as their battleground in order to say, “Racial integration stops here.”

Quite ironically, the demonstration showed Tannenbaum, and his future bandmates – vocalist and guitarist Brian McGee and drummer Sean Rule – how institutional racism can be buried in a city’s very foundation.

The band’s new EP Delco is the first release since they put out their comeback album after a 13year hiatus. Its title references Delaware County, the one that encompasses the Brookhaven/ Chester region. Though the EP is only four tracks long, Plow United wind together the region’s treasures (nice people, blue collar friendliness, hoagies) and terrors (deep-seated institutional racism.)

“Casual racism surrounded me growing up,” Rule says. “The undercurrents that I would pick up on between going to an

all boys Catholic high school and the neighborhood. It was such a norm that, when my eyes were opened to it later, I felt dumb about not picking up on it sooner. I felt ashamed at how shallow minded someone can be. I was fortunate to fall in with Joel and Brian where I saw more logical ways of thinking.

It’s hard to tell what would have happened if I hadn’t met those guys.”

Although the KKK marched down the street just that once, the undercurrents of racial tension continue through the area today.

Tannenbaum states, “In the 1970s, Delaware County was a rough spot for racial conflict.

Certainly, it was a hot spot for white flight [a mass exodus of whites from urban centers to less integrated suburban areas]. We grew up in the ‘80s, and we felt the aftermath of all that.”

In a way, on the new EP, the band examines that kind of self-

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Despite the pessimism that pervades some of the tracks, the band also focuses on some of the area’s better aspects, and quite unwittingly, betrays the band’s surprising influences. Take EP opener “That was Awesome,” which is driven by Rule’s fourfour drumbeats. With its partyhardy refrain, the tune could easily fit on a Quiet Riot or Hanoi Rocks album. Little do most punkers know, but between ‘82-’89, hair metal was king in Delaware County (and in some places, still is).

Rule says, “I remember years ago, we were playing a show at Lehigh Video. I used to wear a Van Halen necklace. Before our set, I went into the bathroom and some dude saw it and yelled, ‘I can’t believe the drummer in Plow United has a Van Halen necklace!’ He ran away before I could say anything...”

Rule pauses to reflect on the moment before continuing, “If you deny your influences, it’s just stupidity. You can deconstruct any punk band outside the Sex Pistols or Ramones, and you will find influences that also affected Cinderella, Van Halen, and Iron Maiden, which is one of my favorite bands. I don’t think it’s a black or white thing. There are wonderful shades of grey in all things.”

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The Delco 7-inch is out on July 10 via It’s Alive records.

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B L A C K L I S T

INTERVIEW WITH Nat and Rob Rufus WRITTEN BY Damian Burford

I

f you had cancer and survived, what would you do with your life? Would you stay at home and take it easy, or would you venture out and explore the world in a cramped, smelly tour van? Twin brothers, Rob and Nat Rufus chose the latter after Rob’s young adult battles with cancer. After a solid year on the road with bands such as Face to Face, Teenage Bottlerocket, and The Riverboat Gamblers, Blacklist Royals recorded Die Young With Me, a surprisingly honest, mature punk rock ‘n’ roll record that explores and their young adult experiences. We talk with the brothers about how those experiences shaped the music and their outlook on life.

These songs are about Rob’s teenage battles with cancer. Do they work as therapy to help deal with those lingering issues?

Rob: I’m 30 now. I got diagnosed when I was 17. I was pretty much getting treatment for that until and having surgeries until I was in my early 20s. Then we moved to Nashville. It was about 10, 12, 13 years ago. Our earlier records, we didn’t really touch on anything like that. When we were touring for our last record, I think that Nat and I were kind of at a shitty point and it was a subconscious thing. It was the first time I had ever written songs about that. When we got together, all the songs Nat was writing were based around our experiences with that as well. It’s like getting a weight off your chest, putting that out there.

At the same time, it’s strange. I’m not sure how people are going to take it.

Once it is out there, it’s out there. It is therapeutic in a way, and finishing the record definitely was. Making the record was as much a struggle.

Nat and I, once we started writing these songs… We had a vision [for] this record that the band we had wasn’t into. We changed band members, we changed management, we changed record labels, we changed producers, we went broke like 20 fucking times. It was Nat and I struggling to get this record made and fucking heard. When we finally did it, and we left the studio, it was like the closing of a long 13- year

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chapter in our lives. It was pretty awesome.

This record is not a complete departure from your old stuff, but is it a more honest version of yourselves?

Nat: It is. Our last record, we recorded it four years ago. That was us going into the studio and making an album, not really knowing what we wanted to do. We had this rough idea of the kind of band we wanted to be, and didn’t really know what we were doing when we went into the studio. We were 23 and it was the first time we had ever gotten a chance to make a record. This new album, we [knew] what we wanted the band to be. When we got with Ted Hutt, who produced the record, and we started talking about stuff, he told us, “Send me records you love. Send me what you are thinking as far as sound. Send me whatever.

I want to know you guys through the music you love and what you want the music to be.” Rob and I got together and sent him a bunch of stuff and when we got to L.A., he said, “I listened to the stuff you sent.

I don’t know what band you think you are in. If you want this record to be like this, we really got to strip this down and we’ve really got to go in a totally different direction.”

We said, “Yeah! Let’s do it. Let’s find this sound. Let’s find this elusive Blacklist Royals sound that we have not been able to nail down.” It was actually during pre-production that Rob and I were going through

R O Y A L S

the songs together. He was playing drums and I was playing guitar. We were both singing. We were going through stuff and Ted told us, “This is it. This is the sound for this record.

This is what makes it special. I want it to sound like two brothers playing music together in a room.” We kind of tried to make the record sound [like] what it’s thematically about.

It’s about the two of us and those experiences. When he got sick, we were playing music, listening to music, and that was what we latched onto. So the real goal for this record, and sound of the record, was to not only bring out the influences we had, but the influences we were not utilizing or we didn’t know how to use. We really wanted to strip it down and make the record sound like what the songs were about. Two brothers, playing music together.

I’m really happy with the [way that] direction turned out. We only had 10 days in the studio to re-cut the whole record. We pretty drastically changed a whole lot of the songs.

There was a lot of changing of keys and changing arrangements. To be honest, we did it so quickly that, by the time I got the record, I had forgotten a lot of the stuff we had done or how we had changed stuff. I was listening to it, going, “Holy shit!

I’m going to have to learn how to play this song again!” [Laughs] Rob: We’re really happy with it.

You guys have been working super hard to take this band to the

next level. Does coming so close to death encourage you to work harder and push yourselves to do this now, while you still can?

Rob: It definitely manifests in different ways. On one level, yeah, when we got to the point that we could play again... During my treatment, I had to have one of my lungs removed. I have nerve damage in one of my hands. I have chronic back pain now. Even playing drums, for me, is something that theoretically they didn’t think I was going to be able to do again. Playing music is what pushed Nat and I through that experience. When we came out on the other end, it was really important for us to tour and tour and tour, and do as much as we could do, and play as much as we could play. I feel like half of that was escapism. When you are on tour, you can be whoever you want to be.

You don’t have to deal with the other issues that are in your life. A lot of that was just an urge to leave some kind of legacy behind. You just want to do something. I still feel like that.

I have to fucking do something. I’m miserable on tour a lot of the times, because of my health problems and issues. I still have continual health issues and side effects from all the intense treatment I had. I had stage four cancer, so I had serious fucking chemotherapy and radiation. I still have at least a couple of fucking doctors appointments every week.

It’s ridiculous. Even though it is hard for me to tour, and even though Nat and I spread ourselves so thin, it’s really important for us to just do it.

It’s like a “fuck you” to the universe, when you do something that you shouldn’t be able to do. We’re just going to do it, like we’ve always done it. Until you can’t fucking do it. You have to push back, and that’s what you get the urge to do when you go through something like that.

Nat: You have tragedy like that and there is just no way to square it and deal with it. You just have to move on and try to, in some way, make peace with it.

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GOATWHORE

INTERVIEW WITH Vocalist Ben Falgoust WRITTEN BY James Alvarez

G

oatwhore are the quintessential heavy metal road dogs. They’ve toured the globe relentlessly and have churned out nothing but slamming LPs since the Clinton Administration. The band’s Southern fried, New Orleans sound is dark, heavy, and evil as hell. Guitarist Sammy Duet and vocalist Ben Falgoust have provided the razor sharp riffs and gut wrenching screams in Goatwhore’s Beelzebubapproved discography since the beginning. Drummer Zack Simmons has been supplying d-beats and machine gun blasts since 2006, and bassist/towering inferno of a man James Harvey first laced up his spikes back in 2009. Together, these NOLA longhairs craft the vicious blend of black, death, thrash, and traditional heavy metal – and crust punk too, ‘cause why not? – that is Goatwhore’s signature sound.

Basically, if you’re into loud guitars and 1980s style circle pits, this is the band for you. Falgoust is kind enough to chat with New Noise about Goatwhore’s new tongue twisting, skull crushing album, Constricting Rage of the Merciless, another killer release in the band’s stellar catalog.

Undoubtedly, the secret behind Goatwhore’s longevity and success

in the extreme music underworld is the band’s unfettered resolve.

They’ve survived car accidents, hurricanes, and legit supernatural shenanigans, and have never thought to throw in the towel. “We’re into what we do,” Falgoust explains.

“We’re just not going to let anything stop us.” Constricting Rage of the Merciless’ title is a reflection of this no-surrender ethos. According to Ben, it’s indicative of a wild animal trapped in a corner: “...they lash out in aggression, without mercy,” he says. That’s basically the vibe of the new album. Constricting Rage is 100% Goatwhore. They sonically strike and do everything they can to appease themselves and further their storied career in the metal realm.

Album opener “Poisonous Existence in Reawakening” kicks things off in high gear, featuring a pummeling death metal downbeat that transforms into a foot stomping, Celtic Frost-ish rager by song’s end.

The blitzkrieg continues with black metal tinged tracks like “Unraveling Paradise,” and thrashers “FBS” and “Externalize this Hidden Savagery.”

You’ve got the classic heavy metal headbanger “Baring Teeth for Revolt,” rife with swinging guitar solo and all, alongside the über-anthemic “Schadenfreude,” a hauntingly melodic tune that would make the Vikings in Amon Amarth blush.

“Cold Earth Consumed in Dying Flesh” is an epic, sludgy number

anchored by Falgoust’s guttural roar, which drags the listener through fields of ash and broken Jager bottles before Duet’s decapitating fretwork finishes them off in a monstrous crescendo. This song is easily one of the highlights of the record and best illustrates what great feats the band is capable of. Falgoust agrees with this assessment and reveals that “Cold Earth” is one of his favorite new tracks. “I approached Sammy about that song and I was like, ‘I want you to write something really fucking slow,’” he says. “I want it to drag and then go into this old school death metal, bulldozer smashing through tone…

It’s really different from anything we’ve done in the past as well.”

Constricting Rage of the Merciless marks Goatwhore’s fourth collaboration with producer/death metal Renaissance man Erik Rutan (Hate Eternal, ex-Morbid Angel), and serves as a welcome addition to the pair’s gnarly family of albums.

Rutan’s Mana Recording Studios has been Goatwhore’s go-to destination since their 2006 Metal Blade Records debut, the amphetamine-like A Haunting Curse. Their follow up release, 2009’s watershed Carving Out the Eyes of God, injected a healthy dose of thrash metal into the band’s sonic palette just as 2012’s Blood for the Master had a rockin’ tone that served as a nod to the extreme metal bands of yore. Every album the band has recorded at Mana sounds different than its predecessor, but every one has remained crisp, loud, and unmistakably Goatwhore.

After eight years – and now four studio albums – together, it’s obvious that the band’s close rapport with Erik Rutan is what’s made all this apocalyptic raucousness possible.

“Being at this point with Rutan,”

Falgoust says, “…we all bust each other’s balls a lot. I think that’s what makes it, because now the relationship is so good that you can totally be harsh about something, like, ‘No, that really sounds like shit,’ and [he] won’t get all hurt about it.”

