Taken by the Sun Interview .....
answere by Mark:
Taken by the Sun Interview
1. So to my readers you are a brand new force tell us about your caustic mix of Post Hardcore, Sludge, Noise and Extreme Punk?
First, thanks for taking the time to interview us. As far as our sound goes, I'd say we combine doom and sludge metal tones, progressive rock songwriting and playing, hardcore sensibilities, and some other experimental elements. But more simply we're just a metal band playing what we think sounds good, regardless of genre.
2. Where did the mix of extreme, spacial, prog and full on sonic nightmare come from has Taken by the sun always sounded this way?
Yea I'd say our sound has been pretty consistent since we started. It's really just the result of all the members of the band liking lots of different kinds of music, including different kinds of metal. There are some constants; for example our main guitar tones are pretty consistent. But we like melody and atonality, speed and slowdowns, thrash and doom, and can't help but come up with ideas that incorporate all of these. Our songwriting challenge is getting these different ideas to work together in coherent songs.
3. Why DIY and not seek out a label to get the name spread is a good PR team and social media really the future of under ground music?
These days you can do so much on your own to get your music out to listeners. We'd love to be on a label but where we're at right now we're better off using the time and resources that we'd spend trying to get on a label to make more music and get it out to people.
4. Use 3 words to someone that has never heard Taken by the sun . What to expect to hear from this band?
Sublime experimental chaos.
5. How does the amazing cover play into the theme of your self titled release?
That's actually a really great question. The very, very first thing we did in creating this album, long before we recorded a single note, was to get the rights to use that image. It's by an artist named Nick Keller (you can find him on Facebook). It's probably not the best idea to pick your album cover before you even have an album, but when we saw that image we all immediately agreed it had to be the cover. But the image ended up having a direct effect on the album though: the image is called "The Mind Detached" and was a big inspiration for the song "Detached."
6. I hear elements of bands like Strapping young lad, Meshuggah , His hero is gone, Neurosis, Crowbar and even Black Cobra. Would your say your more akin to the Post Hardcore scene or that Post Metal world that seems to be creeping up around us?
I think it depends what you mean by post-metal. I like using that term to describe us because I think of "post-metal" as the same thing as "experimental metal": any kind of metal that takes generally accepted ideas in metal and tries to manipulate or subvert them. So for me, Dillinger Escape Plan are post-metal. And I think we're post-metal in this experimental sense. But I think for most people, post-metal is bands like Isis and Cult of Luna, who do lots of songs with tons of melody and slow dramatic build-ups. We love those bands and sometimes we sound like them, but not always.
7. What is a live show live for Taken by the sun .How does it differ from the album?
Our live show is a bit more chaotic than the album. We're not like a grindcore band or anything, but we're more aggressive live than an album listener might expect. Also we're very loud. Kris's screaming live is pretty unhinged, Justin hits his drums real, real hard, and Pat actually has an amp with a volume knob that can't be turned down. I'm not kidding. Sound guys hate it.
8. What was is like working with Sanford Parker. A musical visionary in his own right ?
It was an honor to work with Sanford. Not many producers have crafted a sound that has shaped an entire scene, and Sanford has done that for a whole community of experimental metal bands. That and he's very involved in the metal business, and has tons of stories about lots of bands.
9. If you had the proper budget to make a video what track of the new album and why?
We're actually planning a video for "Scars." I don't want to spoil it, but to answer your question, if we had more money we'd plan for more pyrotechnics in the video.
10. What bands are impressing Taken by the sun member currently and why?
It's always lots of random stuff; right now Pat is into this Japanese punk band called Bo Ningen. I really like the new Torche album. There's this California sludge band called Wovoka that we think sounds monstrous.
11. What would you say is the hardest thing for new indie bands break through today to get noticed is and why?
There are so many bands. You have to do something really special that appeals to a group of people who happen to be looking for exactly what you're doing. Listeners have no tolerance for second-rate bands, and that's good: it makes everyone work harder and harder to win listeners over, which (I believe) means we're getting better and more interesting music.
12. Where do you see the sound going into the more progressive realm or more of an extreme avant journey?
So far, the stuff we've been writing since completing the album has been, if anything, more focused and streamlined. We love writing complicated songs and experimental tones but songs hit hardest when they're clear statements. We won't lose all the complexity, but we're learning how to focus a bit more; we're getting better at what we do.
13. You have many social media pages Facebook and Bandcamp etc. What has been the feedback so far on the album and what do you want to see from it?
It's been great reading the reviews we've seen of the album. It's interesting that an aspect of the album that one reviewer likes will be exactly what the next reviewer hates. I think it's the result of trying as many experiments as we do; what some people like, others find off-putting.
14. Thank you for the time and any closing thoughts here
Thanks again for asking to interview us. It gives us an opportunity to reflect and think about why we make the music we make. And I think that leads us to make better music.
Comments