THE WORLD WE KNEW / RYAN & TIM

Let's start by telling us for how long have you been playing, and what do you play, rhythm, lead or both?

RYAN: Well, I've been playing guitar on and off since I was very young, probably five years old. My dad played guitar and bass and was in and out of bands when he was younger, and that being said, there was alway an instrument lying around the house that I was attempting to play. I started seriously playing and working on my chops when I was maybe 15 or 16. My twin brother (our drummer, Shane) was in a band and they were looking for a third guitarist. I had the gear, I just didn't play all that often, so I started playing for a few hours a day to get up to speed with them and I guess that's when I really started "playing" so to speak. I play rhythm %95 of the time. Some of the older material that we played before Tim was in the band, I played lead on and off. I'd like to think of it this way. Tim's got the left hand, and i've got the right hand. Put them together, and it sounds pretty good!

TIM: I've been playing for about 10 years now and I play most of the leads.

Did you take any lessons, for how long and tell us about the exercices you praticed the most to be as good as you are today?

RYAN: I never took any lessons. My dad would show me a few things here and there. I had a cousin who was pretty into the grunge/punk-rock scene and he'd showed me how to play a power chord when I was maybe 11 or 12? I was pretty hooked from then on. I'd listen to records and try to pick things up by ear or i'd check out old Stevie Ray Vaughn videos that my dad had, and try to mimic what they were doing. I've also had the privelege of playing with so many great guitar players, and being on tour with a few of them has taught me alot. To name a few, we got to tour with Chimaira a few months ago and both Rob Arnold and Matt DeVries are incredible players, and great to watch play live. They've got alot of tricks up their sleeves that i've been throwing into the mix as of late. As far as excercises and practicing goes, I don't really have a routine. I like to pick up and play as much as possible, whatever I feel like playing. Wether it's riffing out without an amp in the back of the trailer before a show, or strumming some chords on my acoustic when Im at home. Keeping yourself familiar with your instrument has always been vital to me. You never forget how to play, it's like riding a bicycle. But the more you do it, the better you are, and the more you learn.

TIM: I took lessons for about 7 years and taught for 2 years. I have to say that practicing my Modes were probably the most important part of it. Im bummed I didn't do those sooner. I probably would've progressed faster.

Which guitarists influenced you the most and why?

RYAN: There are countless guitar players that have influenced me throughout the years. If i was to list them all, this would just look like the most jumbled together mess of names you could imagine. When I first started playing, my dad and the people he played with really influenced me. Stuff that he was listening to at the time like Eric Clapton and SRV really got me started and wanting to play more. Billie Joe Armstrong from Green Day made me REALLY want a strat, and I was so into the way he played. He made something so simple look so good and it really got me pumped to play. Dimebag Darrell OBVIOUSLY. If you play guitar in a heavy metal band right now, you've got to have him on your list of influences. I've been to his grave twice, he's one of my heroes as a person, and as a musician. Joe Satriani was always a great influence on me. He really knows how to play, and he can use his effects and tricks without hiding behind them. The inevitable ones are in there too, Guys like Kirk Hammet and Scott Ian. The list goes on and on. Long Island was and will always be a hotbed for great bands, and there were so many that I grew up with that I really hold close to my heart and ultimately, the guys in those bands were the ones that influenced me. They made me feel like I could get up there and do it too. None of them were better than the other, and none of them were the next EVH. Don't get me wrong, if you can get up there and shred, then you're alright in my book, but it was the guys (and girls, Rachel Rosen from Most Precious Blood!) that played with passion and heart that really made me want to play guitar.

TIM: Well, my number one influence will always be Dimebag Darrell, his whole way of going about things just puts a smile on my face. As far as sound goes, I'd have to say Anders Bjorler from At The Gates. His Songwriting skills are flawless.

How many guitars do you own, what models, pickups, etc and what do you like about them?

RYAN: Im a gearhead for sure, but not a gear hoarder. I actually DON'T like having lots of gear laying around. That's not something you hear often, but I feel like the more I have, the more I try to incorporate into my live rig and really, i'd rather it just be simple, and the same goes for guitars.I SWEAR by Washburn guitars. My main squeeze is my Silverburst WI66 Pro, which I got from my girlfriend as a gift actually!. Seymour Duncan 59' Reissue in the neck position and the Seymour Duncan Custom Custom pickup in the bridge position. I could go on for days about how much I love this guitar. All I need to tell you is that i've owned ESP's, Gibsons. Fenders, the works ... and NOTHING compares to this. Go try one for yourself and you'll see. My backup is a black WI45 with the same pickup configuration as the WI66 Pro. I like the idea of playing 1 guitar night after night. It becomes an extension of you. It gives the instrument character and it really becomes YOUR instrument. So if you want to hear about a crazy gear collection, Tim's the guitar guy, he's got about thirty of them. I also have a Washburn acoustic and a Yamaha acoustic that I really love, along with a few of my dad's old axes, including a nice Gibson Ripper Bass.

TIM: I own about 30 guitars right now. We recently picked up a Washburn deal and im more than excited. Both Nicks from Winds Of Plague turned me onto them. I play the WV series. I use Dimarzio pickups in all of my stage guitars. A EJ Custom for the Bridge and an Air Classic for the Neck.

Let's talk about the new album. When did you start writing the new songs, describe the process, how you split the guitar parts and when do you say ok thats enough riff now.

RYAN: First of all, there's NEVER enough riff! But I digress. When Tim Joined the band, it was around the time we had started to think about writing for a new records. We had some riffs here and there, but nothing cohesive. He was in a band before this that played a similar style of music, and he brought some of those riffs our way. "Newsflash", "The Write Off", and "Barbarian" were the first three songs that we wrote for the records. They were re-hashed from the songs that Tim had written for his old band. We toured for awhile after we wrote those songs and we played them live, without ever having really tracked them properly, and the kids at our shows were asking where they could find them, so we decided to spend some cash and get them recorded the right way and it wasn't until those three songs really started to come about in the studio that we sort of all looked at eachother and though "wow, we could probably write a really great record now". The pieces were always there, but when Tim joined, they really fit together. He has a knack for writing and riffing like no other. We started writing songs left and right. There wasn't much of a process to it Tim would rif, or Ed would come up with a rif, Shane would play a beat. If it worked, it worked, if it didn't, it was put in the bank, or thrown out the window. I was working alot at the time, so it was mainly the rest of the band writing the songs and Tim would tab them out for me and Id practice when I could. We wrote them over the course of just a few weeks, actually. The only track on the album that wasn't a solid piece was "Ride the Nighthawk". That was a little ode to southern rock that Tim came up with in the studio, We loved it so much, that we put it down to tape. Splitting the parts? I did mine first in about a day. I remember messing up the SIMPLEST riff about 100 times and throwing the guitar to Tim and telling him to finish it. Hahaha. So, i guess I recorded about 97% percent of my tracks, and Tim did the rest over the course of a few days.

TIM: We had recorded a 3 track demo in the summer of last year and didn't start cracking down on writing till December. Usually id bring 5 or 6 riffs to practice and we'd arrange them to fit the best. It was a very tedious process but it was definitely fun.