This honest, ball-breaking approach was essential in Constricting Rage of the Merciless’ creation, since the recording eschewed the conveniences of modern technology and was tracked using two-inch analog tape instead. “Most bands use Pro Tools and drop everything in, but there’s a uniqueness to doing tape, getting those natural sounds with the drums and guitars, getting that nasty, gritty taste to it,” Ben explains.

“Rutan has this tape machine he got from Morrisound [Studios; the death metal Mecca of the late ‘80s/ early ‘90s] from back in the day. It was used on all the classic death metal records, the Morbid Angel stuff, Suffocation [Death, Sepultura, Cannibal Corpse, Obituary!], all those legendary records.”

When Constricting Rage of the Merciless drops this July, you can safely add Goatwhore to that impressive laundry list of bands. Be on the lookout for the album; it’s the one with the crazy demon-headed Hydra torturing a nude, busty woman on the front. The Jordan Barlow’s awesome artwork is easily the most provocative of any Goatwhore album cover to date. It also serves as a perfect summary of the wild heavy metal amalgamation that is Constricting Rage, and Goatwhore themselves. As Falgoust describes, “We’ll play these little headline shows in some little place out in the middle of nowhere, and the kids go, ‘Holy shit, ya’ll just played your asses off,’ and I’m just like yeah, that’s the point. That’s what we’re supposed to be doing.”

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Photography by Peter Beste @ NEWNOISEMAGS

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THE STORY SO FAR

INTERVIEW WITH Guitarist Will Levy WRITTEN BY Joseph Tucker

P

owerhouse pop punk band The Story So Far has handed us incredible record after incredible record filled with angst, sadness, and things that once were golden. With rumors flying around that they might be working on a new record, Will Levy agrees to discuss what’s really going on in the TSSF camp.

The band recently posted a picture taken in what appeared to be a studio, and the press went crazy with assumptions about what they were doing there. Will makes it clear that there is a lot more going on than just producing records: “We started something at The Panda Studios that we call ‘Dark Joint.’ Essentially, we roll up a fatty and go into the isolation room, where it’s extremely dark and quiet, and light it up. For some reason, we got really into it and did it everyday. I also broke my big toe when recording once… Playing soccer inside.”

Though they may light up or play soccer inside the studio, it isn’t all fun and games when it comes to their songs and their structure.

“Everybody in the band comes from different musical backgrounds and upbringings,” says Will. “Whether it be jazz band, classic rock, punk rock, drum-line… We’ve learned a lot about ourselves and how we write together. We know who’s in charge with each song and who’s leading it.

It takes some time, but it’s probably our favorite part of being in this band, the creation aspect of it.”

When the band is out of the studio, @ NEWNOISEMAGS

they are usually playing a slew of shows in huge arenas or at large festivals, but they’d rather have it a different way. “I really like playing smaller venues,” Will confesses.

“Things don’t feel so big and different in those rooms. It’s like we’re teenagers again, playing tiny rooms and sweating our balls off.

The thing with the bigger venues is the security or barriers, and the way it makes the band look. It puts you up on this giant stage and puts you so far away from everybody. It’s like the band becomes untouchable and we are definitely not that. Sometimes security as NO IDEA what’s going on and that can mess with our show.”

The Story So Far doesn’t like being put on a pedestal or being impersonal with their fans, which contributes to their distaste for meet and greets. Will reveals, “We did them last year on the Vans Warped Tour and it felt very dishonest. It was not the best way to give thanks to the people who support this band. It was very impersonal; you have a line of people standing in the sun while bands are blasting their jams, and we all have to sit in the sun and bear with it. They wait in line and [then] within eight seconds they’re done, and we hardly get to say thanks or see their faces. It puts the band on somewhat of a pedestal as well. The whole line thing seems ridiculous.

Glad we gave it a shot, but we won’t be having any more meet and greets.

We’re just not that band.”

Being a band for over five years now, Will enjoys the little things about the journey, saying, “Some major

comforts right now are that we get to play music every day. That’s what brought us all together over five years ago. The fact that we still get to do that is pretty cool with us.”

Just recently, the band’s latest record What You Don’t See celebrated its one-year anniversary. “We wanted to make a record that we were proud of and would be excited to play songs from every night. I know that I don’t get bored playing these songs.

That’s good enough for me.”

While they have multiple hit records, the band has always stayed true to themselves. They have picked up some fans who can identify with the band’s songs along the way, but The Story So Far isn’t out to just please other people. “We aim to express ourselves with the music we write,” Will says. “We’re lucky we get to do that still. We didn’t start a band to please fans; we started it to express ourselves. I think with anything, not just music, you need to focus on yourself. You can’t go [through] life trying to please everybody and not focus on yourself, you will go mad.”

With great success come obsessive fans, like the excited girl who tried to kiss vocalist Parker Cannon.

Will remembers this all too well: “I saw some girl run up on stage, [and] Parker gives me a look like he knew it was coming. [The] girl grabs his face and he ducks around her. Parker looks at me and just smiles and I laughed it off. Nothing really ever came of that. Just made us laugh in the van afterwards. People are strange.”

While Will laughs at the shenanigans that happen onstage, he doesn’t take lightly the practice of bashing bands that sign to labels by calling them sellouts. “[Sellout] seems like an outdated phrase,” he says. “Most of the time, fans don’t know what actually goes on and why those big

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decisions are made. Sometimes those decisions need to be made to stay afloat; sometimes it’s personal.

Unless you’ve got $10,000 hanging around or have super rich parents, you probably need some sort of label support to record an album.”

The Story So Far is on Pure Noise Records, a shining star in the world of music. At its helm is Jake Round, who bleeds for his artists even though he may get a little woozy while doing so. “I think it’s great,” Will says, referring to Round’s success. “He’s worked pretty hard to get where he is, and we couldn’t be more proud as friends and part of the operation. I’m pretty sure Jake Round would faint if he saw his own blood.”

Reflecting on his own success, Will says some of the best moments of his life have happened while touring with The Story So Far: “I get to travel to new places and be on the go constantly. I personally enjoy that. I don’t like being still. I’ve been able to make friends throughout the world and learn a lot through them.”

He’s also learned that when he’s gone, the world doesn’t stand still.

“You sort of forget about what goes on at home,” he admits. “Friends, family... Life goes on and sometimes that is really hard to deal with.”

In the end, the band that he bleeds for has given him the same in return: “With dropping out of school, I lost the ability to attend class and learn.

But I think I’ve learned so much more from touring the world for the last few years. A lot of people don’t get to see that. This is the perfect age for us to be doing this. We’ve all learned a lot and it shows in who we are as people when we return home.”

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INTERVIEW WITH Vocalist Phil Anselmo WRITTEN BY Brandon Ringo

O

ver the last 20 years or so, the amount of awesome extreme metal that has come from the South – New Orleans, LA, in particular – is mindboggling. One of the biggest names is Down, the supergroup containing an all-star lineup of some of the best musicians you’ll find south of the Mason-Dixon. Against all odds, the band is still alive and kicking 20 years after their formation, and with the release of Down IV: Part II, the second in a series of four EPs, they look to still be at the peak of their career creatively and sonically.

made for a great infusement of new enthusiasm so to speak, so it was an all around breath of fresh air. It was a great experience and pretty seamless.”

Down’s signature sound may present a challenge to someone new, especially right before the writing and recording process began. However, according

this particular EP, I really wanted a doom record,” says Anselmo. “I wanted an early, early Black Sabbath feel, or even a slow-ass Saint Vitus feel, a Witchfinder General melody-line for vocals. I think that all these things are very true to why Down exists to begin with.”

Down stands out due to their history of sonic versatility.

This collection of EPs will highlight that versatility, but they aren’t going to go

Despite their immense success over the years, things haven’t always come easy for the band. One of the toughest moments of the band’s career came in 2013 when guitarist Kirk Windstein, one of the band’s founding members, announced he would be stepping down. Though they understood Kirk’s reasons and wish him well, this obviously left a huge hole in their lineup that would be nearly impossible to fill. Enter guitarist Bobby Landgraf of Honky.

“Bobby came in his first day, and we had only been jamming about a week and he just got off tour with I think the Melvins or something like that, and he came in the first day and contributed a riff right off the bat,” says vocalist Phil Anselmo. “And I gotta say, Pat Bruders, our bass player, fuckin’ really contributed a whole lot [as well]. To have Pat come in with several different riffs and to have Bobby come in with riffs of his own, it really 54

more ambitious, meaning different guitar textures and different songwriting approaches here and there, but to me, at the end of the day, it better fuckin’ sound like Down or all bets are off.”

Surprisingly, Down was formed over 20 years ago as a side project of sorts.

However, over the years, the band has morphed into a main focus, as well as one of the most important bands in heavy metal. For Anselmo and the boys, the impending 2th anniversary of their landmark album Nola is something they are grateful for, but don’t take lightly. “Twenty years is a long time for anything to still have wings and be flying, but still, it’s a present,” Anselmo says. “We still have a good time doing what we’re doing and we still love what we do.

So it’s an honor, and it’s also a testament to Down fans. We have a very committed, very loyal fan base and that’s on a worldwide level. That’s a testament to hard work and also to the uniqueness of our sound, the love that people have for it. Really, all the glory goes to the fans, man.

Without them, we would be fucking nothing.”

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to Anselmo, the process was smooth, “I guess this material came out of us very organically and very off the cuff. We wrote everything in one particular sitting, meaning most of the songs were written on the spot.”

What has resulted from these recording sessions is the heaviest album the band has put out in quite some time. The record returns to a rawer, bluesier old-school vibe, which is exactly what they were going for. “For

overboard. “I think there’s room on the next EP, or even the one after that, for exploration, but I always have maybe questioned, ‘Would it be fair really to make Down fans wait an entire year, maybe a year and a half and put out an all-acoustic record?’ Honestly, I don’t know if it would be fair to Down fans,” states Anselmo.

With regards to the specific sound they have in mind for their next EP, Anselmo hints, “I think that, yes, it will be

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The highly-anticipated new full length album from Braid — the band’s rst in over 15 years.

Available everywhere July 8, 2014 on CD, vinyl & digitally.

Also available from TOPSHELF RECORDS:

MY FICTIONS Stranger Songs

FIELD MOUSE Hold Still Life

PRAWN Kinggsher

WILD ONES Keep It Safe

JULY 1, 2014

JULY 22, 2014

LATE SUMMER 2014

OUT NOW

YOU BLEW IT! You Blue It

THE JAZZ JUNE / DIKEMBE Split

FRAMEWORKS Loom

CUT TEETH Night Years

AUGUST 5, 2014

OUT NOW

OUT NOW

LATE SUMMER 2014

New 2014 releases also coming from Sundials, Nai Harvest, Empire! Empire! (I Was a Lonely Estate), The Jazz June & Special Explosion.

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tsr-store.com topshelfrecords.com

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different band, playing a wedding out at the beach. I don’t know, during the dinner it just came to me and I knew I wanted to make a band around that name. He ended up playing percussion for the album.

We would go out to the wharf [in San Francisco] and play. We found this program with the city, you pay $50 a month and they administer you this spot on the wharf, with a roster of street performers doing weird, sketchy balloon animals and aggro clowns. There’s also an antiSemitic Elmo out there. We had words… The San Francisco wharf is a weird place to play, there’s a lot of strange things going on around you and it’s kind of fight or flight. That’s what really made us a band. And this friend of mine [Jamin Barton] plays all sorts of weird instruments like the glockenspiel, saw, saxophone, and harmonica, so we had him join us. The only thing missing was the bass, so our friend Joe Raposo – who had played with the Mad Caddies, Lagwagon, and The Real McKenzies – consented to join us, and he brings an upright to all of our shows. The idea kind of developed over time.

UKE-HUNT INTERVIEW WITH Spike Slawson WRITTEN BY John B. Moore

S

ometimes, the band name is the thing. For every regrettable, uninspired punk or metal band who looks no further than a wildly popular chick lit novel for the perfect moniker, there is a guy like Spike Slawson.

