Irish alternative metallers Words That Burn are about to undertake a mini Scottish tour covering Glasgow, Perth and Edinburgh between October 5th-7th. Words That Burn released their debut album Regret is for the Dead through WormHoleDeath Records last year to great acclaim and we are very lucky to have them on these shores. At each show, they have enlisted support bands of the highest order including Centrilia, Titan Breed, Satiracy and Somaesthesia.
Before they arrive on these shores, I caught up with vocalist Roni and asked about what we can expect from the live shows, their plans for the near future and finding out that we all have a soft spot for Justin Timberlake.
Simple things first – how did you meet?
Ger and I played in other bands going way back. Shane was introduced to the band through an old drummer of the band. When that drummer left, Jason was one of the guys the auditioned for the spot. There was no contest!
How long have you been playing as a band?
The band started in 2011 but the current line-up is going since 2014.
What are your influences?
We all have our individual influences from Smashing pumpkins to Sepultura – but collectively, and particularly right now, bands like Architects, While She Sleeps, Deftones, Parkway Drive and Gojira are big influences in our writing.
Describe your music. What makes you unique?
I guess we’re dubbed as alternative metal or melodic metal, for the last album anyway. I think it’s the mish-mash of the influences and the way we play that makes us unique. We come from different backgrounds so that definitely resonates in the sound.
Do you have any particular lyrical themes?
Yes, but more so on a song per song basis as opposed to a concept for an album. Our album Regret is for the Dead explores a spectrum of subjects from religions ideology to self-hatred to war to love. A concept or singular themed album is quite difficult to nail lyrically without repeating yourself over and over. I think the individual songs we have on Regret… stand quite strongly as individual pieces without the need of any re-iteration. So when we were looking for a title for the album, Regret is for the Dead seemed to fit everything lyrically.
What’s your live show like? How many shows have you played?
Too many to count. Hundreds at this point. We try and engage with the crowd as much as we can and make sure everyone is having as much fun as we are!
What’s the wildest thing you’ve seen or done at a live show?
Our shows have been described as explosive on a number of occasions, but we don’t do anything too crazy to be honest – although it’s sometimes hard to remember what you did in the middle of an adrenaline buzz. We’re not that band that jumps of the top of the PA and lands on their head and comes up pissing with blood – DEP have that covered! Apart from maybe having too many drinks on occasion we’re pretty much all about giving the crowd the best experience we can.
Your album Regret is for the Dead has been out for over a year now. With the imminent Scottish tour coming up, will your fans get to hear any new songs? Are you ready to record new material?
Shane, our guitarist, is always writing, more so in the last few months than before. We’ve talked about starting to put together some songs for a release next year. We have one new track that we will be performing on the Scotland dates. We’ve played it a few times live already and it’s getting a great response so I cant wait for ye to hear it.
As previously stated, the album has been out for longer than a year now. Is there anything that you would change now that you have had the chance to reflect on it?
That’s hard to answer because if we changed anything it wouldn’t be the same album. So I guess the answer is no. If the response that it got was terrible and people hated it, then maybe my answer would be different but they seem to love it so we can’t complain. Our producer Jonathan Mazzeo in Mathlab Studios in Italy spent long hours with us to get the best out of us performance-wise and then he spent months in post-production. We then sent it to Alan Douches in West-West Side Studios in NYC (Mastodon, KSE, Nile, Architects) to master it and when it came back, it sounded better than we could have ever imagined.
The sound of the album I felt was perfect and very clear, allowing each instrument to be heard but to remain brutal at all times. Was it difficult to find the sound that you wanted and how did you find the place to record your album?
The studio was provided to us by our label WormHoleDeath. While we were writing and in pre-production we spent a few months going back and forth with them to decide on the overall sound of the album.
On the subject of touring, is it difficult for everyone to get away from their day job and maybe do a tour in Europe?
Not really. We know what has to be done and book everything with enough time to arrange time off. To organise a tour properly takes months anyway so it’s always in good time.
If you were second on a three-band bill, which band would you love to be supporting and which band would you choose to open for you? A chance to plug someone you’ve toured with, or a mate’s band we’ve not heard of before!
We’d love to support Architects and have Metallica open for us!
How often is the band able to get together and rehearse and what are the facilities in your home town like for studios and recording?
We have our own practice room and studio so we’re pretty lucky from that point of view. We try to jam at least once a week. When we get into the demoing stages for an album or EP we probably spend more time in the studio than the practice room
Are there any bands in your local scene that you would recommend?
So many!! The scene here in Ireland is unreal. Where do I begin… This Place Hell, Sixth Extinction, Dead Label, Hero In Error, Call to Arms, Dream Awake, Zhora, Ten Ton Slug, Two Tales Of Woe, Jenova, Theories Divide, Symptoms Of Silence, Heel Of Achilles, Making Monsters, Antidotes, Pain In Vain… way too many.
A fun question to end this interview. If you were a DJ and were allowed to bring 5 CDs to the party, what would they be?
I’ll have to give you my actual party Top 5 singles – ‘cos it’s a real thing:
(this will really separate the crowd haha!)
- Rob Zombie – Dragula
- Animal Alpha – Bundy
- The Raconteurs – Steady As She Goes
- OutKast – Ms Jackson (ooooh)
- Justin Timberlake – pick one, they are all good!!!
Any last message for our readers here at Moshville Times?
Thanks for reading about Words That Burn!
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