The album sounds real fucking heavy and precise. Who was behind the board and what did you have in mind for the final mix and your overall tone?

RYAN: Behind the board for "To The Wolves" was none other than "Handsome" Nick Bellmore. He's a FUCKING genious. Seriously. If his name isn't in the credits of the next Metallica record, i'd be surprised! Nick plays drums in a band called "PHANTOMS" from Connecticut, an incredible band may I add. He's also filled in for Toxic Holocaust on the drums, and im pretty sure he's the permanent drummer for KINGDOM OF SORROW. He really has a great ear for heavy music and I know I speak for the rest of my band when I say that we are more than decided that we're going to head back to him to track our next effort. I can't say enough great things about the work he did for us. As far as tone goes, we really wanted to shape our own sound and maybe do something different, but not stray too far from the path as to push people away. There's so much great heavy music coming out nowadays, but none of it sounds unique, and im not talking song writing quality, im talking about the actual tracking of the record. Every band is going to the same studio, with the same engineer, and the same producer, and it's all coming out the same! We just wanted something we could really get behind and be proud of. We didn't want to polish it up and make it sound like there were robots playing our tracks, and we didn't want to give it that dialed-in, mundane tone that everyone has got going for them. We wanted to keep the tone raw and harsh, but heavy and loud. Really, if we could have gone to Sweden and stolen the presets for the Slaughter of the Soul record we would have done it, but time and money did not allow, so we did the next best thing. Hopefully it came close. The infamous Zeuss did our mastering and did a fantastic job. He used the new Machine Head record as kind of a refference point and worked on it from there.

TIM: Nick Bellmore was way too great to work with. I can't think of anyone more fit. We had a blast.

What amps and cabinets did you record with?

RYAN:We tracked the entire record with one Krank Revolution cab. Tim and I both use Krank Revolution fullstacks live. The cabs sound great. Im not a fan of their guitar heads but those rev. cabs are some of the best i've ever played through. My rhythm tracks were done with my Peavey 5150. It's one of the original blockletter models. It sounds incredible. I would not trade it for any amp in the world. Hands down, it delivers the best tone i've ever gotten, night after night. Infront of the amp, we had the magic green box, the Maxon OD-9 Overdrive. We didn't do much else to the tone. We mic'd the cabs with a Shure SM-57 and something else, which I can't recall right now. I've texted Nick Bellmore and if he gets back to me before Im done typing this, Ill fill you in! We also double tracked some of the rhythm parts using Line6 Pod. I don't recall what setting it was, but we really only used it where we had to fill out some things. Like the ring out over the pull-off section in "Living a Lie" for example. I used my Washburn WI66 Pro for all of my rhythm tracks, which I spoke about earlier. I'll let Tim tell you what we did for his tracks.

TIM: I used a Madison Divinity to offset the tones. Both Heads meshed real well. The Krank Rev cabs were great but I wish they had a little more balls to them and a little less bite.

Which guitars did you use in studio?

RYAN: Guitars, again. I used the Washburn WI66 Pro the entire time. Tim will fill you in about what he used.

TIM: I recorded most of my tracks with a mid-80's Ibanez Iceman. The bridge pickup is some sort of high output Dimarzio. It sounds amazing through any amp.

Tuning and strings?

RYAN: I use Ernie Ball Beefy strings. Incredible strings. I messed around with different brands for awhile, but when I found these, I was hooked. We tuned to B. B F# B E G# F#

TIM: I play Steel cables used to support bridges. Otherwise known as D'addario 11's

There's so many metal hardcore bands out there, riff wise, how do you think it's possible to stand out?

RYAN: Im not even really sure if it is possible to stand out. You can definitely try to stand out, but I don't think it's up to us to determine wether we do or not. There is so much good and bad in heavy music right now and it's all so diluted. The lines are being blurred every day by bands and it's getting harder and harder to really make something that sticks out. Kid's have told us 100 times that this one riff at the beginning of an old song sounded just like an All Shall Perish riff. Nobody in this band had ever listened to All Shall Perish. Kid were accusing us of stealing riffs from of a band we'd never even heard. And no discredit to them, they're incredible musicians, but people need to realize that that is going to happen. Hopefully our fans think we stand out! Not that fitting is isn't a good thing, but personally, I do feel like some of our riffs are pretty creative and out there, and along with that, we've got some of the norm thrown in for good measure. When writing our riffs, we really try to incorporate everything. The five of us listen to so much different music, that we really can pull from every corner of the musical globe. I think the most important part is to write what you like, Play what you like. Don't try to go out of your way to write something kids can "mosh" too, and just because you can play some sweep arpeggios, doesn't mean you've got to play those either. Do what feels right. That's what we do. We write riffs and songs that make us happy. Wether it's a speedy, alternate picked, Black Dahlia Murder style part, that goes into a Hatebreed breakdown riff. Or throwing in some hand-clapping, sing-along part in the middle of a heavy tune, it's all good! It's really nice to experiment and to do what comes naturally, and we take alot of pride in doing that.

TIM: Find your niche and stick with it. Keep the fingers flowing and don't play boring riffs. A lot of bands out now are very plain.

What are your favorite riffs on the album, and which one is the hardest to play?

RYAN: My favorite riff on the album is definitely the chorusy kind of riff in "Deathroll". I guess maybe it's because it was one of the only riffs I had a part in writing, but I just really, really love it. I love that whole song. We haven't played it live yet, but I can't wait to do so. The breakdown riff in "King of the Ring" is also I favorite of mine. It gets me so amped up. I think the hardest riff to play was one of the riffs in "Vanquish", atleast for me. I think that's the riff I gave up on and made Tim record for me! As of now though, none of them are too difficult. I was actually sitting down playing yesterday thinking about how tough it was to track some of those riffs and now I can play the whole record with ease. There's a riff in "Living a Lie" that's a bit of a bitch to play live, because you've got to get pretty low on the neck, and I've gotten used to playing my guitar slung pretty low, so I have to concentrate pretty hard for that one.

TIM: Id have to say all of them. They all sound awesome. The hardest riff on the album is by far the chug part in the beginning of 'To The Wolves'.

Describe your live rig, what rackmounts and pedals do you use?

RYAN: My rig is as follows. Two Krank Revolution Cabs. I run a Peavey 5150 Original Blockletter head. In front of that, I run the Maxon OD9 Overdrive, a Boss NS-2 Noise Supressor, and a Boss GE-7 Equalizer I have a Korg DTR-2 Tuner as well as a Boss Pedal tuner I use out front incase im in a situation where I can't see or easily get to my rack. I keep my Madison Divinity guitar head in the bottom of the 2 head rack compartment for back up only. I used to run both heads simultaneously, with an ABY switch, but the Madison is so noisy that i've switched to just the Peavey live. All Monster Cables as well. I don't want to give away my specs on the Maxon or the GE-7, but if you want them, get at me on MySpace and I'll hook you up!

TIM: We both use Maxon OD9's. I am guilty of using a DBX266xl. I love it and wouldn't use anything else.

Whats your warm up routine before a gig?