Toting his itty-bitty four-string guitar – some call it a ukulele, I prefer itty-bitty guitar – the name came to him at a wedding years ago: “Uke-Hunt” (take a moment to say it out loud). Vulgar? Yup. A tad juvenile? Most definitely. But perfect for a punk-inspired, ukulele cover band? Hell yes! Once he had the name, everything eventually fell into place for Slawson, who also sings for that other great punk rock cover band, Me First and the Gimme Gimmes. He needed a band, so he called up his buddies. He needed a place to practice, so why not hit the local tourist hot spot Fisherman’s Wharf for a series of soul-crushing public gigs? With Uke-Hunt’s self@ NEWNOISEMAGS

titled debut about to come out, Slawson gets on the phone to talk about the band’s name, his decadeslong love of the itty-bitty guitar, and playing for European tourists and aggro seagulls, flanked by psycho clowns and bigoted Elmos.

How did the idea for a ukulelecentered album come about?

It just kind of developed over time.

I play the intro to [the Gimmes cover of] “I Believe I Can Fly” on the ukulele. That developed into playing a whole song before the actual intro on the ukulele, and that developed into playing more than just one song over time. It also kind of came from the name. Once I had the name, I wanted to build something around it.

When did you come up with the name?

I think it was 2008. Me and the drummer [Randy Burke] were in a

Did you know all along that there was going to be an album there or did you just start off with a let’s see what happens attitude?

We started off playing. Before we went to the wharf though, [Fat] Mike said he wanted to put out an album, so that was the idea for the actual record. I want to say that a month or two after that, Randy had the idea to go out to the port, and it just ended up being the best idea for us to practice. Most people do records backwards: they record a record and then tour. You’re better off starting off playing outside. It’s just really good practice and not to mention the crazy people. The average city people and tourists are not inclined to give a fuck about you the way people who have paid to see you are… Out on the street nobody cares. There’s a guy jumping out of bushes, there’s people spray painting.

When you were out there, did anyone ever suggest, “Hey you guys should check out Me First and the Gimme Gimmes. They do something similar”?

No, it was at Fisherman’s Wharf which is just a really, really weird scene. We did really well in the Castro. We raked in the dollars there.

The wharf is a lot of fly-over-country tourists, and a lot of European tourists, and a lot of people just sort of passing by. They associate street performers with street people, so they don’t want to linger. And the local element occasionally makes it almost impossible for them to stop for more than five minutes, because they are yelling and screaming at them. And then there’s these seagulls who will tip over your crab cakes, or your fried fish, whatever, and then 30 of them will swarm over the food you just bought. And then a wino

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will yell at you for feeding the birds.

So it’s really hard to get a group of people who will congregate.

Do you still have plans to play there, or in more traditional venues?

We’ve been playing venues too, but it’s just another way to practice, a paid practice. We don’t all live in the city. I live here, but not everyone else does, so it’s kind of nice to have a little scratch to offset the expenses.

How long have you been playing the ukulele?

I want to say about 10, maybe 12 years. Something like that.

There is also a Gimmes record coming out. How did you decide which songs should go on that record versus yours?

Well, [for the Gimmes] I’d say nine out of the 10 songs I would suggest would get vetoed. So the uke stuff, if it works and I can play it on the ukulele, it’s in.

Are there some songs on this album that you had proposed for the Gimme Gimmes, but got shot down?

No, I wouldn’t say there are too many here that would have worked as rock songs. Plus, I know the sensibilities of the band from playing with them over the years, so I know what and what not to suggest.

I really like the selection of songs on the full-length. There are fun songs like “Rainy Days, and Mondays,” but there are also pretty songs like “Fascination.” What made you attempt that song?

I wanted to throw an Italian song on there. My wife is Italian and my in-laws and my extended family and friends, for the most part, are Italian, so I wanted to include a song in there for all of them. I didn’t know if the Gimmes were going to get around to an Italian album. We did Japanese and that was kind of it. We wanted to do all these different languages and then go play those places. It’s just a beautiful song.

Where there any songs that you tried to make work, but they just didn’t sound right?

Yeah, we tried to do ELO’s “Livin’ Thing.” There were actually a lot.

We were doing upwards of 25 songs out on the wharf, and obviously only some of them worked. We had been doing it for so long, we had no objectivity left, so doing the recording was a way to narrow the field down a bit.

Have you thought about recording a live album out at the wharf?

Yeah, now that we’ve got the fourpiece… We’re sort of now seeing ourselves as a live act, but definitely down the line, that’s something I would consider doing. But if you didn’t have video, you would lose the whole picture.

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Photography by Patrick Ullaeus

I

t’s not every day that your favorite band calls you up out of the blue and asks you to join their ranks. That’s exactly what happened to Alissa White-Gluz when the Canadian songstress was recruited into melodic death metal juggernaut Arch Enemy last year. “I was pretty surprised by the whole situation,” she says.

“I had no idea any changes were going on in Arch Enemy actually.”

Her and everyone else it seems.

ARCH ENEMY INTERVIEW WITH Vocalist Alissa White-Gluz WRITTEN BY James Alvarez

When news broke that Arch Enemy frontwoman Angela Gossow had parted ways with the band after 13 years of screaming service, the metal realm was shocked to say the least. Gossow had been such an instrumental part of the band’s success. From her vocals on their seminal 2001 album Wages of Sin to her fiery blonde mane headbanging on stage for the past decade, it was hard for most fans to imagine Arch Enemy existing without her. But fear not – White-Gluz, former vocalist of The Agonist, and Kamelot touring ally – has stepped aboard the Swedish crazy train and is poised to lead Arch Enemy into the next chapter of their long and storied existence. On her induction to the Arch Enemy clan, Alissa says, “We discussed it. Obviously I wanted to make sure it was something Angela wanted, that this was something [guitarist] Michael [Amott] and the rest of the guys wanted. I’m a fan of Arch Enemy myself, if I didn’t think it was a good fit, I would have been more nervous about the whole thing.”

Yes, White-Gluz’s has been an ardent Arch Enemy fan for years and as fate would have it, she kind of owes her career in metal to a certain album of theirs. “Wages of Sin, that’s the album that I listened to that made me want to start screaming,” she says. “I was still in my first band at that point, but I had just been doing clean singing…

I listened to that [record] and a couple days later, I tried to scream and realized I was capable of doing it, and continued to write songs with screams in them.” And what a scream she has. Where Angela’s voice mirrored a ferocious, yet traditional death metal growl, Alisa and her multifaceted vocal attack are a different beast entirely. Although still harsh and brazen, Alissa’s howls are more nuanced than anything we’ve heard in Arch Enemy before.

Part venomous screech, part exorcism in progress, White-Gluz’s screaming is like an extreme metal scalpel compared to the blunt force instrument of the band’s previous vocalists. That, and Alissa has a legitimate singing voice.

“When I was invited into the band, they were all like, ‘Yes! We have someone who does clean singing!’”

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Alissa explains. “I thought, ‘What?

Why would you want that?’” Don’t fret, the band hasn’t gone soft by any means, it’s just that they now have a valuable new weapon in their sonic arsenal. “We’re all aware of what Arch Enemy is, and what Arch Enemy can become,” she says reassuringly. “We want to use whatever ammunition we have, but use it in a thoughtful way. It’s already enough of a shock that I’m in the band at all, I didn’t want to come in and just throw everything upside down as soon as I showed up.” For now, Arch Enemy 3.0 is still all about the roaring screams, but if the material on War Eternal is any indication, the band has plenty of room to grow in the future.

War Eternal is easily the most captivating Arch Enemy record since Wages of Sin. It has the amazingly polished production the band has spent the last decade perfecting, but the songs have an enthused energy that truly feels like a band reborn. Haunting guitar melodies? Check. Blistering riffs? Check. Blast beats and orchestral arrangements? Yeah, they’re all there. Alissa thinks the invigorating pulse of the album has a lot to do with the new blood within the fold. War Eternal marks her and former Arsis axeman Nick Photography

by Patrick Ullaeus Cordle’s writing and recording debut with the band. “We have a lot of different influences, I think my influences are really varied compared to Michael’s, or even Angela’s for that matter,” she says.

“I guess that mixture makes for a different result in the end. I think also, having the need to prove ourselves again, with the new lineup, might have fueled the fire to write something really exciting.”

The other ace up Arch Enemy’s sleeve? The band’s founder and riff master general, Michael Amott.

The former Carcass shredder has been Arch Enemy’s chief architect from day one, and as Alissa reveals, is the one responsible for the band’s signature sound. “It’s very cool to work with him because he writes songs,” she gushes. “He really writes things in a way that encompasses an entire band’s contributions. I think that’s what makes them so memorable and catchy, is that we’re not competing for ear-space, we actually complement one another with our instruments. Michael is really genius when it comes to riffs.”

The riffs, the harmonies, the lockstep rhythm section, and the band’s dynamic new frontwoman are all on display with this new album. War Eternal drops this June courtesy of Century Media, and Alissa White-Gluz will make her live concert debut this summer when Arch Enemy annihilates the European festival circuit.

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SAY ANYTHING INTERVIEW WITH Singer Max Bemis WRITTEN BY Morgan Y. Evans

M

ax Bemis. Musical genius? Proud father?

Punk rock Jew? Prolific bard? Defender of “the genre”? The Say Anything mainman is all of those things and more. Say Anthing’s sixth album Hebrews (on Equal Vision Records) is an examination of Max’s Jewish lineage, scene friendships, and range of tastes and emotions. It includes no guitars, instead opting for huge string arrangements, but in a Say Anything style. Like any grandiose Bemis idea, however, he somehow pulls it off and makes your jaw drop! Guests include Keith Buckley from Every Time I Die, Aaron Weiss from MewithoutYou, Tom DeLonge from Angels and Airwaves, Matt Pryor from The Get Up Kids, and many more.

This record is epic, and unprecedented in scope. How did you coordinate it?

The cool thing is, the band went through structural changes that enable me to do things a little bit more on my own. Because of that, I was going to produce the record myself. It sounds like it would make it harder to do, but it actually made my life easier, because I didn’t have to conform to anyone’s guidelines except for my own. I did a lot of tracking on my own computer.

Because there are no guitars on the record, there were no demos.

Everything is crazy keyboards or strings. Literally, I started mapping out the songs over the course of a few months. They came together, but I could tweak everything, and eventually, when they were done, we had various musicians replace the tracks with real instruments. I did it on Logic. It’s a great platform to be creative and have fun. It did take a lot of time and dedication, vocal takes. But it really was the easiest record I ever made.

It also feels like Say Anything, even though you’ve got the string section.

That was the funny thing. Yeah, I think I was emotionally wanting to explore and try to fulfill the progress I’ve made dealing with my @ NEWNOISEMAGS

own insecurity.

Do you think reaching your 30s made you want to touch on your lineage?

Really, it had to do with having a child. Getting older. It is starting a new chapter for me.

What was your Bar Mitzvah like?

I had a Bar Mitzvah in Israel at Masada, but when I got home, we had a Quentin Tarantino themed party. It would have been cool if it was in Israel, but my friends wouldn’t have been able to come.

I’ve been to Israel several times.

[I’m] not at all traditional, but I did have a very Jewish upbringing.

A lot of that is the main theme of the record, the big things about our human experience that are linked genetically to what came before you. You know, you can see that there’s a certain amount of PTSD equated with surviving things and still coming out OK. It happens to a person during the course of their lifetime, but it also happened to an entire people over and over and over again. My goal of the record was to try and link those things.

Also, calling on the journey of the self-loathing Jew, seeing what that was like. But I don’t see it as a primarily Jewish struggle. It really is about anyone who comes from any culture and has baggage. There’s no blank canvas. We all come from history.

Sure. My father came over from German Displaced Persons camps, fleeing Stalin. He’s Estonian. I always remember the gravitas of him talking about that time.

Right! It’s crazy we even have to take that kind of stuff into consideration as we grow up. What our forefathers have gone through.

