[colored_box color=”yellow”]“Djent is not an infant anymore and ergo. It has obtained some defining characteristics that make it what it is.”[/colored_box]
SlaveEATgod: The band which is now about to shake the underground musi scene of Greece. With a unique style, a mixture of djent with metalcore, the band’s latest record, ‘The Skyline Fission’, is a must have for everyone keen on the newest metal genres. SlaveEATgod, recently gave an interview with Metalpaths.com, discussing everything to get the fans attention on the band, right after their successful presentation of the record on An club.
– Kostas Tsotsanis
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Greetings from Metalpaths.com and congratulations for your latest release. ‘The Skyline Fission’ is finally ready. How do you feel about the second full-length work of the band now that the album is finished?
Howdy! Τhank you so much for your kind words. I must admit it felt pretty tiresome to get this record ready since the compositional and recording processes are never expected to be easy. Currently, we feel jolly good and very satisfied with the final result. We absolutely love this record.
Tell us a few facts about the record’s recording sections and the work done while creating the tracks.
I’ll start with the compositional process if I may since I find it a usually lengthy one that defines the rest of the steps to an important extent. So, initially our main composer and bass player Stelios develops his ideas and once he’s got down a fully structured song, the rest of us might try to change a thing or two (unless we get life threats even if we utter such an intent, that is). CRS’s input is mainly on the production and orchestration, Joni enriches the drum patterns suggested (usually to a nicely mind-boggling result) while I might create variations of some riffs, change the initial guitar leads, add the solos and write the lyrics. Of course, in this record we had the privilege to have the unmatchable Jon Howard on vocals, mix and mastering. His contribution to this record is truly invaluable. As for the technical part of the actual recording, tracking and basic editing were done at CRS’s Growl Studios in Athens, Greece while mixing and mastering were held in Jon’s Woodward Studios in Ontario, Canada.
The record is a lovely mixture of core with djent, including both break-downs with clean vocals and some more extreme moments. As far as the music direction is concerned, how did you conclude into this one for this record?
It just happened naturally I guess. There are a lot of djent bands among our favorite ones (and in our daily playlists). Therefore, these bands along with our melodic death, metalcore and modern thrash influences contributed to the sculpting of our sound.
Was djent a goal of yours since the very first moments as a band, or did you just want to approach modern metal generally at first? I am asking because of the many influences popping out of this record and the differences with your previous one.
I wouldn’t say that we consciously aimed at sounding more djenty or djent-esque. It just happened due to our listening habits and their having become richer. As for our first record “Blank Core Inn”, the sound is indeed different but please don’t forget that this record was released in late 2010, which means that its track-list was composed and recorded between 2008 and 2010. Luckily, our sound has evolved a lot since then and there have been line up changes. However, I still find our debut record a good and honest one and I’m pretty sure none of us would denounce it.
There is the belief that djent has been put on ice the last years. Do you agree with the specific statement? Do you think djent repeats itself?
I would rephrase this statement claiming that-figuratively speaking- djent is not an infant anymore and ergo, it has obtained some defining characteristics that make it what it is. So, although it might be harder to be surprised by it to as big an extent as it used to be in its first days, I wouldn’t be so harsh as to accuse this genre of dully repeating itself.
Which djent bands or generally modern sounding band do you admire and why?
Personally, I like Monuments, Textures, Tesseract and Animals as Leaders. I find that all four bands have managed to write great, catchy songs without sacrificing their more progressive side. Needless to say that I truly admire their technical skills and tightness as well. Yet, I remain a fan of Lamb of God, Threat Signal and Fear Factory just to name a few non djent favorites. Imo, these bands have achieved a unique sound and have managed to combine technical, tasty riffing with inspired melodies.
Europe is the continent where metal bands usually embrace an older or vintage metal sound and reincarnate classic metal genres like heavy metal or thrash. SlaveEATgod belongs to the other side, the side which always looks forward and never back. What do you think of this setback in music?
Obviously, many bands feel that they can express themselves better with a vintage metal sound than with something contemporary. This is absolutely fine by me because I am a fan of several retro sounding artists/bands (e.g. Morgan Delt, Uncle Acid and The Deadbeats, etc.) and I dig it when vintage sound is reproduced in a well-crafted way. What’s more, in my humble opinion, the different music genres are a result of the aesthetics shaped in every period and spring from social needs and situations which I cannot put my finger on since I’m not a practicing musicologist :P. So, if the aforementioned situations last for a longer spell, so will the genres in question. A very special trait that is almost certainly observed in rock music however is that people tend to react to the dominant sub-genre of every preceding period and this is why we had punk after progressive rock or grunge rock after 80’s glam rock, etc. Again, this is highly subjective and open to discussion.
Your lead singer, Jon Howard (Threat Signal) lives in Canada. How did you manage to create the record with your lead singer outside Greece and how did he join the band at first?
The miracle of technology. When we were searching of a singer for “The Skyline Fission”, we contacted Jon on Facebook since we have always been great fans of his work and asked if he would be interested in working together for this record. Luckily he liked our music and although his schedule is extremely hectic, he accepted to do it. We truly feel blessed for this cooperation.
Because of Jon Howard, will the band take a break from the live appearances and only perform live when possible, or are you planning a tour outside Greece to help with the promoting of the record?
We definitely don’t plan any break from live shows. Certainly, promoting “The Skyline Fission” outside Greece is pretty high on our priority list and we are trying our hardest to make it happen.
With your contribution to the record, we were expecting a lot great guitar solos. Did you participate in the song’s composing too or did you only composed and recorded the lead guitars?
As I said in the second question, I am not the main composer of Slaveatgod but there are a few parts that we figured together with Stelios and the rest of the guys. Lead guitars and lyrics were my main role.
What are the next goals for SlaveEATgod?
Promote “The Skyline Fission” as hard as we can, play as many gigs possible, create another record we consider as a killer and don’t get too silly when drunk :P.
Finally, a message from the band to your fans!
Hello my friends! Thank you so much for your support through the years. Hardly could we describe how important, moving and motivational it is to us. Feel free to join us on Facebook. Oh! And you may order your very own copy of “The Skyline Fission”, here. Much love!