RYAN: I don't have much of a warmup. I pretty much just play through the set, and riff out for a little while. I like to stretch because I move around alot on stage. I always try to have a gatorade or some kind of cola for a little extra burst while im out there. Im kind of anal about how I set my shit up too. My guitar case goes on top of my rack case. My toolbox goes on top of my cabs, next to that goes my hat, and next to that goes my glasses. I've been wearing the same pair of shoes on stage for a year now, and I can't play in anything else. They look like they've been through every war ever fought. Tim usually yells "Fuck it, we'll do it live!" and then the set starts. That's about it. Im pretty OCD about the way I wrap my cables up too. But as far as warm-ups go, nothing really. Every nights a new story, so I just get up there and do my thing.

TIM: I lift 50 lbs weights with each finger.

Is there any specific technique you try to improve these days?

RYAN: There's no specific technique i've been trying to improve. Im really comfortable with my playing right now. I'd like to work on better improvisational skills, but, I don't solo live, so I don't have too much to worry about there. If I could work on any technique, it'd be the skill to get venue owners to have real stage power. There's nothing that bothers me more than hum from bad electricity!

TIM: I want to get my left hand dexterity up. That's about it. I need to be more precise.

Name some of the best guitarists in the scene today?

RYAN: Alright well, I didn't want to give a list of names when you asked me who my influences were. but this, i've got to do. My number one favorite guitar player right now is Carlos Garcia from Antagonist, a band out of Los Angeles. He's incredible. There new album is incredible, enough said. Brian Echbach from The Black Dahlia Murder. Mike Schleibaum of Darkest Hour. Eric Gales, who is an incredible blues guitar player. He's really blowing my mind alot lately. and he's a big influence on me. Im not a flashy, solo kind of guy, but Doug Sabolick of A Life Once Lost really impresses me. The shit he writes is phenomenal. Charlie Bellmore is the brother of Nick Bellmore, the engineer of our record, and he is an incredible guitar player that I am constantly in awe of. Brent Hinds and BIll Kelliher from Mastodon. David Shoaf from the Demonstration. I think Andy and Jordan from Every Time I Die write some of the best riffs in heavy music right now and I love everything that they do. Adam from He Is Legend. The list is endless, like I said earlier. There's also guys you wouldn't expect. Ben Harper, Jason Mraz, John Butler, etc. Anybody who has a passion for their instrument and their craft really influences me. If I feel like you're just going through the motions, you could be the greatest guitar player to ever live, and you'd never make a mark on me. There's got to be something to the player more than just talent. That's what I look up to.

TIM: I'm going to have to say both Nick P. And Nick E. from Winds of Plague as well as Ryan and Mike from For Today. All of those guys are both great to watch and phenomenal Players

The next piece of gear you'd like to get?

RYAN: If I could get any gear right now, it'd be the Randall RM-100 Guitar Head. Im not sure which mod's id pick out yet, but id love to get my hands on one. That, and a Radial ABY Box. Or a late 70's early 80's silverburst Les Paul. One that's already started to turn that gross green color. I'd love one of those!

TIM: Id like to get new Cabs. Hopefully some Randall MTS 4x12's. That'd be great.

MYSPACE: http://www.myspace.com/theworldweknew

OUTBREAK / BILLY & BRIAN

Alright guys let's start from the beginning, who got you your first guitar, what was it and what made you choose this instrument?

BRIAN: 1999. I listened to Offspring's "Americana" non- stop that year and i remember wishing i knew how to play the guitar so i could write songs like that. Not long later, i watched Back to the Future 1 and saw Marty McFly on stage playing "Johnny be good" and right then, i was sold on the idea of being a guitarist. My old man bought me my first guitar for christmas that year. It was a Yamaha (Fender strat rip-off) and i probably broke the high E string once a week for the first couple months of playing. 10 years later, i now break the high E string at least twice a week...some would say ive gotten worse at the guitar through out the years...

BILLY: My dad bought me my first guitar which happened to be a B.C. Rich Warlock haha. I started on bass because my best friend at the time could already shred then I realized lead guitar is where its at.

Who were your favorite guitarists back then?

BILLY: Again, my dad brought me up on some of the best. i.e. Jimmy Page, David Gilmour, Eddie Van Halen, all of which are still top on the list in my opinion

BRIAN: Tom Delong of blink-182. Because i was so stoked on the idea that i could play songs that a "professional musician" wrote after only playing the guitar for less than a year myself. I then found out that everyone on planet earth could play blink songs after only playing the guitar for a couple months and that i didnt have some special talent...

Self taught or lessons?

BILLY: Self taught.

BRIAN: tabcrawler.com baby.

Tell us about the guitars you own (model, pickups, etc), which one is your favorite and why?

BRIAN: I've been playing the Gibson SG Gothic '99 for the past 8 years. I recently put in EMGs (the 81 and 85). It's been through countless recordings, shows, tours, car accidents, van accidents, and it only has a couple little tiny scratches on it. its my baby. I am also endorsed by sparrow guitars but i have yet to pick up my guitar. They built me a RatRod modeled custom guitar with Dimebucker pick ups, graphite saddle and nuts, and 3 X's hand painted on the back of the bridge. Hopefully one of these days i can get over the the west coast and pick it up.

BILLY: I play a Gibson GK55 with passive EMG pickups and a Fender Fat Strat with Dimarzio Tone Zone pickups on stage. At home I just rock a Takamine electric/acoustic.

Now let's talk about your latest work, Outbreak's new full length. While the first single "work to death" was very well received by the fans, it was clear to most of them that this was a new start for the band, and a very promising one. How would you describe the new material?

BRIAN: The self titled full length thats coming out is fast as shit, epic as fuck, and thrashy as hell. i think that sums it up pretty good. There are songs on there that are just 12 seconds of really intense in your face kind of songs, there are songs with more of a rock and roll vibe to it that have the same pissed off vocals going over it, and there are even some...."heavier"... songs with really catchy mid-tempo break downs. I would also like to add that billy does a 2 minute shredding solo on the last track. it is definitely face melt worthy.

BILLY: We’re definitely taking on new ground with this record. I feel like we’ve tapped into a few places Outbreak hasn’t yet in the best of ways. I think previous listeners to the band will be just as stoked as I am.

Did you feel some pressure during the songwriting process, that this had to sound like Outbreak and it has to be fucking good cause this band has already many fans waiting for new noise?

BRIAN: The only pressure i felt was when we were going into the studio with 14 songs and we realized we might be cutting it super close since the full length had to be at least 20 minutes. I believe we ended up needing a couple more seconds of music to make the cut so perkins (drummer) and i wrote track 1 "a sign of things to follow" in the studio that day. it ruled.
But other than that, we took our sweet ass time writing the record cause we wanted it to be our best work. We would all make it to our drummers place outside of Boston where he has a practice space at his house and lock ourselves in there for a week at a time with our instruments, a lot of coffee, and a dry erase board. Then we would take a couple weeks off to get fresh material and come right back to it.

BILLY: I personally felt no pressure whatsoever because each of the Outbreak records delivered more and more and I knew this one would do the same. Its still sounds like Outbreak and its still fucking good noise.

As a hardcore guitarist, there's not tons of riffs and pattern one is gonna use for a song, what makes it unique is pretty much how you're gonna mix them together and with what level of intensity. How did you manage to tell yourself alright this is too much smartbomb or no trigger, or this would fit much more in a grave maker song?