A lot of people base their lives on old societies or generations.

Sometimes amazing things come out of that and sometimes a lot of horrible things.

A buddy of mine is Jewish, and was a punk with lots of tattoos.

He later became more orthodox

Photography by Natalie Besignano

and regretted them. Did you ever wrestle with this?

[Laughs] No! God, no. I had the opposite trajectory. I think I did my time, so to speak. I went to Jewish day school. Very Jewish camp. Jewish, Jewish, Jewish for many years. At this point, I’m a very proud cultural Jew and I have Jewish beliefs, but I don’t identify myself as exclusively Jewish. I think it’s cool I still am a Jew. I don’t judge people who follow prescripted tenets of Judaism but... There’s gotta be self-loathing in here too, which is kind of talked about on the record.

Your guests are all forward thinking acts or people with a strong identity.

I guess that was intentional. I did In Defense of the Genre and had guests. I was trying to represent bands in the scene. This time, I was trying to represent bands from all over the place that I like. Bands that aren’t even associated with each other like Touché Amoré, and then someone like Tom [DeLonge] from Blink[-182]. You don’t put those two together. But in the context of Say Anything, it kind of does make sense. As long as the person was talented and made sense in the song, that was the criteria.

You have an ambitious sound, but still have pop punk roots.

If you look us up on Pandora [Internet Radio], Jon Simmons from Balance and Composure comes up. A pretty edgy sounding band. And we’re associated with those guys. They grew up listening to us, and I’m proud to have that association. But you’re also likely to have something like Yellowcard come up. And that’s cool. I love that.

I like all that music. Part of making this record, I didn’t want to throw away that part of the band. I’ve been a little guilty of that before, trying not to be pigeonholed. I think that took away from the overall quality.

Ignore the keyboard cowboys, man.

Maybe now. Finally, at this age, I care very little. At other times

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in my life, because of insecurity...

Not with fans, but things [having] nothing to do with those people.

I touch upon this in the record. I am sort of reactive. The only thing I still find to be a problem is there are certain people who believe you are in a band that can be labeled pop punk or emo, you aren’t taking music as seriously as someone in, say, The National or Radiohead.

Unfortunately, I am! If I choose to make a three-chord power pop song, it is because that’s what I want to write. I’m not incapable of doing other things. Only now are some of the “highbrow” publications starting to recognize that people are making music like this because they love it, not because they are mentally handicapped. The backlash was strong for a while.

“How can you listen to Blink-182?”

Because I like it better! Sorry, I was born in 1984! [Laughs] Some music is just simpler.

Simplicity can be a choice. Say Anything is anything but simple, but I run into that criticism. “The music tends to be evocative, but it hearkens back to pop punk.” Yes, it is [pop punk]. That’s what I like.

I want to make music that I enjoy, not that Pitchfork is going to like. If they do, then sure…

Weezer is a perfect example.

Yeah! If Weezer put out [The Blue Album] today, out of the context of being the first band that ever did it, I think people would just dismiss it as another power pop band. Because it came out then, post-Nirvana, people knew it was revolutionary. It’s one of the most important records ever. Some people are reticent to understand that many people connect to that kind of thing.

Have you tried He Brew beer, the chosen beer? Not that you want to push it on little emo kids, but you could do a promotional thing with them.

Yeah, drink beer! Come to the show and drink it. You’ll have a better time [laughs]. No, I haven’t tried it, but a friend showed it to me.

Equal Vision Records. Discuss.

The easiest label. When they believe in a band, they believe in it. When I was 14 years old, I was devoted to a bunch of labels. Equal Vision was the best at finding bands that don’t make sense in a different context and realizing they have life and potential. Saves the Day were so impactful because they were so original and arguably the first to do what they were doing. Coheed [and Cambria]… There’s still almost no band that sounds like Coheed.

Circa Survive. They give bands a shot, and going to them was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.

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Photography by Marianne Harris

INTERVIEW WITH Vocalist Davey Muise WRITTEN BY Joe Fitzpatrick

N

o band expresses the dualities of life’s struggles better than Boston’s Vanna.

Combining both melodic and raw, aggressive elements, Vanna straddles a fine line between angry about the past and hopeful about the future. As soon as I heard vocalist Davey Muise’s raspy, gritty voice over the telephone, I could tell that he was hardened by his life experiences, yet he communicates a positive message, which is reflected in every lyric he screams into the microphone. This “therapy,” as he calls it, is what drives Vanna forward, and what keeps us all moving in a better direction. On the verge of releasing their fifth studio album, Void, Muise speaks about taking control of your life and the ammunition Vanna’s music gives to their listeners to be their own people, as well as their Summer of Hope campaign for the Van’s Warped Tour, and their recent move to Pure Noise Records.

What does “Live Free Die Free” mean to you?

It’s been my motto for a while, even before the band. I’m just sick of people judging kids for listening to certain bands, or having tattoos or piercings, or wearing all black and not being straight-laced like the rest of society. It’s about being who you are and being proud of that. There is a kid named Eric who comes out to all of our shows, and he is gay.

He lives out in the Midwest, and he has no one there to support him, not even his family. I just hate how broken he feels, but I’m glad that we can be his support system. Our 60

fans are our support system, and we want to be there for them no matter what. Be you, and be it to death.

You explain how everyone has “voids” in their lives, and how we all fill them in different ways. Why did you choose this concept for your new record?

Personally, I think that our whole reason for living is the search for filling in the gaps in our lives to make us feel whole. People tend to think that is negative, but it’s not.

Life is all about searching for what makes you feel complete, and we realize that is why we are in this band. I was never really into sports or academics, but music was always there for me. I could have done much worse things, but music was always my outlet. I just want to let everyone know through our music that it’s okay to be upset sometimes.

Life is a struggle, but I find comfort in knowing that I am not alone in my suffering. We are all going through the same shit together.

The whole point is about finding happiness, and if going to shows and getting tattoos is what makes you happy, then it’s not a bad thing.

But we also cover destructive things that we do sometimes. For example, we have a song called “Cornucopia” about a relationship I had with a girl who I thought I was going to marry, but it ended and took me into a downward spiral of sexual conquests.

Can you tell me about the Summer of Hope campaign that you guys are doing for the Vans Warped Tour this year?

I started it with my friend Jonny

[Boucher], who works for a suicide awareness prevention organization called Hope for the Day in Chicago.

When I was at a low point in my life, I contemplated suicide. I thought, there is a reason why I’m here, and I want to stick around to find out what that is. When the opportunity came up to work with Hope for the Day, it resonated with me, and I knew that I had to get involved. We also have The Color Morale, The Word Alive, and a bunch of other bands helping us out with it. We will be out there talking to kids and giving them advice, and we want to know what gives them hope. My wife will also be there running the table and helping us out. We have been trying to raise $10,000 to pay for the tour, and we were at about $8,500 the last time I checked. We also have some private investors and bands who have helped us out with it. It’s something that really hits home for a lot of people. Shit sucks, but it’s gonna get better.

I really love “Holy Hell”’s message about overcoming negative expectations and taking control of your life. Is this a recurring theme on Void?

It’s a recurring theme throughout our band. We want kids to take back the term “loser.” You have nothing to prove to anybody. We really want kids to take it back and be proud of who they are. We all look the same. I hate to bust the world’s bubble, but just because someone has a hand tattoo doesn’t mean that they can’t solve our energy crisis. I’m 30 years-old, and I still get looked at by people just because I’m covered in tattoos and play in a band rather than living a “normal” life, and yet we continue to run shit and continue being us.

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I’m starting to see more and more people like us starting their own businesses and taking control. The closed minded and judgmental people are becoming the minority, and this is the generation of taking control back.

What prompted the switch to Pure Noise Records?

We were the third band to sign to Artery Recordings, and Mike Milford – I will stand by that dude no matter what. We just adjusted in different directions. Pure Noise coreleased The Few and Far Between, and [founder] Jake [Round] became one of our homies. We love what he has been doing with the label within the past two years. Pure Noise has made all the right moves, and Jake believes in his bands and he believes in punk rock. Both us and Artery felt that it was time to move on and find a new home On The Few and Far Between, your band showed its melodic side. Will the new record be heavier, more melodic, or a mixture?

The Few and Far Between was my favorite release we have ever done until we recorded Void. I think up to this point, The Few and Far Between has been the most real representation of our band, but with Void, everyone came into their own during the recording process.

After we finished recording the instrumentals, I got fucking nervous. I could listen to this album instrumental only and still love it. The band really stepped it up with this record, and I think that no one should believe in your band more than you. It’s heavy as fuck. It’s melodic as fuck. It’s riffy as fuck. It’s everything as fuck.

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back,” he said. “I believe this has kept our career going especially since we are not the most prolific band.”

While their Orange County contemporaries were finding mainstream success with the Third Wave ska explosion in the mid ‘90s, that wasn’t a route The Mad Caddies were particularly interested in.

MAD CADDIES WRITTEN BY Dane Jackson

W

hen thinking about the early years of The Mad Caddies, lead guitarist and founding member Sascha Lazor revealed that the band’s longevity wasn’t top of mind.

“You know I don’t think any of us really thought about it that much,” Lazor recalls. “When you’re younger, you’re not really thinking that far in the future.”

Even though the guys in the band weren’t thinking about how far being in The Mad Caddies could take them, they’re quickly approaching their 20th anniversary. Twenty years together as a band is a true testament to the quality of music they put out and the dedication they have towards their fans and each other.

In 2015, Santa Ynez, California’s own Mad Caddies celebrate that particular milestone anniversary.

If how their 19th year as a band is any indication of what to expect in the future, The Mad Caddies still have plenty of tricks up their sleeves.

It’s been seven years since The Caddies released a proper fulllength of new music. According 62

to Lazor, this was so the band could “take a break and live life.”

Their new album, Sticky Rice, shows it was a break well-deserved. They’ve come back rejuvenated and firing on all cylinders. Never a band to repeat themselves, Sticky Rice is a kaleidoscope of music that runs the gamut from Beatles-inspired power pop, dancehall reggae, and ska music to their infectious blend of punk rock. While there’s no stylistic cohesion to Sticky Rice, everything just seems to fit - fast songs and slow songs alike.

After listening to it and realizing the gap between releases, it’s pretty clear Sticky Rice was a labor of love - one that long-time fans, and folks who hear them for the first time - will dig.

new album and hits dating back to the Honest Don’s days.

“We try to put on an entertaining show so our fans keep coming

“We kept the Dixie thing going, which is a for sure way not to be on mainstream radio,” Sascha reminisced. “I think it always felt weird when we tried to play something too pop sounding.” w Instead of trying to fit into a particular mold for mainstream success, the band stayed true to themselves and continued to play music that felt right to them. On any given Caddies’ record, you could hear ragtime, reggae, New Orleans jazz, punk, ska, dixie, etc.

It’s that eclectic mix of influences that has, in my opinion, made The Mad Caddies one of the best bands of the past twenty years.

People say good things come to those who wait. They were right.

That good thing is the return of The Mad Caddies and the release of Sticky Rice.

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All Photography by Tom Judah

“We kept on working on it ‘til we felt like we weren’t repeating ourselves,” Lazor said of the new album. “We wrote, rehearsed and recorded it in the same building where we first started. It’s quite a bit different from early Caddies.

But I think the spirit is still there.”

That spirit Sascha mentions translates effortlessly into The Caddies’ live show, where there is a healthy blend of tracks off the NEW NOISE MAGAZINE

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Y

ou have two short EPs coming out in succession.

Why didn’t you release them as one larger work?

ZK: Had we done a proper LP, we would have had to put some songs on the B-side. We don’t really write B-side material, so we have to keep doing single-sided 12” EPs to keep everything on the A-side where they belong. We can’t help it; the songs are just that good.

JG: The idea is to keep releasing short EPs this year, of well-crafted stuff, just because it feels fan-fucking-tastic.

