Glasstone Artist - Third Ion Interview is up
1. I read this is the 2nd album by Third Ion . Tell us a bit about the band how you got this Futurist Prog Power metal meets Thrash sound?
It's just all stuff we dig, and we have played in a variety of bands, so it was time to create something we personally really enjoy playing.
2. The vocals remind me very much of Volbeat, Alice in Chains, Galactic Cowboys and Armored Saint in presentation has any ever told you this ..There is a very soulful element to the voice that is missing often in metal?
I've definitely got the Alice In Chains comparisons before, with both singers we have had. I think Dave probably steps that up a notch, he harmonizes like Layne and Jerry, but in the studio he just does all the parts himself. And quickly. He is fantastic!
3. I read they several of you have been in other bands like Devin Townsend, Annihilator and Into Eternity. How did these bands forge the goal you all want now?
Largely by the sheer amount of musical experience we collectively gained from this. I wouldn't say that we specifically intended anything to sound like any of those bands, but being such big influences on us, it's only natural that some of those sounds will have carried over.
4. I know very little about Glasstone label. How did you come to work with them and how would you say the word is being spread about Third Ion?
Our PR guys have done a great job of getting us noticed, and Glasstone approached us because of what was being posted and the previews we posted when we first formed the band. They are a small label, but their agreement is very very band friendly, and they are easy to work with on stuff. We have a really good small team surrounding the band, and I am happy with all of it right now.
5. The very prog and jazzy element work so well with the Melodic Metal style was the the goal of the band all along to mix Prog, Thrash and Power metal into something that was catchy as all hell.
Yeah, I think so. But the bigger goal was to just be write music with as few boundaries as possible. We don't want to ever say something a member brings to the table is a bad idea for a song. Sometimes things just don't work or don't fit, but we very much have a "there are no rules" approach for songwriting. Anything goes.
6. David you were in Annihilator for over a decade. I was wondering what made you walk away from that well known Thrash band?
DAVE - I was at a point in my life where I needed to make some life changes and it was just one of those things. I needed to stop using the unpredictability of Annihilator's schedule as an excuse not commit. We parted on the best terms possible, feel good emotion back and forth conversations and all. It was just time.
7. What is a live show like for Third Ion do you mix things up or to you try to stay as close to the albums as possible?
We play everything pretty close to album, but we like to add surprise extras to stir things up. We've added classic mario music to the set, during the drum solo, and in a break in Particle Displacement Mechanism, Mike would break into the Star Trek theme song. Stuff like that. We just have fun with it.
8. If Third Ion was offered a major label deal with full budget do you think you would accept it or are those days were metal could hit the main stream are long over?
I don't know. I'm happy with Glasstone, and I really really prefer retaining full ownership of my art. Bigger labels don't work that way, and sure they can get you big tours, but I feel happier with my life retaining creative control, especially on such a creatively rewarding project.
9. Whats the bands thoughts on 2016 and the Digital age of music. Have the time of the Area Rock star ended or can it still be done with Youtube, Soundcloud and Bandcamp etc flooding the world with every bedroom artist in the world ?
That's a tough thing to say. I feel like major changes may still be on the way, the whole industry has had to reinvent itself. And the old school labels got caught with their pants down and took WAY too long to adapt when Napster was a thing, so a lot of stuff has been a slow recovery. I think it will be interesting to see in 30 years when all the original Arena rock bands are gone, if many from our generation will have filled that void. Only time will tell.
10. If there was one cover song that Third Ion could record and make it thier own what would it be and why?
We've tossed around a million ideas, but I've always wanted to do Lacquer Head by Primus. I think Mike would kill some Les Claypool basslines, it would be a fuckload of fun.
11. Is Third Ion the voice of all members or do the members create music in other projects?
Most of us do, but for me personally it is my #1 creative focus, and I think I can speak for Aaron on that as well. Mike writes with his band Regal (with his brother), but this is a totally different thing and I think it is something he loves to have to voice his weirder ideas. We let Dave have a ton of freedom with his vocals, so I think he digs that. This is his first album with us, I'm excited to see how he adds to the creative process in the future once he is more settled in.
12. I do love to hear what bands are listening too. What Bands are impressing the members of Third Ion Currently?
JUSTIN - There is a great band from our area called "Sparky" and their newest album, #humanimation, is one of my favourite things in a while. I love the new Faith No More, and have been really digging the Primus charlie and the chocolate factory album. Also, every once in a while I get obsessed with Corrosion of Conformity, particularly Blind, Wiseblood, and Deliverance. Those three albums have come back to the forefront of my ipod lately.
MIKE - Lately I've been listening to Magma, that new Gojira album. It's so good. Also, Malibu by Anderson Paak, and 99% by Kaytranada. And Moderat III.
AARON - Animals as Leaders, Tool, Meshuggah, The Roots, Nerve, J Dilla, D'Angelo.
13. If you could tour with any band who would it be and why?
I'd say Dream Theater. I toured with them with Into Eternity, and it was a great experience. They are also one of my all time favourite bands, so another opportunity to go on the road with them would be amazing. Also, I have been digging Between the Buried and Me a lot lately, and I think we would fit very well with them.
14. Love the Death metal moments of the band as well but they are few and far between. What made those elements come through the album?
Honestly, it just felt like the right thing to do. Sometimes it's just gotta get heavy.
15. If you weren't making music what would be some loves of the band that they would be doing?
JUSTIN - I'd be making video games.
MIKE - If I weren't playing music, I'd be writing, producing and recording, which I already do. There really isn't anything else that I want in life. It's all I do and all I want to do.
AARON - If I couldn't do music any more I'd be in the grave. I'd probably play video games and shoot til I ran out of resources and end it all lol. Honestly, I don't think I even close to love anything else enough to want to devote myself to it. If I couldn't play drums any more, I'd probably end up in production or doing electronic stuff.
16. If you any closing words spread them now. Thank you for the time
Biolith is available for preorder on itunes right now
, and if it's past July 8th when you see this, then it is available now so go download it!! Thanks for the interview, and thanks to everyone reading this. Cheers!!
|
Comments