BRIAN: wow, I see you did your research in seeing what bands we've been in haha. Honestly, i just wrote a shit load of riffs and if i pictured fat dudes moshing when i was playing it, i threw it the fuck out. if i pictured a dude running in circles punching peoples faces in and ending it with a front-flip stage dive, i kept it in the song. And i believe thats why this record ended up how it did, with lots and lots of energy.

BILLY: That’s easier than you think, for me anyways. When I’m writing for a band, none of my other bands really come into play. The focus is on the task at hand so to speak. I love playing in 3 groups because it allows me to spread creativity in a few different ways. Rather than focusing all of my energy on one thing and having to stay close to it, I can sort of base which band would fit the riff I’m writing. I welcome that kind of challenge.

You've recorded the album at The Outpost with Jim Siegel, how did he helped you craft your tone and the overall final mix you wanted?

BILLY: I love working with Jim. I recorded the newest Smartbomb record and a cover with No Trigger at the Outpost so were definitely on the same page as far as my guitar tone goes. He is a master of his craft and Outbreak has recorded there before so I think we all had a feel for where we wanted the record to go.

Which guitars did you record with and what amps/cabinets did you use?

BRIAN: Through out the couple days i spent doing guitars i used my Gibson SG Gothic and a PRS McCarty while playing out of a couple different marshall 1960 cabs with a Peavey Triple X head.

BILLY: I recorded with my Gibson mostly and a few leads with my Fender. The amp I used was a Marshall JCM 900 and a Marshall 1960A cab

Any effects?

BILLY: NOFX

BRIAN: unless you call using metal objects and credit cards to do pick slides as "effects", then yes.

Tuning and strings?

BILLY: We play in standard tuning and Brian and I exclusively use Ernie Ball Strings and Accessories (inside joke...)

Do you still find the time to practice and is there any technique or style you'd like to improve?

BRIAN: I have not touched a guitar since the first week of June when i recorded the feedback track for the record...only cause all my gear is in Boston and I live in NYC. For the past 2 years, Ive been trying to improve on not running out of breath 5 minutes into a set, but it has yet to improve.

BILLY: I do still have time to play in between working and practices and whatnot. I’m always writing songs even if they cant be used in any of the bands, im convinced ill have a solo record someday. There is always room for technique and style improvement. I like to try something I know I cant play and do it over and over.

List some of you favorite riffs ever in hardcore

BRIAN: Allegiance - "another wave" off of their record "Desperation" - best riff ever invented. gives me goose bumps every time.
Inside out - "burning right" - always got the riffs from this song in my head
and probably every other riff in "Spitting headache" by Down to nothing.

The next piece of gear you plan to buy and the guitar you dream to own?

BILLY: Im looking for a guitar head I could play for the rest of my life. If I found a good JCM 800 or an Orange I could tweak with id be a fan of that. Dream guitar is definitely a ’57 Gibson Custom Les Paul Black Beauty.

BRIAN: i'd like to get a super nice road case for my guitar and head. like the kind that costs waaaayy too much, the kind where you can throw it off an airplane and it wont break.
and i guess i would have to say the guitar i dream to own is my sparrow thats been sitting in a warehouse in western canada.


MYSPACE: http://www.myspace.com/outbreak

TRAPPED UNDER ICE / SAM

When did you start playing? Are you self taught or did you get lessons?

I started playing guitar when I was 13. I saw Metallica play "creeping death" on TV during Woodstock 99. I started learning chords and whatnot on an acoustic guitar, but continued in my pursuit of learning the main riff of "creeping death".

I took some lessons when I was just starting, I remember them being pretty informal though. I would bring in tapes of songs I liked and my instructor would teach me how to play them. That didn't last too long though. I'd say I'm mostly self taught.

Which guitarists were you biggest influence and what techniques did they push you to develope?

Metallica being my favorite band back when I was 13 until now, I'd say Kirk Hammett/James Hetfield. I loved all the heavy palm muting and the leads. I learned alot just through learning Metallica songs. I think there was a point where I could play almost every metallica song.

How many guitars do you own? models, pickups, etc, and which one is your favorite?

I own 2 guitars. My newest guitar is a Washburn Idol series WI66PROE. My other guitar is some kind of ibanez. I bought it used so I'm really not sure. I bought it because of the sticker on the bottom that reads "Bad Dog". I'd say that's my favorite just because it's so special to me. Both guitars have EMGs.

Now let's talk about your latest work, "Secrets of the world", Trapped Under Ice's first LP. Fans and critics both agree that this album is everything they hoped for. Every riff is heavy as fuck, the production is perfect, how happy are you with the final result?

I'm very happy with how everything came out. So much time and effort went into that record, whether we were home, touring, in the studio. We really threw ourselves into it. It was all I thought about while we were writing. But I think everything paid off. I'm really happy with it.

Which guitars did you record with and what tone were you looking for?

I recorded all guitars with the Bad Dog (Ibanez...see attached). I did the rythm track with the Bad Dog first, then we tried some other guitars. Bad Dog took the cake though. I wanted the guitars to just be heavy and thick...one record I always look to is "And Justice For All" by metallica. Very low mid range, high gain...sounds like air is being sucked out of your ears or something.

Tuning and strings?

Standard D and SIT 10-52's

What amps and cabinets were used in studio?

We used a 5150 on both guitar tracks. A VHT cab was used for one guitar track, and I'm not really sure what we used for the other. I think it was a Marshall.

You choosed to work with Dean Baltulonis once again, who did Stay cold, and also worked with bands like Sick of it all, Hope Con, and American Nightmare. Tell us about your relation with him and how much did he helped on the new record.

Dean is the man. We have a very informal and friendly relationship with him which makes recording a lot easier. He has a great ear and a lot of great ideas. We're still a younger band with not a lot of studio experience, so we have a lot of questions for sure. He answers all of them.

What's the songwriting process for TUI and how do you define who plays what with Brad?

We write a lot of riffs. Sometimes riffs become songs, sometimes they just stay riffs. Everyone contributes on some level, but Justice and I write most of it. I wrote more of Secrets as far as guitars go, he always writes the lyrics. I demo out lots of the songs on my computer first too. We have a lot of riffs, portions of songs, even complete songs that never got used for anything. As far as what brad plays live, I'll basically take the lead track and he'll hold down the rythm tracks (with some exceptions).

There's some sick ass solo in there, my favorite being the one in "eye hand" and, like the one in "too true", it looks based on the harmonic minor scale? The ending of it with the weird overdubbs ands effects is awesome, how did you do that?

Thanks! The tail-end of that solo in Eye Hand really just happened in the studio. We thought that part could use another layer of guitar over it, so we tried messing around with some different effects and pedals etc. We actually never do that, but we found this one pedal that like...plays what you play in reverse or something. I basically just hit some creepy notes and it made it sound all crazy like that.

As far as the scale goes, that sounds right. I'm not really good with the whole theory side of things, just tried to play something that emphasized the mood of that part. Both parts are pretty dramatic so that minor feel felt right.

Theres so many good riffs in there, which ones are your favorites?