ZK: And I don’t think they are that short. Three songs clock in at like 14 or 15 minutes. I’ve released fulllength punk records that aren’t much longer than that.

is a continuation of my sound, so I didn’t gravitate, it’s a slice of the same pie. And it’s not invigorating; it’s a lot of work.

ZK: I don’t think Smalltalk should be viewed in contrast to what we’ve done in the past. Some people were shocked by this direction. I even had friends ask me if this band is a joke or something, but it feels very natural to be doing this as the next step of a very long and ill-fated musical career.

I’ve never shied away from writing pop songs, and that’s what this is. It’s the way I’ve always written. I don’t sing as gruff, there aren’t as many Chuck Berry riffs, I’m not singing about politics or socio-economics or whatever, but doing this feels right in this time and place.

What has been the most invigorating thing about writing for this band? How did you gravitate towards this sound versus your music prior to Smalltalk?

JG: For me, this is a continuation of what I personally do. Being interested in all types of music, anything I do

“People Only Die of Love in the Movies” has this romantic, slow intro. It almost has the controlled emotion of U2’s “With or Without You.” ZK: It’s interesting, you’re not the first to make a U2 comparison, and not just that song. They aren’t a band that I’ve ever wanted to sound like, not that I don’t like them, it just wouldn’t occur to [me to] cite a band like that as a reference. But I think [guitarist] Pete [Steinkopf] is a pretty big U2 guy. [Vocalist and percussionist] Tara [Jones] and [bassist] John

[Chladniček] probably too. Jamie?

JG: I hate U2.

ZK: Well, there you go, let the record show that Jamie hates U2.

“Holding Out” has a real Smiths feel, a raw story. And then “The Last Ones” has a dance-y feel, very pop, but in a street way. It feels lived, like rude boy shit. There’s also emo, indie, and punk scene influences.

ZK: Thanks. I bet you didn’t know that Jamie basically invented “emo.”

True story.

JG: Never say “rude boy shit” to me.

ZK: You see, he’s Colombian, plucked straight from the streets. He gets very emotional, his people are very passionate, they like dance beats.

The band feels very in synch, a true chemistry. Each song is like a page from a photo album…

ZK: I am drawn to songs that are conversational. I think our songs have that quality, albeit one sided.

But the songs are honest, sometimes embarrassingly so. Some friends have gone so far as to call them cringeworthy. But I like that, I think they feel intimate. It almost feels like you’re eavesdropping, or as you said, it’s like looking through a photo album of someone you don’t know.

It’s a challenge, it’s a vulnerable place to put oneself, but Jamie and I have

been stockpiling this stuff for years, so it’s good to finally have an outlet for it.

JG: Uhhhh, it’s more like each song is a Garfield panel.

How did you find this collection of wonderful people? You’d make great ‘80s music videos.

ZK: We’ve all known each other for a really long time. Jamie is one of my oldest friends. Well, we didn’t really like each other the first few years we knew each other, but I like him enough now. Known John forever now too. I think John introduced me to Pete way back in the day, which sorta led me to working with The Bouncing Souls and Chunksaah Records for almost 15 years now.

Tara is the wildcard, we’ve only known her for a few years, but she has a reputation in these parts as the nicest lady in the world. So yeah, great bunch of friends, neighbors, wonderful people, talented musicians. But I dunno, Jamie seems like he has a little poopie in his pants today.

JG: We built robots, get futuristic, fuck the ‘80s, I am a robot.

ZK: It’s not true, I don’t think a robot would drop their drum sticks as often.

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SMALLTALK INTERVIEW WITH Zak Kaplan(ZK) and Jamie Goldfarb(JG) WRITTEN BY Morgan Y. Evans

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L A B E L

S P O T L I G H T :

INTERVIEW WITH Co-Owner Bob Lugowe WRITTEN BY Hutch

Y

ou have this label, but you also work at Relapse Records?

My day job is the Director of Promotions/Marketing at Relapse Records. Relapse has been my favorite label since I first got into heavy music in high school, and has been ever since. I grew up outside of Philadelphia, so I have many fond memories of seeing bands like Mastodon, Dillinger Escape Plan, and Pig Destroyer in tiny rooms and buying hordes of CDs at the nowdefunct Relapse retail store on South Street. The job is a dream come true, and all of us who work there are extremely passionate and dedicated to our bands and the label. We all wear many hats, but I’m in charge of all the publicity, marketing, social media, radio, advertising, etc. Basically just getting people to pay attention to all of the great bands we’re putting out.

What do you want to accomplish with Brutal Panda that can’t at Relapse?

I do A&R at Relapse with a few other colleagues, but at Brutal Panda, myself and my partner Mike [Lara] are in complete control of who we sign. We are much more of a boutique label, focusing solely on vinyl (with some digital releases as well), but everything is on a

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smaller, niche scale. With Relapse, we usually release 30 plus albums a year including reissues, while with BP it’s more like three to four albums, which allows us to focus on one release at a time. Also, the musically is aesthetically different in a lot of ways. Both labels obviously specialize in heavy and dark music, but with Brutal Panda, we specialize more in the worlds of noise rock/sludge metal.

How did you get the ball rolling?

Mike and I met while we were both still in college and interning at Relapse. We were both big fans of the vinyl format and came up with the idea to launch a label that solely focused on this medium. Through our connections at Relapse and the local scene in Philadelphia, we licensed the first Fight Amp record from Translation Loss Records to press on vinyl. It did really well and we had a lot of fun with it, so next, we licensed the debut album from Ramming Speed directly from the band and their own label TDB Records. I was going to school with Jonah and Pete from the band and we were the only metal dudes around, so it was the perfect excuse to work together. Next was a split 7” with Fight Amp and Black Tusk before they were signed to Relapse, which featured artwork from John Baizley of Baroness, and that’s the one that really started to get us noticed.

What does BP offer the listener?

We’re extremely passionate music fans and vinyl collectors, so our goal is to just offer people something that we ourselves would want to buy, and to keep the prices fair and affordable. We love the chance to be able to break new artists or allow listeners to rediscover old ones. If you like one band on our roster, chances are you will like them all.

Would you discuss the 7” series?

We planned on repressing the Black Tusk/Fight Amp split 7” that we released in 2009 since it had been out of print since then, and both bands were going on tour together in Europe. We decided it would be cool to release a series of split 7”s to go along with the repress, featuring some of our favorite bands we had worked with over the years. All of the presses would be limited to our usual 500 copies, but we designated 100 copies on pink vinyl for people who chose to subscribe to all four.

It sold out in two days.

Why not continue that?

The reality is that 7”s don’t sell well. They cost a lot of money to produce and therefore cost a lot to the customer. It’s just as much work as putting together a fulllength, so the general rule is that we’d like to focus on putting out more 12”s, though we’re happy with how the series came out!

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Any hardships come along with running a label in 2014?

There are a lot of hardships to running an independent label, and [I] imagine there always have been regardless of the year and the state of the music industry. First and foremost is the time. The label is completely DIY, so we’re putting together every record, packing and shipping every single order, doing all of the press and promotion inhouse, handling customer service, etc. Doing this on top of a full-time job is a true labor of love. Besides that, the USPS continues to raise its shipping rates, so it now costs more to ship a record overseas than it does to buy one of our records. Each time this happens, we inevitably lose a few customers.

Additionally, there are way more boutique and vinyl-only labels within the realm of heavy music now than when we first started. A few of them even told us we were an inspiration, which is great, but even the most diehard music collectors still only have enough disposable income to go around.

What is coming up in 2014?

This year is going to be our busiest year yet. We finished off our split 7” series, and now are about to release the Ross Robinson produced debut EP from Wild Throne (formerly known as Dog Shredder). In April, we released a new LP from Austin, TX’s Boyfrndz, which is a bit different than our normal roster, but these guys play a truly progressive, ethereal sounding rock that we can truly get behind.

Fans of The Mars Volta and Tame Impala should take note. Then we’re doing the new Atlas Moth record this summer, which will be our first double LP and is going to contain some gorgeous packaging and vinyl colors. After that, we’ll be putting out the first proper fulllength from Philadelphia’s Ladder Devils, and then a really special new album from a cult noise rock band that we cannot yet announce.

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really, really persistent. I kept calling and bugging them and saying, “Hey I know you’re going to be out on tour, let me do stuff for you.”

I did a few things for them, and they liked them and they started using things as ALL. When Bill said, “We’re getting Descendents back together,” it took off. I’ve been working with Bill since. I think we figured out ‘91 was the first thing I did for them. It’s been a long time period. Since they toured so much back then, I was constantly doing artwork. Most of it, they used. It got to a point where I think it was just easier having me do it than asking anyone else. I keep up on deadlines really well. The artwork hopefully reflected what the music was. People really like them, they seem to sell fairly decently. Over the years, we became very good friends. Now it’s just kind of what I do. I’m just their go-to guy now.

ARTIST SPOTLIGHT

INTERVIEW WITH Chris Shary WRITTEN BY Damian Burford

Y

ou may not instantly recognize the name Chris Shary, but you have seen his work. The Northern California drama teacher is one of the most prolific punk rock artists since Raymond Pettibon. He has most recently worked with artist such as 7 Seconds, Teenage Bottlerocket, and Old Man Markley, but most importantly, Chris Shary has been the go-to artist for Descendents/ALL since 1991. Shary might not have invented the Milo logo, but in his long run with the band, he has made it into something all his own while staying true to its original spirit. We chat with Shary from his Stockton, Calif., home about he came to work for Descendents, starting a Christmas sweatshirt craze, and parodies of his work.

You’ve done some killer work over the years since starting in 1988. How did you enter the

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ration. Hopefully it was a decent enough idea and they were really happy with it. Sometimes it is a real push and pull because we can’t figure out what we want to do. It’s always through Bill and Milo that we collaborate on things.

What is your collaboration process like?

There is quite the collaboration process, at times. Usually what I do is… I’ll be aware of them playing some big festival. I’ll start on some sketches and I’ll send [them] to Bill and Milo. A lot of times, they look at the sketches and go, “Yup! This is perfect, let’s go with it.”

Then sometimes, Bill will chime in and say, “Yeah, I don’t know. This

You started the band Christmas sweater craze. How did the Descendents Christmas sweater come about?

We are definitely guilty of that!

We did the first one in 2011. It was just my idea. I always like the idea of something that looks like it is something else. For example, I had a pair of swimming trunks that were printed to look like jeans. I have some Vans that were printed to look like they had shoelaces.

That stuff is always appealing to me. Things that are not quite what they seem. I thought to myself, “I love the really ugly Christmas sweaters.” I thought, “Well, why don’t we try to do something like that.” Initially, nobody liked the idea. I told them, “Let me just do it up, you guys can look at it and maybe this will work.” I did the design, I had it totally complete, and sent it to them, and they absolutely flipped. I think it was exactly what they were hoping it would be, but something that was very unique.

There was a natural tie-in to their song “Christmas Vacation.” I didn’t

doesn’t fit really well for this show.

How about we try this.” Or Milo will chime in with, “Well, what about this?” Sometimes it is very, very collaborative as I’m sketching things up. They give their input and it kind of morphs into something that reflects not only my sensibilities, but also their interests and tastes. At this point, I know the band so well that usually I can come up with stuff that I know is going to be really suitable. A lot of times, there is very little collabo-

feel like we were stretching very much. It seemed like it was that natural overlap into their music anyway. The one suggestion that Stephen [Eggerton] had was, “What if we have Descendents on the back?” Originally, I didn’t want it to even say Descendents.

It was just going to be printed on the front of a sweatshirt and that was that. Stephen said, “I think we should probably have the name on there.” I did it in a stitch pattern and that was that. That first year,

world of punk rock illustrating?

I went to high school in England.

I was really good friends with the band The Stupids. In ‘87 or ‘88, they were starting to get really big and really popular, even in the mainstream British press. They were buddies of mine! We were skaters and we listened to American hardcore. I was also drawing a lot. I always have been drawing.

They asked me to do something for them. I did a t-shirt design and that was my first official thing. It was pretty good seeing my artwork on people’s bodies, so from there on out, I started contacting bands that I liked. I thought that since I liked them, that maybe I could help them out by doing stuff, if they are into it too. So really, The Stupids got me started.

