Bastardized Recordings- Choking on Illusions Interview is up
1. For those of us very new to Choking on Illusions. Give us a short history of the band..
We are a 5 piece Hardcore Band from southwest germany in the vein of bands like COMEBACK KID, WITH HONOR or SAINTS NEVER SURRENDER.
We started the band in 2008 with an almost completely different lineup, but remained rather unknown until the formation of the current LineUp in 2010. From 2010 to 2015 we released 2 demos, 1 full length and 1 EP on our own and are now happy to present our latest record „Rest/less“ via Bastardized Recordings. Unfortunately, this will be our last record as a band for now, since we’ll be going on indefinite hiatus in summer 2015.
2.Where did the mix of Post Hardcore, Melodic Death Metal and elements of Nu Metal come to be with band?
I guess the diversity in our music comes from the various influences each and every member brings to the band, although all of us feel pretty comfortable in this „melodic hardcore“ direction we found for us to make.
3. The band remind me of a mix of bands like Kill Switch Engage, Sick of it all and Deadguy.. Who are the bands that made Choking on Illusions who they are?
Honestly I think the bands most worth mentioning are those that got us starting to make music. The first metal or hardcore bands all of us started listening to, like METALLICA, SLAYER, MADBALL and later on more current bands like COMEBACK KID or THE AGONY SCENE.
4. What is a live show like for Choking on Illusions?
Our live shows have always been very energetic and definitely more something I would consider the band’s bigger achievement: to always deliver a good show, never leave without a message, and always giving 200%.
5. How did you get connected with Bastardized Recordings?
We got connected with Marco from Bastardized via our friends in THE GREEN RIVER BURIAL, who were already signed to Bastardized. We played a show together with TGRB and Marco’s Band SIX REASONS TO KILL and after seeing us live, he opened up to us about his interest in working with us. Not only because of those two bands, but because of all the great bands, that called Bastardized their home, we considered this to be the ideal choice for us. And yeah, there we are!
6. Is there a running theme on Rest/less? or just a collection of monster tracks?
I would not say that there is a running theme on the album. It’s rather a collection of songs, that were all written in a time where we spent a lot of time on the road, so I guess that influenced the writing process a lot. Lyrically, that was a very confusing and challenging time for me, which is something you can definitely read a lot in the lyrics. Read them, and find that out for yourself.
7. Tell us about the album over as its beyond cool how does it play with the songs on album?
Thanks for considering our album „cool“! We’ve just been very happy with the result and couldn’t be happier to have worked with people like Arkadi Zaslavski and Jay Maas on this. The songs are the best we have written so far, the sound is exactly what we wanted, we’re just super stoked to have it coming out.
8. If there was one song you could cover and make your own what song would it be and why?
I think I would say it’s MODERN LIFE IS WAR - I’M NOT READY. Such a simple song, yet so filled with emotion and passion; I’ve always wanted to cover that song live. Maybe we’ll start doing that for our last few shows.
9. What are the members currently listening to and reading . Anything surprising?
I don’t know if you could call that a surprise, since we’ve always been about open-mindedness, but I’ve been listening to the new album of germany’s electro-hiphop-kings DEICHKIND a lot. It’s just unbelievably good. Other than that, I’ve finally managed to dig MASTODON, so I’m working my way through their back catalogue and it’s so worth it. Crazy how I’ve never really listened to them.
10. Will Choking on Illusions be coming to North America esp the U.S. in 2015 or 2016??
Unfortunately not, since we’ll be calling it a day for now in summer 2015. But who knows if we ever make it over the pond? We’ll let you know.
11. Whats the bands thoughts on Digital age and social media has it helped or hindered the underground music scene. Do you find physical media ( Vinyl, CD, Tapes and Print Zines) a breathe of fresh air?
I for one have always loved to have a physical copy of a record that I liked, and especially in hardcore music you find a ton of people with
that mindset, so I guess that’s one of the genres where digital media can not kill all of the physical music industry.
12.If you could make a long form video for your tracks what would it look like and why?
That’s a great question! I always loved the idea of doing longer music videos and creating some sort of artsy film around your music.
I guess if we ever made something like that, it would be a rather depressing, strange Lars von Trier - like movie about a person feeling lost in solitude and questioning his own life and his own mind. Probably with a tragic ending, since I don’t really believe in happy ends (they’re just boring, right?).
13. How do you create the tracks do you start with lyrics or music and why?
I usually start writing the music first, and once we’ve all agreed on a song and finished writing and practicing it, I go on to lyrics. I’ve tried doing it otherwise, but it just doesn’t work for me.
14. Any Closing thoughts please place here…
Thanks so much for giving us a platform to talk about what we love, never stop learning, never stop being creative, make this world a better place, thank you.
Thank you
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