Thanks. If I had to choose some I'd say....The last riff in See God (also earlier with one guitar), the last riff in Believe, the first riff of Eye Hand, the palm muted part in World I Hate.

About your live rig, what rackmounts or pedal do you use?

No rackmounts, just a Boss chromatic tuner and noise suppressor.

Can you still find the time to practice these days and is there any techniques youd like to expand on?

I play guitar all the time. Not usually honing in on any new techniques though, usually just riffing. I would like to get better at leads though. I want to shred.

The best guitarist in hardcore right now?

Who knows. Some of my favorites would be Griff from Bitter End, and Jordan Posner from No Warning/Terror.

The next piece of gear youd like to get your hands on?

I wouldn't mind trying some kind of tube screamer or some additional distortion live. Also would like to try some other Washburns. I'm not much of a gearhead though. Once I find something that I like, I try to stick with that.

MYSPACE: http://www.myspace.com/underdaice

DEAD SWANS / PID

Note: This was send to the band before "Sleepwalker" was released.


So what's your guitar?

I play a fender tornado mainly it sounds awesome and it looks fantatsic. We also have an endorsement from Gibson so i sometimes play a Les Paul standard which sounds incredible.

What's your tuning and what strings do you use?

We use standard D tuning mainly, but have been experimenting with drop C on some recent songs including Ascension from 'sleepwalkers'

Your tone on "Southern Blue" is fucking nice. What amps and cabs did you use and how did you record them?

We used some battered old marshall cabs with a peaver 5150 head...hah...when we recorded southern blue we literally had no equipment, luckily friends helped us out and sam at the cros nest studios is sick at recording guitars!!

Who are you main influences in terms of songwriting?

Song writing wise i try to take influence from bands that arent so much in our genre, when writing sleepwalkers i had been listening to so much godspeed you black emperor, this will destroy you and pelican, stuff like that..so when it came to writing hardcore songs i had some fresh ideas for second guitar parts and dark sounding melodies. Hardcore wise even though we sound nothing like them bands like turning point and chain of strength are always a big influence for me.

How do you write your songs as a band, do you come up with a riff and everybody adds their own twist?

Generally i write one guitar part and the structures to songs, i show them to the band and we pick out the best parts and work the drums into them, then robbie will add 2nd guitars etc and bass last generally.

What dynamics and atmospheres do you try to create in your songs...

We are a dark band and i think our songs are very melancholy...we worked delay and reverb into the new songs and its really given a new sound at times, the songs have a depressing feel to them, kind of how joy division make you want to hang yourself but you cant stop listening...hah.

Nice solo on "Prefering the worst". Did you ad lib that tapping and did any other members tried to cut it or they're into that stuff?

Robbie played the solo i cant play that stuff to save my life...ask him

How long have you been playing and who taught you

I taught myself playing pennywise and blink 182 songs from tabs on the net, it was a slow process but the first time i learn to play dammit by blink all the way through i was in heaven, i never looked back!

Did you still pratice when you have the time?

Sure, i don't regard myself as a good guitar player and away from playing hardcore and punk i do struggle, so i try to play alot of accoustic guitar and sometimes work on scales because i suck at both!

Who are the best players in hardcore right now?

Its a tough question because i guess judging on hardcore its hard to tell... jay maas from defeater is a great player, we spent 2 weeks with him recording (at his getaway studios) and he had some great ideas...deffo a solid forward thinking guitar player. Those dudes in pulling teeth shred pretty hard, and kurt ballou has to get a mention obviously.

Which riff you wish you would have wrote?

Haha there is a bunch of stuff i wish i had written, but first thing that comes to mind is the intro to 'broken' by turning point.

What can we expect from your first full length?

Hah, itll blow you mind...no seriously. Hahaha.

MYSPACE: http://www.myspace.com/thedeadswans

CARPATHIAN / MARTY

How old were you when you first picked a guitar and what made you choose that instrument?

I was 12 whenI first picked up a guitar seriously with the intent of learning to play it. I have a huge extended family many of my uncles and cousins are musicians and instruments were always around at family events. My uncle has a 60’s fender telecaster I used to play at any chance before my father bought me a shitty strat copy. Choosing the guitar was an obvious choice for songwriting and wanting to start a band.

Did you practiced a lot back then and did you take lessons?

I’ve never had lessons and I’ve never really practiced enough, which is definitely apparent in my playing. Originally I taught myself standard chords and would try playing Dire Straits/U2/The Beatles like my family would before discovering punk rock and power chords.

Name some great players who influenced you and explain what you like about their playing?

I went to the Warped Tour in ’98 age 13 to see Steve Caballero skate and instead was caught up in the crowd watching Blink 182. From that moment I was hooked on punk rock and knew I wanted to be in a band… for that reason obviously Tom Delonge had a huge influence, Robert Smith of the Cure, Bernard Summer of Joy Division, Johnny Marr of The Smiths etc. I’ve always been more fascinated by the songwriting aspect of guitar rather than technicalities and for that reason I’ve been influenced by great guitarist/songwriters rather than great guitarists.

Tell us about the guitars you own, models, pickups, etc, and what you like about them?

I have an off white Orville Les Paul Custom. In the 80’s-early 90’s Gibson were making guitars in Japan under the name Orville by Gibson which were basically a Gibson USA product but made in Japan, better than the Epiphone Japan and Korea range. It has a crack in the neck which sucks. It’s all original hardware. The band collectively has a Gibson SG Studio, a Fender Jag Bass, 2 ESP LTD Deluxe Eclipse and a few more ESP’s on the way through our endorsement.

The guitars on "Isolation" sounds really low and heavy, what's the tuning and what strings do you use?

The tuning for Isolation is Drop B. Super low. We are endorsed by an Australian string company, Deathwish Strings, who are unrelated to our American record label and the strings are 56-13 gauge extra heavy. I think on the record we used Ernie Ball 56-13’s as we recorded in Boston.

What amps and cabs did you record with?

We were lucky enough to borrow amps and cabs from Kurt Ballou (Converge) for the record as well as some of Jay’s personal amps. Most of the rhythm was an ENGL Fireball. We used Kurt’s modded Badcat Lynx 50 for the extra tracks. The cab was a Mesa 4 x 12.

Did you know what sound and tone you wanted on the album, long before you started the recording?

We definitely wanted a darker dirtier tone than anything we had previously recorded and part of recording in Boston and being able to touch base with Jay and Kurt about this was for this reason. We had never heard of BadCat as they aren’t a traditionally heavy toned amp and hadn’t played a ENGL Fireball before so that sound was definitely something introduced to us by those guys. I knew I definitely didn’t want another 5150/Mesa cabinet combination for this record, as great as those amps are.

How did Jay Maas help you find that sound?

Jay’s production idea’s on guitars were definitely something different for us. Recording tracks in a certain order and suggesting we use amp’s he thought would sound good rather than amps we were looking at hiring.

Which riff or parts are you the most proud of on that album?

My favourite riff of the record is the main verse riff of Cursed, Josh actually wrote this and wasn’t that into it… the second I heard it I jumped on it ‘that riff rules, record it now and ill write to it’. Most of the track 70k that I wrote is a little different to the rest of the record and I think stands out sonically and is also pretty chill to play.

Do you use any rackmounts or pedals for shows?