You’re most recognized for working with Descendents/ALL. How did that first t-shirt design lead you to working with them?

Shortly after finishing high school, I moved to Denver. The Descendents had broken up just before I moved, and kept going as ALL. I thought, “They have a different singer, but it’s the same band. So, ALL is now my favorite band!” I did some drawings for them when they came through on tour in Colorado. Bill [Stevenson] had seen the artwork for it and was really pretty impressed, and asked me if I would be interested in doing something for them. I was just

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apparently King’s Road [the merchandise company] told me that it was their highest selling (in a single day) piece of merchandise they ever had. They were pretty blown away by it. At that particular time, King’s Road went through all the red sweatshirts in southern California. They had completely bought out all of the people who stock those things. They couldn’t keep up with the demand for them. So we kind of had to do them the next year. Suddenly we noticed that all these other bands were starting to do it. Last year, it was just even more so. It makes me feel really good to know that, as irritating as it might be that they are everywhere, to have bands like Motörhead and Metallica copying something that we did... That kind of feels cool in a really weird way.

If we do wind up doing one next year, I think we’re going to raise the stakes so it’s not just a printed thing, but it might be like a knit sweatshirt. I don’t know if we are going to want to do that or not.

How do you feel about the massive amount of Descendents parody merchandise?

I guess, imitation is the most sincere form of flattery, but when you really want to sell things because people immediately recognize it,

that’s a little funky. There are so many of those parodies. It’s kind of cute, but I think it seems a little played out. If I were working for another band that was interested in parodying something, I would probably go with something a little more obscure. It just gets to a point where I have seen enough of those; can we think of something else? Most of the time it’s really not a problem. I understand that it’s just bands that are big fans and that’s fine. What really was irritat@ NEWNOISEMAGS

ing was when Diamond [Supply Company] were ripping us off for a number of years. That was really irritating. It wasn’t like they were a band showing something they appreciated. It really just seemed like they were just interested in making money. They were selling the shirts, sweatshirts and hats for really super inflated prices. To me, that just seemed distasteful. They were riding on the coattails of the popularity of this band. The band saw nothing from it. I saw nothing from it. They were making a tremendous amount of money from it. I have a real problem with that.

Ordinarily, if it is just a band doing stuff, it’s kind of cute, but it’s a little played out.

How hard is it for a band to get a Chris Shary original for their merch?

It’s really pretty easy. I work with huge bands and really super tiny bands who say, “Hey man, we’re doing a cassette. Could you maybe do something for us?” I’m always happy to do stuff. My commission stuff, well it would be great to say it is all the same amount payment wise, but it’s not. If it’s a smaller band, and especially if it is a band that I am friends with, I’m always pretty willing to help them out. I think that art should be affordable.

You should also be getting what you are worth. I have people who are contacting me every week to do t-shirts or album covers or single covers or whatever. It’s very, very easy. I’ll work with virtually anybody. I’m flattered when people want me to do things for them.

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Brian Wahlstrom and Chris Cresswell talk

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s we reported in the last issue of New Noise, Joey Cape has launched a new record label called One Week Records. Its goal is to take an artist, put them in Joey’s home studio for a week, and make a recording that has a more raw, demo-like vibe. We approached inaugural artists Brian Wahlstrom and Chris Cresswell to ask each other some questions on the experience. Enjoy a look into the Caper residence, and realize that these guys watch too many movies.

As you know from my excessive texts and late-night tender voicemails, I am a big fan of your band and now your solo stuff. Did you have any anxiety going into your first solo record?

The only anxiety I’ve ever really felt in my entire life was worrying my phone would die when you and I were texting the first time. Aside from it being incredibly rude of me, could you just imagine the embarrassment? I was actually really nervous about diving into making my first solo record in the beginning.

While I’ve had some of these songs for a number of years now, I never really considered working on and putting out a full-length album. I thought I might record a few songs here and there, release them on a 7” at a time and keep it kind of in the background. But when Joey approached me last summer about One Week Records, I was floored that he thought of me as a worthy candidate. It made me realize that there was a whole other world of music out there that I could really have fun with. Joey’s the guy that opened my eyes to that.

How is writing a Chris Cresswell song different from writing a Flatliners song?

I know that when the guys and I get together to write Flatliners songs there’s always a kind of self-im70

CHRIS CRESSWELL

Photography by Andrey Ivanov

posed challenge at foot to push ourselves to do the best we can.

And for things to not get stagnant in our songwriting. That is a must for us as a group. I think from years of that kind of experience with writing music for the band, where every song starts on a single instrument and over time is cultivated and developed into a full band rendition, I’ve learned that some songs deserve to stay how they were upon their inception. Simple and quiet.

Congratulations on the Flat’s Juno nomination. Let me ask you this. Kevin Bacon is in the movie Flatliners. Flatliners is a movie, or motion picture. Juno is also a motion picture. The Rush song “YYZ” is on the album Moving Pictures. YYZ is the airport code for Toronto. What’s up with that?

Thank you sir. The Juno nod was certainly an honour that none of us expected. It was extremely sweet

of the Canadian music industry bigwigs and, of course, the Queen of England to be regarded in such a manner. Thing is, Kevin Bacon was also in Hollow Man - with Elizabeth “Shue.” If you watch carefully in the motion picture Juno, most of the time the characters are wearing “shues” all the time. Same with Rush. Every time I’ve seen them play live, in a music video (industry term for tiny motion picture with KICK ASS MUSIC IN THE BACKGROUND) or when we’re just straight up kicking it together smoking blunts, stealing cars and crushing beers, they’re always wearing “shues.” And that’s how Canadians spell your so-called “shoes” by the way. S-H-U-E-S. I think that explains everything. You’re welcome.

What was your favorite thing about staying at the Cape residence during your One Week

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session?

My favourite part must have been agreeing to Joey’s daily recommendation of “starting recording earlier tomorrow” and then sleeping in even later than the day before. By the end of it, we basically found the musical parallel to Weekend At Bernie’s. But I was alive and just sleeping. I wasn’t dead at a weird beach party being paraded around by my idiot friends. And the music wasn’t campy 80’s music with really bright horns. But still, pretty close, I’d say. I also really loved how much Joey’s dog Mochi would hang out during the recording process. She makes a pretty ripping cameo in the intro of the last song on the album, too.

Did Joey Cape display erratic, abnormal behaviors during your stay at his house? Please give us detailed examples.

You know something, I think he and I worked really well together.

There were days where we’d drink coffee in the “morning.” Well, he’d drink coffee in the actual morning and then wait around for me to wake up and he’d drink even more coffee with me. On those same days we’d start to drink whiskey around 8 or 9 at night, to pre-emptively celebrate ourselves moving forward with the record. That fairly normal schedule continued for the first few days, until we turned the tables and would have a bit of whiskey with lunch and then get lazy and just talk for an hour or so. After that we’d find ourselves playing catch-up and drinking coffee at midnight-like a couple off bat-shit psychos trying to make up for lost time. You get a couple of chatterboxes in a room together and try to make an album in a week? The perfect symbiosis of coffee and whiskey is the real hero.

One Weekers are required to draw their own album cover with a sharpie on a white piece of paper.

It was a lot harder than I thought, but I like that Joey forced us to do it. It definitely goes with the aesthetic of the label. How did you

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conceive yours and what does it mean?

I always loved a good ship-in-abottle when I was a young lad.

Something about it was so perplexing, confusing and beautiful all at the same time. The amount of time one must have spent toiling over something so delicate was always something that fascinated me. When I really started thinking about what to draw for my cover, the ship-in-a-bottle became the perfect metaphor for my first solo effort. For me, this album was quite literally years in the making and is a very important moment for me.

With this album I think people will see a much different side of me, and certainly a delicate one at that.

What occupation would you pursue if you had to do something other than music?

Other than my musical heroes, my

biggest hero has to be Lloyd Christmas from Dumb and Dumber. I can see “Limo Driver” coming up as my next exit.

Are there any other cities you would like to live in besides Toronto?

There have been times where I’ve thought living in Australia would be great. Sun all the time, everyone’s friendly and loves to hang, and koala bears get super-lifted on the regular on trees. But I think my face would hurt from smiling too much, you know?

Do you mind if I ask you a few questions?

As long as all of this is off the record, I don’t mind at all.

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BRIAN WAHLSTROM

You are one seriously talented and accomplished musician, who has had the opportunity to play alongside, collaborate with, and tour together with some other great musicians.

This is your first solo effort and the anticipation is palpable. How does it feel to step fully into the limelight for this project?

Man it feels great. I had been working on this material for a long time all the while trying to figure out an ideal circum@ NEWNOISEMAGS

wear do you ask for on your touring rider? Feel free to go into detail as to what style and colour as well.

Chris, how many times have we gone over this? None. I simply don’t believe in it.

Honestly, I’m just trying to figure out how it is possible that I’m wearing your underwear right now.

You can basically burn a piano to the ground with those fingers of yours, but you got your start in punk rock, is that right? How did you get into punk rock, and what do you think inspired you to make the transition into ‘Super Stud Piano All-Star’?

Dammit, Chris you know how much I hate the word ‘super.’

Yeah, I joined a punk band right out of high school called Hornswaggled. We were way into bands like RKL and Lagwagon and any other band that was fast and blew your eyebrows off. We were always in a race to the end of the song. The guys in the band were a bit older than me and took me in under their wing.

It was really fun. But, after five or six years we all wanted to do other things, so it ended, but we are still close friends.

I’d been playing piano off and on my whole life, but I started getting serious about it when I moved to New York for grad school. I was super broke, so I subbed a lot for the resident players at piano bars like Don’t Tell Mama’s and a few others. I still play piano bars but slowing way down on it to focus on the original stuff. It was a fun way to earn cash, but you can burn out on it pretty quick. Tony Danza.

stance to get it out there. When Joey approached me with the One Week idea, it forced me to get my shit together. I have always enjoyed supporting other people’s vision and playing for other songwriters, especially the ones that I’ve had the great fortune to work with, including you my friend. But the truth is, I have been itching to have something of my own for a while.

Every ninny on earth who has seen Anchorman seems to think that “San Diego” means “a whale’s vagina.” How does this make you, a San Diego inhabitant, feel about your fair city? And isn’t that just a load of hooey anyways?!?!?

Great question. This is a common misconception. San Diego clearly does not mean “a whale’s vagina.” What it does mean however, is the “gateway” to a whale’s vagina. Much like St. Louis is the “gateway” to the West. This is important to understand because a whale’s vagina is simply a thing, a very beautiful thing, but nonetheless a thing. San Diego represents the journey to that thing, the quest, the mystery, the glory. San Diego is the path to enlightenment through a whale’s vagina, not simply the vagina itself.

How many pairs of under-

You have a great relationship

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with Joey Cape. How did your worlds’ initially collide?

Actually, I first met him in Santa Barbara about 15 years ago the day after my band played a party in Isla Vista.

We ran into him at a breakfast spot and thought that if we bought his meal, he would run directly to his car and listen to our demo in the parking lot and vomit all over himself in excitement. Unfortunately that didn’t happen, but in true Caper fashion, he was nice and shot the shit with us for a while. Then I met him again five years ago at a friend’s wedding. We’ve been close ever since.

There is so much dynamic and depth to a piano-driven album. Did you find it challenging to make a One Week Record?

Absolutely. I mean, the name of the label alone sounds like a challenge. There is a constant voice in your head that says... “One Week Records, where there is no fucking way you can pull this off !” But really, Joey Cape is an incredible producer and he always pulls it off. I was really lucky because last year we were on the road quite a bit and ended up writing a lot of lyrics and melodies together while stuck in hotel rooms and on long van rides. He’s a true badass.

How long would you say a 5-minute walk takes in Europe?

Welllllll, a 5- minute walk is a 10 minute walk and a 10 minute walk is a 20 minute walk and a 20 minute walk is a cab ride. Cheese and bread and bread and cheese, can I get some frozen water please?

