Dead Rhetoric: Where do you see the death metal/extreme scene today in comparison to its initial development in the late 80’s to mid-1990’s?
Preziosi: There is a ton of great stuff out there, but there can be oversaturation. There are so many bands, it’s hard to find the great stuff from the mediocre stuff. I think that back then when it was a new thing, it was exciting, there were bands that stole the spotlight and so many classic albums made. You can’t compare the two. Those timeless records really defined a genre, there will always be a special place for those and maybe I’m looking at things through rose colored glasses. You look back at those albums and say what can ever touch this, you try to make the best records you can. Having said that, there are a lot of great bands coming out with stuff from around the world, and the nice thing about that is we are all connected today- I can pick up my phone and find whatever I want. It wasn’t always like that, in the past you had to flip through old school magazines and stuff.
Dead Rhetoric: Where do you stand on bands that feed off of technical aspects to their music versus creating material that has hooks or melodies?
Preziosi: I find the technical bands sometimes can be boring- I can’t listen to them for long periods of time. I had a higher tolerance for that in the past- a band like Obscura is a good example. I don’t know what’s happened, but I can’t sit through a whole album of theirs anymore. When they first came out, I found them somewhat interesting but I’m done with it. Especially in today’s day and age, where ProTools is everybody’s best friend – every guy who is playing guitar has a whole set up in his bedroom. You don’t know any more what is really being played versus what is chopped up and thrown out there. Songwriting 110% time for me takes precedence. I like to have something I can listen to, sink my teeth into, and I don’t have to do a little bit of side math on a sheet of paper to figure things out.
Dead Rhetoric: You mention in other interviews the fact that you seemed to gravitate with musicians in bands through the years that were much more advanced at their abilities than yourself. How did you best play catch up so to speak – is there something to be said for putting in the hours at practice and technique to better our craft?
Preziosi: It all comes down to woodshedding. If that’s what people get off on, that’s what they should do. There is a musician’s crowd that lose their minds over it. For me, when I first started I was playing with people that were way better than me- and I had to catch up and put in the time. When you have that passion, it’s going to make that 5% of difference on where you are as a musician versus where you are if you are lazy.
Dead Rhetoric: What is your stance on Soul Remnants as a live band- and what have been some of the more memorable shows you’ve done?
Preziosi: I love playing live with this band. We’ve had a lot of lineup changes in the past, but this lineup has been solid since 2011-12. Some of the best shows we’ve had are when we’ve gotten to play with amazing bands like Suffocation, that was one of the greatest shows at a great venue in Boston. Playing with Obituary- it doesn’t get much better than that. It wasn’t the greatest sounding gig. Stuff like that is almost like bucket list items. Venturing out on our own, playing in the Czech Republic- seeing a whole different culture for metal was a special thing for us.
Dead Rhetoric: What is your stance on the importance of friendships and band chemistry? Do you believe that everyone seems to be on the same page as far as where you want to see Soul Remnants develop as a band?
Preziosi: I think that’s important to have that band chemistry and comfort when they are working on music. There’s two folds to that. Band chemistry is huge- everyone has to feel like they are in a place where they are comfortable. I’ve been in places where this is a set, and everyone needs to get on board and hates being there. And that’s never a way to get any good results out of things. I can tell you, that not necessarily everyone needs to have the same outcomes and goals, but it’s about right now, being on board. If we are writing songs, you are going to record these songs, we work the songs out organically during rehearsals. I bring something to the table, and we’ll all brainstorm on it. If we don’t have that chemistry or freedom to where people feel like they are comfortable enough to express their ideas, that’s going to create something stale.
Dead Rhetoric: Who are some of the bands in the extreme/death genre that have really impressed you consistently live or on record?
Preziosi: If Slayer counts, they’ve been amazing every time that I’ve seen them. At the Gates was very impressive live, Carcass, Suffocation- you can’t punch a hole in them. Solid throughout the years, they did have a little time of being dormant but they’ve come back with a vengeance. Immortal when I saw them, unfortunately they are no longer doing anything- that was a show that was so musical for such an aggressive and extreme band. I was sold on that immediately.
Dead Rhetoric: Has anyone given you any words of wisdom or advice that you’ve been able to apply to your musical endeavors?
Preziosi: Putting me on the spot with that. I’m never good at remembering little proverbs and things like that- but I guess somewhere along the lines someone has told me not to give up. Stay true to yourself. That is my philosophy on music- if we aren’t feeling it 100%, then we aren’t going to do it. You have to have that level of quality control there. Don’t make it into a competition with things that aren’t going to matter in the long run. Work towards your goals.
Dead Rhetoric: How do you view the music business model and instant technology/social media marketplace of today? Do you feel that as humans we’ve sometimes lost that face to face interaction that’s necessary for real connections?
Preziosi: Yes, I do. It’s the way modern technology is going. People can click your band and write it up in about 30 seconds, or can fall in love in a matter of a couple of minutes. Everything is such rapid fire these days, it’s really tough for bands to have a hit or connect. Face to face interaction matters. That’s why we are embarking on another tour really soon.
Dead Rhetoric: You’ll be doing a short tour run this summer with Solium Fatalis to support the new record – what else seems to be in the Soul Remnants plans over the next six to twelve months? Possibly another European run, festivals, videos, etc.?
Preziosi: We have another tour getting planned in North America in October. Sometime next year our plan is to get to Europe as well as more North American touring. We will be busy- and we are planning on making a music video for the track “Depravity’s Lock”- which was our most recent single that came out. We have about half the next album written- we have ideas for more than the next album, we’ve got 5-6 songs that we could bang out in the studio. We had a period where we were just rehearsing the Ouroboros material, and we started working on new stuff because we were just tired of spinning our wheels waiting. Thanks for the support for people who have heard us, if you are into some old school death metal, we hope to see you out on the road.