Ill speak on behalf of Josh and Lloyd here as I sing live haha. Josh is using an Orange head through a Hughes and Kettner 4x12 cabinet, Boss Tu-1 Tuner, Boss NS-1 noise suppressor, MXR EQ pedal and a Boss DD3 Digital delay. Lloyd is using my gear which is an original block letter EVH 5150 and Mesa 4 x 12. Pedals kicking in and around of our home studio and touring are Ibanez and Maxon tubescreamers, Boss Chorus, Sansamps etc.

Do you still practice and is there any techniques you'd like to perfect?

I’ve recently started to practice playing ‘real guitar’ more and more, learning scales and classic songs to improve on my guitar playing. I literally youtube’d some scales that seemed relevant and lately I always roll through them whenever I pick up a guitar.

Who makes the best riffs in hardcore right now?

Bean – Blacklisted.

The next piece of gear you'd like to get?

I just bought an ‘84 Marshall JMP 100 watt and get to pick that up in a few weeks on tour. I want an original Sunn Model T amp, I check craigslist and ebay every day to try and it’s a needle in a haystack, being in Australia makes it worse as shipping and power issues make it a nightmare. I also really want an ‘86 Les Paul as it was the year I was born and I’d like to hold on to something like that, hopefully tobacco sunburst in colour.

MYSPACE: http://www.myspace.com/carpathian

INTO THE MOAT / Kit Wray

You started in Into the Moat on bass, then in 2002 you switched to guitar. Why did you make the move?

When making the move to have two guitarists we found it very difficult to fill the shoes of what we wanted and since I had been writing most of the guitar riffs back then I just made sense. Also, finding a bassist was easier.

Did you learn by yourself or got a teacher and what were the best excercices you praticed?

After playing nirvana covers for a few months I began taking guitar and bass lessons for two and a half years. Later I took jazz and theory courses in college. As far as exercises go, just buy John Petrucci's Rock Discipline.

Who are your main influences?

My biggest influences over the year have probably been John Petrucci, Ben Weinman, Kurt Ballou, and John Adubato.

Let's talk about your latest album "The Campaign". You started writing these songs more than 3 years ago. What direction did you wanted for the new stuff compare to "The Design"?

This album was supposed to sound like a war and thus have more emotion and feeling. So I spent a lot more time with the note and melodies. Also we changed our writing style and little and spent a lot of time just jamming a riffs then just putting sounds together piece by piece.

As musicians, describe the creative process behind these songs. How do you write your parts and choose who will follow who?

Its like writing a story but through music. You start with a single idea and let it grow. You had more details and the story starts to take different directions and the next thing you know, you have a song.

How do you know when a song is really done?

Every song needs a beginning a middle and an end. Some times one or more sections can be very long or very short. We usually would just build a song one riff at a time until we were satisfied. Also a big ending is key.

Tell us about the guitars you used for the recording; models, pickups, tuning, strings, etc

After going through about 8 guitars we went with my 'old faithful'. The guitar was a '85 Charvel Model 5 with a DiMarzio Tone Zone in the bridge. When it came time for clean parts, I used a Gibson Les Paul Gold Top (neck position). For strings I used Elixir .012 gauge and for tuning I play in C standard.

What about amps and cabinets?

For the gain I used my early '90s Mesa Boogie Rackmount Dual Rectifier w/ a Ibanez Tube Sceamer and for the clean I used a Bogner Uberschall. Both of which I ran though my VHT 4x12 with V30s.

What rackmounts and pedals do you have on your live rig? Any custom modifications?

Nothing crazy just a guitar, amp, and cab. I'm all about natural tone. So I don't use any processors.

Whats your warm up routine before a show?

A minute or two of scales to warm up, stretch out my whole body, then more scales, some legato riffs, and sweeps.

What do you pratice when you have the time?

Lately I have been working on a crust punk side project and a Fiona Apple cover album.

The hardest riff you wrote?

None Shall Pass 1:25-1:48, that riff is a bitch.

The best players out there right now?

The most talented players I can think of off the top of my head are Dusty and Paul from Between the Buried and Me. Those dudes can shred.

The next piece of gear you'd like to buy?

I Blonde '51 Tele. Those thing sound sweet as hell.

As a teacher yourself, what are the best advices you can give to young shredders?

Don't avoid theory, practice at least an hour a day, and always play with people that are better then you.

MYSPACE: www.myspace.com/intothemoat

BURIED INSIDE / Andrew Tweedy

How long have you been playing now?

I've been playing since I was about 12 or 13. So really, I should be much better than I am.

Lessons or self taught?

I taught myself to play. Steve and I were playing in a band together back in high school and all of us taught eachother different things and we all learned as we went.

Who are the players that influenced you the most?

I grew up learning to play Guns N Roses, Nirvana, Metallica... stuff like that. But probably the bands that influenced me the most in terms of how I write were a lot of the bands from Ottawa that we all worshipped. Union of Uranus, Shotmaker. They wrote music that oozed emotion and were so powerful.

What do you look for in a guitar and what models (pickups, wood, etc) did you use on the new record?

I have 2 SG standards that I use for Buried Inside, and for the record that's mostly what I used. I also used a Maton MS500 for one song, which is an Australian made guitar. It's a bit smaller with more of a vintage sound to it. But in general, I look for classic styles of guitars. I'm really not interested in the 'modern' types like ESP or Jackson, etc. I'm a huge fan of hollow bodies, old Gretsch and Gibsons... they're pieces of art.

What's your tuning and what strings do you use?

We tune to CGCFAC. I use GHS Boomers, 10-52.

"Spoils of failure" has been out since a month and is already praised by both fans and critics, what sound and tone were you looking for this time compared to Chronoclast?

We generally go for rich, natural distortion. It maybe comes across as heavier because of our tuning, but most of the guitar tracks were being played through a Fender Twin.

What amps and cabinets did you use in studio?

We used a Fender Twin, a Marshall 1x12 combo, an Ampeg V4 through and a Bad Cat head through Emperor cabinets. For bass, Steve used an Orange Thunderverb through an Ampeg 8x10.

Let's talk about the riffs on the album. The progressive blend of melodic lines and dense heavy chords is omnipresent throughout most of the songs and creates amazing atmospheres. What was the process to craft these songs as guitarists and what inspired you?

No real process. This record was written essentially by jamming out little parts and expanding them on the spot. We would record each practice and pick out the better parts, bring them back and do it all over again.

Lots of melodies are made using octave chords in differents degres to create multiple harmonies, do you let these come naturally or build your lines note by note?

I think a little bit of both. For my parts, I usually have a sense when I hear everything else of how I want to add to it or compliment it. So it comes naturally in my head, and then I just recreate that... there's definitely a purpose to each lead guitar part.

For your live setup, what rackmounts and pedals do you use?

I use a Mesa Boogie rack mount head, a BBE Sonic Maximizer, an Alesis 3630 compressor/gate, a Rocktron Cyborg delay pedal, and Boss Tremolo, Delay, and Noise supressor pedals.

Do you have any warm up routine?

Not at all. I really should.

Is there any techniques you'd like to expand on and what are you practicing when you have the time?