How long did it take you to choose your tie for your One Week album cover shoot?

My entire life, Chris.

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S P O T L I G H T :

XTRA MILE RECORDINGS L INTERVIEW WITH Label Founder Charlie Caplowe WRITTEN BY John B. Moore

ondon-based indie label Xtra Mile Recordings has a roster that plays like the Best Of… list for any fan of contemporary punk music.

Against Me!, Frank Turner, Drag the River, Tim Barry, Dave Hause, and on and on. The label has also recently signed The Cheap Girls, one of the best things going right now in power pop, and are making the band’s newest album, Famous Graves, their first worldwide release. With more to follow…

New Noise speaks with label founder Charlie Caplowe – the man who helped introduce Turner to the world – about his mission, watching his label’s back catalogue burn on TV, and the deafening demand for vinyl.

What made you decide to start the label?

I was handling the PR for Frank Turner’s old band Million Dead and another band, Reuben, and no labels were signing them, so I decided to start a label to release their music, as there are only so many live reviews you can ask music magazines for without an album campaign to back it up.

Were there any other independent labels in Europe or in the U.S. that you looked to for inspiration?

Stiff Records, Two Tone, Sub Pop in earlier days, and more recently XL, Domino, and Epitaph.

What was the hardest lesson to learn in starting the label?

I think I am still learning them on a daily basis. It’s a huge amount of work by a load of dedicated people to actually get from signing a band to seeing it in store [and] land on someone’s doorstep.

You were one of the very first to champion Frank Turner. Are you surprised by how much he has caught on with the rest of the world?

Not so much surprised as incredibly chuffed that someone

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like Frank – who has such a hard work ethic and remains true to who he is – can sell records around the world, and has managed to carve out his career without compromising who he is or what he does.

What do you look for in signing new bands?

Passion, self-belief without being arrogant, team players, hard grafters, [creators of] music we

that our independent distributor was using a Sony warehouse to store all of their labels’ stock. It wasn’t until I had a call from the Xtra Mile lawyer the next morning informing me we’d lost all our stock and may not be covered by any insurance that the penny dropped!

So the campaign and everyone who supported it honestly kept us afloat through that scary and almost fatal time.

The Cheap Girls’ is the first record you are putting out worldwide.

love.

Which releases have been your most successful?

Frank Turner’s England Keep My Bones has reached Gold status in the U.K. (over 100,000 sold and counting). We are currently having a great and successful time with Against Me!’s new record too, which is gaining momentum.

Do you plan on signing more U.S. bands and releasing their albums in the U.S.?

They’re the first U.S. band we have put out worldwide, and delighted we are too. We have actually put out albums by Future of the Left and Beans on Toast in North America previously. We are speaking to more bands at the moment, and the plan is absolutely to sign more and release more. We are also planning to release an album by Canadian singer/songwriter Billy the Kid. Her album was produced

by Frank Turner in London earlier this year. That should be out in the fall.

Xtra Mile has tended to release more CDs and less vinyl in the past.

Is it just too costly to put out vinyl records?

We are moving towards doing more vinyl as a label. There are certainly more people screaming at us for vinyl! It’s a fine balance sometimes.

Aside from The Cheap Girls, what other albums do you have coming out in 2014?

A debut album from U.K. singer/ songwriter Rob Lynch, who has just been confirmed for two months of the Van’s Warped Basement Tour.

Billy the Kid’s album – she is about to go on tour with Chuck Ragan in the U.K. and Europe. An album by Mongol Horde, which is going to knock the socks off anyone who dares press play!

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A lot of your inventory was destroyed in the 2011 riots during which a warehouse was burned. How was the response to your subsequent Fuck the Fire campaign?

It was amazing how every band, fans of the label, and every member of Xtra Mile staff pulled together to help us get back on our feet. I remember I was actually out of the U.K. and watching the warehouse burning on the news, and never made the connection

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space with a niche customer base for

longer than anyone would think– like a store run by cockroaches!

We have some pretty hardcore volunteers who will fight to the end.

It is hard to predict. We aren’t losing money yet!

INTERVIEW WITH Volunteer Bryan Alft WRITTEN BY Tom Haugen

G

ive us a quick history of the store’s inception.

I didn’t get directly involved with Extreme Noise until the third year, so the knowledge I have is from reading interviews and discussions I have had with the founding members.

The Twin Cities punk scene was pretty diverse at that time, and I think what is most important is that a lot of different people worked together to make it happen – Anarcho-punks from Profane Existence, straight edge people, pop punks, garage rockers, etc.

Inspiration for the store came from other attempts at collectively-run DIY record stores in New York City (Resurrection Records), and the Bay Area (Epicenter), both of which unfortunately didn’t last too long.

Money, records, and equipment were all donated to build the store up and get it ready to open. At that time in the Twin Cities, a lot of DIY punk was poorly represented in local record stores, and so the goal was to make underground punk rock available to everyone.

Extreme Noise is a non-profit venture. What happens to money made by the store?

Well, for the first few years, there was barely enough money to buy stock and keep the doors open. As we’ve become more stable, money earned has been either reinvested in stock, saved so we have a buffer in lean times, or donated. Over the years, we’ve bought sound equipment for show spaces, given a loan for a print shop that did record covers, done lots of local zine ads, sponsored a ton of shows, sponsored the local Sound Unseen music and film festival...

The store has changed locations three times, but you’ve been your current spot for over ten years.

Will that change anytime soon?

Has there been talk of a second

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store?

Well, the first store was a dump!

Barely any heat, bad landlord. The second store was a cool, big space, and we put a lot of work into it and were able to do shows in the basement, but that landlord was a racist weirdo who hung around all the time and spied on us. So, we moved to our current location because it was a good deal in exchange for doing a lot of work on it – including installing all the heat and a/c. We have considered moving, but even as the rent increases, we stay because we have a lot invested in the space and because people know us in this location. We will move when we are priced out of this location, but stay as long as we can. I doubt we could ever handle a second store!

You guys are close to some rough areas and next door to a cowboy outfitter. Any good stories of strange walk-ins?

The area has calmed down quite a bit since we moved in. We have had a break-in that was apparently just to score some punk t-shirts, which was weird. Certainly people walk in because they are confused about which door they are entering, and have that look of surprise as they hear the blaring music and see the shirts, and turn around and leave.

a shift, but only so many spots. I’d say the majority of new volunteers last less than six months. A lot disappear really quickly. But, a small percentage stay, and we have slowly

built a pretty solid line-up of people.

Some folks have been working a weekly shift for a really long time.

Probably the most notable would be Mark, who works Wednesday and Thursday shifts each week, and has been working shifts since the beginning!

Have you shifted the focus of your stock to keep the store afloat in the digital age?

The formats we focus on have shifted, and we carry a lot more metal, and music that is on the periphery of punk or hardcore.

The taste of the local scene has broadened over the years, and we are here to serve the community, so we have adapted. We barely sell CDs any longer. Vinyl sales are down from the ‘90s peak, but up from the low point in 2006. At that point, we figured our days were numbered, but then vinyl became cool again and fancy reissues and metal records starting selling well.

Definitely a lot less young kids come in and buy punk records. Either they don’t care about punk, or they don’t care about owning records or CDs. Either way, eventually, this will mean less income for the store as the older punks lose interest. Extreme Noise will probably exist in a smaller

Twenty years is nearly unheard of for a punk/hardcore record store.

How do you account for Extreme Noise’s longevity? Were you ever close to closing?

We were close to failing at the second location, and our sales dropped shockingly [low] around 2006. But, we have stuck it out largely because we have a pretty dedicated foundation of volunteers.

I think our location in the upperMidwest isolates us a bit, but also makes us a destination for punks from all the surrounding states and the Winnipeg area. This means we always get a new influx of people moving here to help out, and customers driving in for the weekend to buy records and go to shows.

Any big celebrations planned for your 20th anniversary?

In April, we did a weekend of shows and a film showing focusing on the early ‘90s Twin Cities scene from which Extreme Noise was formed.

On June 21 and 22, we will have weekend shows in a big tent in Minneapolis. Bands playing include: Los Crudos, Organism (Japan), Cleveland Bound Death Sentence (third show ever!), Banner Pilot, Mean Jeans, Question, Gas Rag, Kontrasect, Pillage, Varix, Iron Lung, Lebenden Toten, Radioactivity, Frozen Teens, and Condominium.

There will be a dunk tank, Hi-Striker – carnival-type stuff – as well as a punk art show in back of the store, and more. The shows are our gift to our customers and will be $5 a day in a big parking lot so everyone can get in. Lastly, we are doing another weekend in October. Bands of the same caliber, but things are still in the works on this one. Check www. extremenoise.com or our Facebook page for more info.

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Has it been difficult to find reliable people to help with day-to-day operations?

The punk scene is full of unreliable people, but there are also a lot of really dedicated people who pull most of the weight in the DIY scene. We never kept track of how many volunteers we have had, but it has been 40-50 at any time, for 20 years, with a decent amount of turnover… Hundreds of people by now, I suppose. There is always a waiting list of people who want

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On the lam all Summer long!

See when they’ll be hitting your town at fatwreck.com/tour New album M.I. out now!

fatwreck.com

new from

fat wreck chords Debut full length! 6/10/14 Spike Slawson of the GIMMES fronts San Francisco’s premier Ukulele Punk cover band!

with

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COMMONWEALTH PRESS INTERVIEW WITH Artist/Owner Dan Rugh & World’s Scariest Police Chases Dan Rock WRITTEN BY Hutch

Let’s start with the name. Why Commonwealth?

Rugh: “Common Wealth.” It is such a foundational concept. I wanted the name to feel like it had been around for a century and stood for something solid and honest. We had been booking shows and designing all kinds of stuff for bands already. I really wanted something that felt all encompassing. Shannon, my wife and 50% owner, is from Virginia, which is also a commonwealth.

Once we said “CommonWealth Press” out loud, it was like a bell.

Rock: I wanted him to call it “Dan’s Shirts.”

Rugh: That is not even true. At the time, I was naming the company “Dan Rock was stealing my art from the web.” True story. That is how we first met.

Pittsburgh. I see a decayed city, living in the shadows of empty mills. Tough streets and working class families dwell among the remnants of an American era gone. How accurate is that?

Rugh: It is pretty solid if we are talking 30 years ago. There is certainly a lingering work ethic from that time, but this city has made an incredible recovery since then. It is gorgeous and always making those “most livable city” lists and stuff like that. I honestly would like to talk shit so nobody moves here and ruins it, but this place is beautiful, cheap, small enough to be cool and big enough to be busy. There is a decent art scene, good bands, great food, local beer, and enough support to do what you want to do as long as you do it well.

What are some of the thriving features of Pittsburgh?

Rock: As Dan Rugh mentioned, the only thing that remains from that era of Pittsburgh is the work ethic and blue-collar mentality it created.

Pittsburgh is a Mecca of technology, education, and health care now. No 76

longer smoky and polluted. People are definitely proud of this city and rebound from that bygone era.

Rugh: It is true. Google opened a main office here to snag CMU students. Startup incubators are all over pumping money into robotics and software and who the hell knows what. Hell, I’ve seen Dan Rock at a bar, wanting to fight dudes who said they didn’t really like Pittsburgh. It’s not like they were even insulting the town, just saying that they didn’t totally love it. He wanted to kill them.

Rock: That’s true. Fuck those guys.

Rugh: See? On your site, you say, “We couldn’t be happier you found us,” and, “We are small. We rely on referrals.”

Why choose this approach?

Rock: As we mentioned earlier, there is a strong blue-collar work ethic in Pittsburgh. We aren’t flashy, and we have a $0 ad budget. We don’t have much choice but to do the best work we can and hope people tell their friends about us.

Rugh: The $0 budget is 100% true initially, but the word of mouth thing is such a solid method in anything.

Plus, it became a great way to know that the folks you are working with are likeminded. You are one degree of separation from them. Usually helping each other grow in whatever you are aiming to accomplish, back to the original concept – “common wealth.”

