Happy Friday! Celebrate by checking out an artist you may not have encountered before. Give your ears the gift of Fatal Switch…
Simple things first – where are you guys from?
We are from la belle province of Quebec, in the city of Montreal, Canada.
How did you meet?
Oddly enough, it was only after I had recorded our debut album Doctors & Demons that I actually found the official members of Fatal Switch. And though the order of things was a bit backwards everything turned out really well. Without making forward progress at all costs by using session musicians, I would never have had a finished product with which I used to find the official members who take the project to new heights. And the killer songs we have been creating wouldn’t exist. So, in a way we all meet as a by-product of the first record. Using my songs as a business card I scraped the internet and sourced the band through online ads. And that’s how we meet.
How long have you been playing as a band?
We first formed at the end of 2018 to learn the material off the first album so that we could promote it live while we built the Fatal Switch brand. Since then we have worked with marketing, management, PR, videographers, photographers, illustrators, designers and many more to build our image. All of which are elements have been very much part of playing together as we navigate the many facets of the industry.
Before you get sick of being asked… where does the band name come from?
I never get sick of that question because it has such depth. I can always and easily find a different response each time which is always fun.
So, Fatal Switch. First and foremost, it comes from a place of duality. It is meant to represent the bad in good and the good in the bad. We are quick to judge things we don’t understand, follow blindly without question and this a tool of manipulation that is constantly used against us. We need to pause our emotions and use logic to determine what is a Fatal Switch. Does it represent the devil selling us his gospel disguised under god’s smile? If so, then we have to decide if the devil is in fact evil, a friend or a foe of man. Is he a Hades type figure, someone to guide us into the next life or is he the sinister villain other books make him out to be? Were evil deeds created by God or the Devil? Is a Fatal Switch a good or a bad thing? Does from the ashes rise the phoenix? Does the death of oneself cause us to become an Übermensch on a path of positivity or one of egocentricity? These are the types of questions from where the existence of Fatal Switch comes from. It an ancient idea put into a combination of two words that has become my representation, my statement that begs those who see it to question it… and everything.
What are your influences?
Anything good. To be honest it can range from classical to industrial, alternative, rock, hip hop, metal, punk, trip hop. I mean Moonlight Sonata by Beethoven is one of my favourite songs and you can catch me listening to anything from Daft Punk to Radiohead to Rage Against The Machine all in the same playlist. I also love motion picture scores as well; Hans Zimmerman has some amazing and inspirational music. And of course, our influences can fall outside of music into any form of art.
Describe your music. What makes you unique?
A combination of things makes us unique. First and foremost, keeping the integrity of a traditional rock and metal song to which, I added thought-provoking hip-hop lyrics to me is something different in itself. I didn’t try and change the sound of what the instrumentation would sound like on a heavy track. No 808’s or beat elements mixed in, I simply just infused rap over the traditional structure of another genre. You could easily take my vocals out, drop them over a hip-hop beat, as is, and get a completely new song. I think that is step one of our uniqueness. Part two lies in the content of the lyrics themselves. I worked very hard to craft intricate stories within my songs that read out like a series of mini movies. With songs about cyborgs, demons, aliens, time travel, war, domestic abuse, child soldiers, murder mystery and more we offer a variety of stories to keep our listeners engaged and entertained. I haven’t heard many songwriters go as in depth into a story as I have yet and that is a very big part of the music.
Do you have any particular lyrical themes?
The whole concept centres around a young woman named Sian who runs away from home. In the midst of her turmoil she slowly begins to realize that she has been accompanied by an alter ego that lives inside her head and calls herself Hyde. The trauma which she endures definitely has a dark theme of various struggles as she encounters many different forms of Doctors & Demons on her adventures. Through her narrative we explore themes that consist of horror, science fiction, drama and fantasy.
What’s your live show like? How many shows have you played?
Our live shows are full of energy and the guys have really done a great job of reworking the studio songs into live versions. And with the help of our performance director we have created a theatrical experience that takes our audience on a voyage of excitement and emotions. The more you pay attention to what happens during our set the more you can appreciate all the intricacies that live beneath the surface of the notes and words.
We had just got in the groove of regular shows when COVID hit and unfortunately had to cancel all our bookings for the moment. But that hasn’t stop us from perfecting our live experience. Can’t wait to add more dates on the belt once things clear up.
What’s the wildest thing you’ve seen or done at a live show?
I’ll digress from rehashing some memories of bar fights. But I do remember this one time a band was playing on stage and the dude’s gimmick was to dress up in fake blood as he screamed into the mic. At one point he sees his friend off stage and as a joke goes to jump towards him (in playfulness) but ends up hitting his head on a concrete lip above the stage. Poor guy cracked his open and was pissing blood covering his shirt of fake blood with real blood. He actually finished off his song then had to head to the hospital but ya, was pretty wild seeing a dude pissing real blood doing his screamo thing for like a solid 4 min song.
What kit do you use / guitars do you play / etc.?
Guitars are Line6 heads with Marshall cabs for both guitarists. Don’t knock it! They know how to use them. Bass is a Bugera cab with an Ampeg head and drums is a white pearl kit with high end Mienl cymbals. I either use Sennheiser or a TC electronic mic.
What are your plans for the next 12 months?
Stay healthy and creative! We are writing new material for our second studio album while we find ways to promote Doctors & Demons. Hopefully in the next 12 months we will be having this chat again promoting our new material! Lots of different moving parts between now and then though. We are currently seeking out sync deals, publishing, branding and radio placement.
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!
One of the best times we’ve had on stage is when we supported for Crazy Town X. We would love to play more shows with those dudes. A band to open for that I think sounds pretty sick and is local is one my bassist introduced me to called Era9.
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