I'd like to be a more rounded guitar player in general. I'd love to be able to play other styles really well... you know those dudes who can just sit down with an acoustic guitar and bust out the craziest bluesy lick? That's not me.

The next piece of gear you'd like to get?

I'd really like an Ampeg R50H head. But they're tricky to find.

Any words of advice for kids who are starting or amateurs who wants to get better?

Start a band... You'll learn way more from other people than from any book or lessons.

WEBSITE: http://www.buriedinside.com/

MYSPACE: www.myspace.com/buriedinside

WITHIN THE RUINS / Joe

First of, congrats on your Victory Records debut, the riffs are amazing and the whole thing sounds fucking huge. I bet you're pretty happy with the final result?

THANKS! WE WORKED OUR ASSES OFF TO MAKE THIS ALBUM HAPPEN. WHEN WE SIGNED AND FOUND OUT WE'D BE DOING A FULL LENGTH ALBUM WITHIN A FEW MONTHS, WE HAD ONLY HAD LIKE 4-5 SONGS PREPARED. SO WE WROTE MOST OF THE ALBUM IN ONLY A FEW MONTHS. BUT YES, WE'RE REALLY HAPPY WITH HOW IT CAME OUT!

Tell us about the guitars you used for the recording, model, pickups, and what you like about them.

I DID EVERYTHING ON THE ALBUM WITH MY CAPARISON DELLINGER II. I HAVE AN EMG85 IN THE BRIDGE AND 81 IN THE NECK. CAPARISON IS THE BEST GUITAR I'VE EVER OWNED!

What's your tuning and what strings do you play on?

WE TUNE TO DROP G#. I USE DEAN MARKLEY STRINGS NOW. ITS A CUSTOM SET 70-15 GUAGE.

What amps were used on the album and what made you choose these?

WELL, WE DID ALL THE GUITAR TRACKS WITH MY KRANK REVOLUTION BUT WHEN IT CAME TIME TO RE-AMP THE GUITARS BEFORE MIXING WE ENDED UP USING A MODDED FRAMUS COBRA FOR ALL THE RHYTHMS. WE USED THE KRANK FOR THE LEADS TO GET SOME CONTRAST. THE FRAMUS JUST HAD SUCH A UNIQUE SOUND WHEN WE A/B'd IT WITH THE KRANK. REAL TIGHT AND CLEAR. WE USED AN OLDER MESA BOOGIE RECTIFIER CAB ALSO. MESA RULES!

There's so many metal bands out there and with these days technology it's getting a lot easier to make everything sound really heavy, how did you try to stand out and what tone were you looking for?

OUR NUMBER 1 GOAL WAS TO MAKE THIS ALBUM AS CLEAN AND CLEAR SOUNDING AS POSSIBLE. THERES LOTS OF SHIT GOING ON ALL OVER THE PLACE IN MOST OF THE SONGS. WE PLUGGED IN THE FRAMUS AND JUST GOT A NICE TONE AND THAT WAS IT!

For your live rig what rackmounts and pedals do you use?

MY LIVE SETUP IS PRETTY SIMPLE. THATS THE WAY I LIKE IT. LESS THINGS CAN GO WRONG. I USE 2 KRANK REVOLUTION HEADS, 1 FOR BACKUP. AND 2 MESA BOOGIE OVERSIZED CABS. I JUST RUN A BOSS TUNER, NOISE SUPPRESSOR AND AN IBANEZ TUBE SCREAMER IN FRONT OF THE AMP. THATS IT!

Now let's go back in time a little, when did you start playing and what made you pick the guitar?

I STARTED PLAYING WHEN I WAS 10. FOR SOME REASON I WAS JUST OBSESSED WITH GETTING A GUITAR. ALL I LISTENED TO WAS METALLICA, I GUESS THATS THE REASON I STARTED PLAYING. I WANTED TO BE JAMES HETFIELD. HAHA

What was your first guitar and amp?

HAHA, I HAD A WASHBURN LYON, AND A 10W CRATE 1X12 PRACTICE AMP. SOUNDED GOOD AT THE TIME!

Which guitarists influence you the most?

EHH LIKE I SAID, JAMES HETFIELD IS THE MAN. I LOVE THE AMOTT BROS FROM ARCH ENEMY TOO.

Did you ever take lessons and for how long?

YES I TOOK LESSONS FOR A FEW MONTHS WHEN I GOT MY FIRST GUITAR. LEARNED A FEW CHORDS AND HOW TO HOLD A PICK HAHA THATS ABOUT IT. I NEVER GOT INTO THEORY OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT. I DON'T EVEN KNOW THE NOTES ON THE GUITAR HAHA. JUST PLAY WHAT I FEEL.

I know you guys just started one huge tour that will end in june and you probably got less time to practice, but when you do, what do you practice? What techniques you'd like to expand?

WHEN WERE HOME AND I HAVE TIME TO PLAY, I JUST WORK ON NEW MUSIC. I REALLY DON'T PLAY ANYTHING OTHER THAN THE STUFF I WRITE. MY GOAL IS JUST TO CONTINUE TO GROW AND ADD NEW THINGS HERE AND THERE TO MY PLAYING. IT'S DEFINITELY FRUSTRATING BEING ON THE ROAD AND NOT BEING ABLE TO GET ENOUGH PRACTICE IN. IT CATCHES UP TO YOU AFTER A WHILE

Finally what's your advice for young metalheads who aspire to one day shred like you?

HAVE FUN WITH IT. ALWAYS REMEMBER THE REASON THAT YOU ARE PLAYING! ENJOY IT, AND PRACTICE!

MYSPACE: www.myspace.com/withintheruins

DESPISED ICON / Eric Jarrin

Premièrement, à quel âge as-tu commencé à jouer et quel était ta première guitare?

J'ai commencé à jouer de la guitare à l'âge de 13 ans. Mon père m'avait inscrit à des cours et m'avait acheté une guitare classique. J'ai commencé à jouer de la guitare électrique seulement à l'âge de 15 ans. Ma première guitare électrique était une Kramer mais peu de temps après j'ai travaillé durant un été complet pour me payer une Jackson soloist.

As tu pris des cours, pendant combien de temps et quand as-tu su qu'il était temps d'arrêter?

J'ai pris des cours de guitare classique pendant 5 ans avant de m'inscrire au CEGEP en guitare classique. C'est au CEGEP que j'ai réalisé qu'il n'était pas nécessaire pour moi de poursuivre des études en musique pour avoir une carrière en temps que compositeur/interprète. Les études collégiales en musique allait plus me diriger vers une carrière de musicien pigiste ou d'enseignant et ce n'était pas ce que je désirais. Mais ceci dit, j'ai toujours continué à prendre des cours de guitare avec des professeurs privés afin de me guider dans mon apprentissage de la musique. Même encore aujourd'hui, lorsque j'en ai la chance, j'essaye de me trouver quelqu'un qui pourra me guider vers autre chose que je n'ai pas encore exploré. On a toujours quelque chose à apprendre!

Quel sont les guitaristes qui t'ont le plus influencés?