Would you talk about the corn imagery? I don’t associate Pittsburgh with corn…

Rock: Dan Rugh is a hick from the woods; he loves corn.

Rugh: Yeah, I grew up in the outskirts of Punxsutawney, PA. Dad was a farmer, his dad [too], there are cornfields everywhere. Plus, when I started CWP, I had this concept of starting an entire new way of life. I used corn as a crop for its ability to grow anywhere. It is the first crop of

a society that is planning to set and stay. Kind of a burn your boats and survive kind of thing.

When did you start and how fast did you grow? What is your bread and butter –Little Leagues and family reunions?

Rock: Being a small city, it is easy to get heavily invested in your neighbors and your community. We do a ton of work with other people and businesses in Pittsburgh. We get startups and people trying to get their own thing going. It is awesome and inspiring to work with super passionate people all the time.

Rugh: I started in my basement in 2002, officially. It was all bands then.

The great thing was as they got bigger and busier, so did I. Dudes would come through Pittsburgh, pick up an order, play a show, and out to Cleveland, or Chicago, or Richmond the next day. We would load them with stickers and start getting emails from those cities. Once we moved out of the basement, we started getting more local business. Folks knew we existed and we went from barely any local work to about 90% real fast. Our bread and butter now is small businesses like us. We also have a small retail shop that we sell our own line of stuff out of, so that helps shoulder some weight when the custom orders dip (and vice versa).

How did punk shape your approach to this business?

Rock: Everything we do and how we do it is based on our punk rock roots.

I met Dan Rugh through the punk scene. All our early work came from friends in bands. I grew up listening to punk rock and used to work at A-F Records. Commonwealth Press printed all our shirts. I eventually came to work here and flipped roles in that relationship with A-F. I also play in Worlds Scariest Police Chases on A-F Records. Did we mention Pittsburgh is a small city?

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Incestuous too...

Rugh: As far as punk rock, it defined the way I look at the world from early on. The first punk tape I ever got – a dubbed version of the first Suicidal Tendencies release that my brother-in-law brought home from college – changed everything, not just musically or business, but my entire view on the whole damn thing. Just knowing that was out there opened the doors to so much more. I grew up so far from anything, that each little tape that leaked in was precious. Having that foundation also strips things down to what is necessary and what is not, in all aspects. Do what you can with what you got. Also, Dan Rock is incestuous. It is gross.

Rock: Don’t judge me.

What artists influence you? When you were younger and now?

Rugh: Generally, I’m influenced by cartoons and comic books.

Way back, I was into Tom and Jerry to a level that still affects the way I draw hands. Bill Watterson.

Glen E. Friedman. Frank Frazetta.

Once I saw VCJ’s work and all the Powell Peralta decks, those blew my mind. It also opened the door to the whole concept of production.

That totally solidified my interest in screen-printing. It gave me an early appreciation for pop art. I also dug old album covers as well. I remember this one Elton John record my mom had and this little pot of gold was pooping gold coins, but really tiny off in one corner. It baffled me.

I loved it. Current artists? I dig McBess, Mike Budai, Pendleton Ward, Paul Zdepski, Scott Benson, then like a whole shit list of dudes I found on Instagram. Porkchop out of Asbury Park. Strawberry Luna, (and not just because I love them as people). I will stop before this turns into a list of my friends.

Rock: Growing up as young punk kid, I dug Pettibon, Winston Smith, the guys doing the album covers of the records I loved. I really dug Rob Dobi’s stuff for a while and currently Horse Bites is my favorite artist designing for bands. Also, Mitch Clem just did our album cover and he crushed it.

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I

want to change the way you look at records.

There is much more to an LP than having it look totally cool on your shelf when your friends come over.

The album cover alone is one of the most underappreciated art forms in today’s culture, even though they are literally everywhere you look. Nobody really notices anymore and that’s a pity, because album artwork and production has only gotten better and stronger over the last 10 years, bringing back those of us who connect to music with more than our ear canals. Think of it like a pair of boobs. Sure, they look nice on the shelf and are great display pieces, but it’s not until you crack ‘em open to get a better look, feel, and smell that you get the full experience and truly appreciate them for what they are. For anyone not interested in boobs, replace that with any body part you are attracted to. Same idea.

This will not be a series of album reviews. Fuck, for the purposes of this column, I could really give a shit what’s actually in between those variants, Color grooves. special packaging, album art and other forms of creativity outside of the actual music will be discussed and dissected.

This might be a niche column, but those packaging nerds out there will feel me on this. My goal is to get you to give a fuck about the entire process that goes into making a record.

F R A M E W O R K S

L O O M

(Topshelf Records)

First up, we have a release from one of my favorite labels, Top Shelf Records.

I had been waiting for this release for quite a long time and when it finally came, I became filled with joy because I had no idea what to expect.

Frameworks, LOOM came to me well packaged (like all Top Shelf albums) and when I opened it I found, to my surprise, what appeared to be a die cut cover with the album title cut out like it were a stencil. This was just foreplay, however, as I pulled out the record and noticed that the entire front face was in fact cut out so the insert with the artwork featuring the purple clouds popped through. Beautiful. On the backside of the album we have a gorIt’s all about aesthetic here and geous, lightly embossed, glossy black I’ve got a couple choice nugs track listing and label logo sitting on from my personal collection to top of a matte back board. If you asked start this thing off... me for my favorite color combination, the answer you’d get would be a very

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loud and wet war cry from me saying, “BLACK ON BLACK, MOTHERFUCKER!” This just does it for me in so many ways. It should be noted that only the first pressing of this album comes with a die cut cover, and as of writing this, there are only a few left so swoop in on that!

a cream copy and it looks absolutely dreamy with the black and purple color scheme. It’s definitely something you should have picked up. If you didn’t, better luck next time, dork.

The first pressing of 1037 copies comes in 4 different color variants; 107 gray with black and white splatter copies, 159 cream copies, 259 180 gram black copies, and 510 translucent purple copies. I was lucky enough to grab

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SIGNALS MIDWEST - LIGHT ON THE LAKE

we have your standard clear variant which no vinyl pressing should be without, (between clear and cokebottle, you can hardly ever go wrong); and finally, on the left hand side, the cleverly titled “Sludge,” representative of the scum and other disgusting shit found in and around Lake Erie. Personally, this is my favorite one. It’s white with a bit of green/grey marbling. Truly, a

beautiful looking record.

As an added bonus, this preorder came with a silkscreened poster featuring lyrics from the song “A Glowing Light, An Impending Dawn.” It’s a nice addition to an already complete package.

Unfortunately, I BELIEVE they are no longer available. So if you didn’t pick one up, tough shit.

(Tiny Engines Records)

Finally, we have the third fulllength album from Signals Midwest, Light on the Lake. From Tiny Engines, this junior release got a solid layout and design treatment by Jeff Finley, famous graphic designer/all around solid dude from Go Media Inc. The cover features photography of what I can only assume is an industrial waterfront district in Cleveland, Ohio, as well as some beautiful hand lettering – hand lettering is basically type or words that someone uses a “pencil” or “pen” to “draw” – centered around a foil-stamped flame. You heard me right, foil-stamped. This shit

shines like sunlight hitting a shiny copper penny. It adds a little something extra to the cover to make it super special. It’s the little things, ya know?

I purchased all four color variants on vinyl during the pre-order like some sort of nerd with an infinite amount of bitcoin. Starting from the top and going clockwise: up top, we have a version called “Lake,” an opaque, murky blue with hints of lighter blue to represent, you guessed it, the lake; immediately to its right is the “Light” variant, which looks more like a melted traffic cone (in a really cool way); on the bottom, Thanks for listening to me nerd out. I hope you enjoyed our time together. Stay tuned, because there will be more from me in the future as I discover new and awesome records that cry out for reverently detailed explanations.

You can find both of these albums easily with a quick google search.

Support indie labels. Support major

labels.

Support

artists

directly. Just fucking support some shit. Those digital downloads you love so much could come with a nice vinyl copy for around the same price, and you ACTUALLY GET SOMETHING TO TOUCH! Crazy, right? Anyway, it’s 5:35 AM and I’ve got a magazine to lay out (the one you’re currently reading.)

.....

Catch ya on the B-side.

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elcome to Power From Hell, the brand-spanking new column dedicated to all things metal thrashing mad. From classic speed to the resurgence of crossover and everything in between, the aim of the game is to keep thrashers and non-thrashers alike up to date with the latest news, releases, and tours, all the while paying much deserved attention to the beating heart of underground diehards. Now, keeping in line with thrash’s sense of hedonistic urgency, it’s time to open a fresh beer and begin.

First up, Germany’s own masters of party-thrash, Tankard, have released a preview track “Fooled by Your Guts” from their upcoming R.I.B. LP on Nuclear Blast. Initially released via Youtube, the single will also enjoy a split 7” with German thrash/speed legends Destruction. If that’s not a good start to the month, I don’t know what is.

In fact, May will be one of the greatest 30 days in recent thrash history, beginning with Norway’s Deathhammer crossing the Atlantic at long last to desecrate the East Coast with their raw and toxic blackened thrash. Starting at The Acheron in Brooklyn on May 9 (with Sadistic Intent, Natur, and Iron Force), they’ll venture north to Montreal, then snake their way south to Atlanta by the May 21. Which leads us straight into America’s ultimate metal event, Maryland Deathfest, running from May 22-25 and featuring none other than the finally re-formed, unequivocal legends Dark Angel.

Yes, that’s right, the L.A. Caffeine Machine, arguably the only band to give Reign In Blood a run for its unrelenting speed-fuelled riffery. Throw in performances

by Tankard, Final Conflict, and the return of U.K.’s death/thrash old-timers Cancer, and it seems wise to prepare for bangovers and hangovers galore. No pain, no gain.

Speaking of live assaults from the patriarchs of aggression and speed, Danish riffmasters Artillery are set to destroy Europe this July coheadlining with the ever-mighty Onslaught. And if that wasn’t enough, the fine people over at Southern Lord have announced the re-release of Excel’s seminal debut Split Image on vinyl (the first time since 1987, no less!) with alternative artwork AND bonus tracks just in case the re-pressing wasn’t awesome enough. Shaking in your hi-tops with excitement?

There’s more.

limited edition pre-order item, which includes their third demo Refuse to Quit on the b-side.

One final blast-from-the-past comeback revelation worthy of a quick deathgrunt is the return of Chilean deathrash cult Atomic Aggressor, whose new record Sights of Suffering is set to be unleashed by HHR following their return to the live scene in 2007.

Expect buzzsaw, sepulchral thrash of the highest Sudamerican order!

Since we’ve now delved deeper into the necrotic crypts of underground thrash, clutch your bullet belts for Serbian brutal speedmachine Infest. Not to be confused with the legendary powerviolence act, the Serbian thrashers fire on all cylinders with their April released Cold Blood War, comfortably filling the niche between Vader, Dark Angel, and Merciless. Jumping back over to the Americas, Sacrificio have teamed up with the bastions of diehard metal NWN! Productions and Iron Bonehead, and are releasing a promo cassette of their upcoming record via Down With the Most High Productions.

The polarized opposite of Infest’s refined machinery, Sacrificio invoke proto-blackened insanity by way of South America and Eastern Europe – think Sarcofagomeets-Tormentor.

In a similar vein, Portland’s Cemetery Lust operate in contrast to any Portlandia-esque notions of pleasantry, and spew a particularly rabid concoction of Teutonic thrash and proto-black/death with their upcoming sleaze-filled Orgies of Abomination LP on HHR – a breed of filthy thrash that would mesh well with the U.K.’s Satanic Dystopia.

These Mancunian scumbags have been fouling the post-industrial North with their sludgy, d-beat thrash-isms for a couple of years now, and their Double Denim Shotgun Massacre full-length is still making waves one year after its official release, (Fenriz approved, too).

Until next time, thrash on...

Those with quick mouse-clicking reflexes can also find themselves in possession of a replica of the Personal Onslaught demo, as a 80

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