Ελληνικά
Last Updated on 11:37 AM by Giorgos Tsekas
Greetings! This is Greece and Metal Invader calling. How are things for you guys right now?
Hello Metal Invader! Things are going very well right now. Our schedule is starting to get busy again, and new release is coming out. We are really excited for the entire process to come.
After I just listened to the forthcoming album “Angels are weeping…God has abandoned” I stand still somehow astonished yet curious. What are your musical backgrounds and influences? The band started in 2005; your debut album came one year after, entitled “In The Ruins, No Light Shall Shine”. What were your expectations and ambitions by the time this one came out? Were you in agony of what was due to happen afterwards?
Thank you for the kind words! We all have very broad range of influences which range from Jazz, prog, 60’s and 70’s psychedelic rock, doom, classical, metal etc. You name it really, we’re all very open minded. The goal of When the Deadbolt Breaks was always to avoid being captured as one solid style, but to always have our own unique sound. So, we believe all of our influences come through in what we do. All three of us; Mike, Dumas and myself, have been in the music scene for most of our adult lives, playing in various bands. And we’ve known each other since childhood for the most part and it just seemed to make sense for us to work together in this band. Our studio time was all about experimentation and jamming on what felt right. I own my own studio, so time is not an issue. Even though members have changed over the years, that part… has remained the same. Experimentation. Which, I’ve always felt is an extremely important part to what we do.
It is quite difficult to put a label on your music, and even though I’m not very fond of labels, I would like to hear how would you describe your music?
I like that it’s hard to label us. I take that as a huge compliment! I feel its eclectic, psychedelic and heavy, but there are parts of beauty with an underlying sadness and extreme darkness. Most of which is not on purpose, it’s just what happens when we write for this band. It’s therapeutic to a large extent. Labels are cool and all, but I feel like its best when the listener decides what to call it.
Your forthcoming record is coming via Sliptrick records in the near future. How did this collaboration come up?
When we were finishing the new record, we really felt that this needed be heard. We were and are very proud of what we have created here. So we started shopping the record to some labels and had some positive, not so positive responses. Sliptrick was extremely inviting and responsive. We feel that they have the tools and the vision to help push the record in the right direction.
All of your songs are pretty much 15-minute long. Aren’t you afraid that some people get easily bored with such a length?
No, we’re not afraid of that at all. Some tunes we have are far longer than 15 minutes. However, we do what we can to not time them. When we play live, they can be far longer. Even though the songs are long, they are constantly evolving. In the same way maybe a classical song would. The evolution may be slight, a note here, a hit there or extending a section, but its there. It’s ok if people get bored, its art, and art is subjective. Yet we certainly do what we can to avoid writing boring songs. Over the years, I’ve had people say that they liked certain things about the band, and not other things. Some people have said that they have no idea what they like about it, but they are drawn to it. And that is all good! Everyone has his or her own insight and interpretation. We dig it.
What about your live performances? What should someone expect from a When The Deadbolt Breaks show?
We consider our live shows to be an experience, not just a concert. It’s not about us as people or musicians; it’s about the emotion, the feeling, the wall of sound and the heavy. Bring earplugs. One of our favorite challenges playing live is reinterpreting our songs to be played by only 3 instruments and vocal. We wrote the album how we wanted it to sound as far as overdubs and creating atmosphere, but obviously we can’t do it all live. Fans aren’t subject to us simply hitting play on a backing track.
What are your plans for the upcoming year, after the album is released of course?
Thank you so much for your time! I really hope to see you sometime in Greece.
We are excited about this new record, Angels are weeping… God has abandoned… as well as our new partnership with Sliptrick Records. We plan to get out and promote the record as much as possible, and are currently working on booking tour for early next year. As for now, we have a list of shows we are doing on the east coast of the US. Thank you so much for taking the time to speak with us! We appreciate the chance to spread the word and be heard. Someday, we will make it to Greece and we’ll share a beer!