Kirk Hammett et James Hetfield de Metallica sont probablement la raison pour laquelle j'ai commencé à jouer de la guitare. J'ai vu le videéoclip de la chanson "One" à Musique Plus et j'ai immédiatement ressenti un éclair me traverser le corps. J'ai eu une révélation et je mesuis dit que c'était ce que je voulais faire dans la vie! Bien évidemment ensuite j'ai découvert les Jimmy Page, Jimmi hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Joe Satriani et Steve Vai mais ce sont ces deux gars de Metallica qui m'ont véritablement donné le goût de jouer de la guitare.

Quelle est ta routine de warm up avant un show?

Je n'ai pas vraiment de routine. Je suis plutôt paresseux comme gars. Sauf qu'en tournée j'essais de faire attention et généralement pendant une vingtaine de minutes je vais jouer des trucs plutôt relax juste pour me délier les doigts et faire circuler le sang dans mes mains et mes bras avant de monter sur scène. J'augmente progressivement la vitesse et j'essais d'éviter les tensions dans la main gauche.

On sais que le groupe est quasiment toujours sur la route, trouve tu quand même le temps de pratiquer? Est-ce qu'il y a quelque chose en particulier que t'essai de perfectionner ces jours ci?

Justement, je ne trouve pas le temps souhaité pour pratiquer et apprendre de nouveaux trucs. Et quand je suis à la maison je dois souvent composer pour Despised ou bien remonter de vieilles chansons que nous voulons rejouer en spectacle alors disons que ça me manque. Présentement, comme je viens de terminer l'enregistrement du nouvel album et que nous ne faisons pas de tournée avant le mois de juin, j'essaye de pratiquer des nouveaux motifs de gammes que j'utilise rarement dans Despised. Je me suis également procurer un DVD instructionnel de Blues. J'adore ça!

On sais maintenant que t'as utilisé l'Eclipse et la M-2 de ESP pour le nouvel album, parle nous un peu de ce que tu aime de ces guitares, comment sont-elles accordés et quelles cordes utilise tu?

Toutes mes guitares pour Despised ont six cordes et sont accordées en Si standard. J'utilise des cordes d'Addario 14-68. J'adore mes deux Eclipse. Je possède une Gibson Les Paul accordé en Mi que j'adore et quand j'ai commencé à jouer avec Despised, j'utilisais ma Jackson soloist et le feeling de la Gibson me manquait. J'ai vu que ESP faisait un modèle qui était basé sur la Les Paul alors je m'en suis acheté une. J'ai tout de suite aimé le feeling et comme elle est moins épaisse qu'une Gibson, elle est plus légère donc je trouvais ça avantageux pour faire des spectacles (moins dur sur le dos!). Par contre, pour le nouvel album j'avais envie d'explorer d'autres effets de guitares alors j'ai demandé à ESP une guitare qui avait un Floyd Rose et ils m'ont envoyé la M-II avec le manche en érable. Ça m'a fait drôle car elle me fait penser à ma vieille Jackson avec laquelle j'ai joué pendant des années et en plus c'est le premier modèle que ESP a commercialisé dans les années 80 pour Kirk Hammett. Quand je joue avec c'est un véritable retour dans le passé pour moi!

De quel modèles d'amplificateur tes tu servis pour l'enregistrement et quel tone recherchais tu comparé aux albums précédants?

J'ai enregistré toutes les tracks de guitare dans un "Direct Box" avec en parallèle un processeur qui simule un ampli et c'est au mixage de l'album que je vais enregistrer les guitares. On appelle cette technique "Re-Amping". En branchant ma guitare dans le Direct Box, j'enregistre le "pick-up" de la guitare directement et par la suite je fais jouer ma track en "playback" que j'injecte dans un ampli pour ensuite ré-enregistrer avec un micro devant le cabinet. Ça me permet d'essayer plusieurs combinaisons différentes d'ampli et de cabinets pour arriver au son que je cherche. Je recherche toujours un peu le même tone. Je veux quelque chose de clean, mais de gros avec assez de gain pour trancher suffisement tout en gardant une attaque bien présente. J'aime qu'on puisse entendre la corde malgré la saturation de la distortion.

De quoi est composer ton rig de tournée question rackmount et pédales à effets?

Je n'utilise pas beaucoup d'effet avec Despised. J'essaye de garder ça assez simple au niveau de mon son. Mon rig est principalement constitué de mes deux têtes 5150 Peavey que je branche dans mes cabinets Randall. J'utilise parfois aussi les têtes Randall RM100 avec le module ultra XL et Randall V2 à transistor. J'utilise un Tube Screamer entre la guitare et l'ampli et un noise gate dans l'effect loop. Parfois j'utilise un delay dans l'effect loop aussi pour mes solos ou les passages ambiants de nos chansons. Le noise gate et le delay se trouvent dans mon processeur rackmount Boss GX-700. J'utilise aussi un san-fil Audio-Technica en rackmount.

A quoi peut on s'attendre au niveau des riffs et des structures pour ce nouvel opus?

À du Despised Icon pur et dur!!! Mais aussi à des chansons beaucoup plus structurées. On a mis l'emphase sur la qualité des riffs et des grooves plus que sur la quantité et la technicalité de ceux-ci. D'ailleurs, sur cette album la majorité des riffs sont plus mélodiques. Ça permet parfois d'exprimer encore mieux une émotion, alors j'en ai profité pour utilisé cette aspect de manière à créer un effet encore plus brutal! Il y a même un passage assez black metal sur l'album.

Vous avez maintenant un nouveau guitariste, Ben Landreville, qui jouait avec The Plasmarifle avant. Qu'est-ce qui vous a fait dire que s'était le gars dont vous aviez de besoin?

Ironiquement, Ben était notre candidat numéro 2 lorsque Yannick a quitté le groupe en 2007. Alors quand Alan est parti, on lui a demandé s'il était toujours intéressé par Despised et il a tout de suite sauté sur l'occasion. C'est rare que le même ascenseur nous est envoyé 2 fois dans la vie alors il n'a pas hésité 2 secondes. D'ailleurs, le groupe ne s'est jamais aussi bien porté depuis l'arrivée de Benoit. Quand tu perds 2 membres originals en l'espace d'un an ce n'est pas évident, et Ben cadre parfaitement dans ce qu'on recherchait d'un guitariste. Quelqu'un de motivé, de dédié et de toujours disponible pour le groupe. En plus, il joue très bien nos chansons et a même composé une pièce sur le nouvel album. C'est un excellent guitariste qui ne tardera pas à ce faire connaître et remarquer.

En terminant quel conseils pourrais tu donner aux jeunes metalheads qui débutent?

De ne jamais perdre de vue ses rêves et de toujours garder la volonté de réussir. Le succès n'est pas toujours là au début, mais avec persévérance et détermination, on peut avoir un bon bout de chemin de fait. De savoir bien s'entourer et de choisir les musiciens avec qui on s'engage dans un projet fait une grande différence. Et parfois le talent n'est pas la qualité première à rechercher. Bien sûr, il faut un minimum mais j'avouerai qu'en terme de carrière et de monter un projet de band, tu as besoin de gens travaillant avec des aptitudes autres que de seulement maitriser un instrument!




Check out more vidz of DI in studio @ www.youtube.com/user/DespisedIconTV

WEBSITE: www.despisedicon.com
MYSPACE: myspace.com/despisedicon