…out of control. It’s not only the price, but that you have to fill in the online form that takes forever. Then you have to go an embassy, and so I lose like two days because I have to fly to one. It’s really a huge effort before you can even get to the US. If you have to pay a huge amount of money for that, at a certain point it’s like – c’mon, it has to be worth it or you can’t keep doing it anymore. Dead Rhetoric: I don’t want to sidetrack too…
…completely different. The world was in another situation. What happened in 2000 through 2010, tons of new thrash bands were coming up, but a lot of these bands were trying to copy the 1980’s. I’m really happy that as you said bands like Warbringer, Suicidal Angels, and Havok are still here and are the new wave of thrash metal. I could include Angelus Apatrida in there, and I am friends with the guys in Crisix. The big four and the European big on…
…nt, black and white older elements to “Sea Savage”? McGuigan: It’s usually best left (the choices) up to the label. We aren’t able to see the forest from the trees, we are too close to the songs. It is better to get another opinion. Dixon: We just had to decide what three or four songs were going to be the best songs. Byrne: They picked “Sea Savage” and “Sheer Khan” – we believe it had it’s own thing. In terms of ideas for videos, it all really co…
…u don’t know where to push it, but I think word of mouth in general is the best way. This record is not for everyone, obviously. The people that love the diehard 80’s stuff, or the fast and furious stuff, I think they are going to love this album from the get go. I’m quite surprised about a lot of these people how much they love it, and that they’ve just heard of the band now. That just comes with time and the catalog. When you have only one album…
…really, not playing live in 2020 is an extension of us not playing live in 2019 and 2018, so it’s not really affecting My Dying Bride in the same way that it would a band who is playing 100 live shows a year. For a lot of those bands, they have lost a big part of their income, and they are going to be struggling like crazy. But for us, even in a good year, we might do 12-15 shows. We don’t do that much. We have never relied on money from gigs, be…
…ds? Verbeuren: We are all in this unknown zone now. There are plans now for 2021, but who knows? I’m very much on the side of ‘let’s see if this stuff happens.’ But we are supposed to tour for Megadeth. There’s been a bunch of dates planned for the summer – July and August. The album is supposed to be coming out too, they are still working on the guitars but bass and drums are recorded. Dave will hopefully start on vocals soon. The album is going…
…their product since people aren’t working. I have seen a lot more traffic online, so it’s more of a battle this year more than any other year. There’s no shows, no tours, and you can’t really cross a border and work as a musician. That’s a big one. Dead Rhetoric: What goals do you have now that the first full-length is out there? Copeland: Post-album for us, we are still working and grinding. We have a lot of new stuff coming up in 2021. We are g…
…ic, that is being brought into question, and we are still deliberating the best way to get together to rehearse and do some sort of live stream event. It’s being figured out because the logistics of it are pretty complex. Dead Rhetoric: Was it hard for you to break through and establish yourselves in Arkansas, especially considering there wasn’t as much of an underground or metal scene at first? Rowland: In terms of the Arkansas scene, there’s alw…
…ric: With a lot of rock radio disappearing, what avenues do you think work best for a melodic rock band such as yourself in 2020? Heino: That´s a good question…what works best for us is that we maintain our quality when it comes to writing and recording music and performing. That´s all we can do, and hope it attracts people enough for them to come see us play or maybe even buying our albums. Marketing-wise it would best to get a song on a movie or…
…hool days that we were going to be kicked out of school. So we switched to online so we could continue with GFM and have more opportunities. Now with the pandemic, nothing has changed. We did everything online anyways. Our hearts go out to those kids who are having to learn everything for the first time because it was difficult to figure out how to have that responsibility and time management. But it is possible. For anyone having those struggles,…
…t. The harp has been a passion of mine. I got my first harp, I think it was 2009 or 2011 – I don’t remember since my brain is wrecked. I’d have to go find a receipt. But it was something that I really wanted to do, and then last year with my last tour with Cradle of Filth, I actually had a travel harp. I was trying to carve out time to practice. It was very difficult and I was always exhausted. It was an insane tour schedule last year. But at home…
…s point forward? Hurd: We are going to be looking into doing some content, online mostly. Things to fill out the rest of the year, and we are crossing our fingers in 2021. I don’t see it happening until then. The rest of the year is out for that. But as soon as we can hit the road – otherwise we are putting together ideas for stuff we can fill out the year with. We might do some live streaming, so maybe keep an eye out for that. https://www.youtub…
…budget. But I have to say, the next video that isn’t out yet, might be the best ever [laughs]! After recording that, we went to Poland two weeks ago to record another video, and I did actually feel like, “Oh no, how are we going to make an even better video?” It’ll be interesting to see what people think. But as with life itself, when you reach a great day, you think that you won’t get that feeling again, like it’s the best day of your life. But t…
…ngs. I’ve learned to take the opportunities that life gives you and do the best you can with them. Dead Rhetoric: Do younger musicians seek out advice from you online or on the road – and if so, what sort of topics or discussions do you have that you make them think about and hopefully learn from? Lum: Yes. I manage some bands now – I manage Heathen, I co-manage Exodus, I manage Defiance, also a band from Cincinnati called War Curse. They are a yo…
…rom somewhere. The training that we have gone through, on various channels online, has come down to seeking out your superfans. The ones who are crazy for your exact genre of music – bring them in and give them a culture to be a part of. Don’t just blast advertisements all the time. But invite them to support you through crowdfunding. It’s easy to say, but very tough to execute [laughs]. We’ve done a really good job of finding some really dedicate…
