Triphon's apart of the Rockingham Records rooster and since their debut has been built upon catchy choruses, brutal breakdowns, capella bridges, majestic instrumentals, to ignite a style all their own. Five musicians from different locations and backgrounds combine to form a blend of thrash, power, and melodic metalcore thus causing various showcases, writing's of music, recording's, and much more further plans to expand their musical reach. The band themselves took the time to discuss the past, present, and future.
1. What type of band are you guys?
Brian: Motown.
Kyle: Haha, Melodic Death Motown! I think we are best described as a mixture of European melodeath and American metal.
Stephen: I'd call us the lovechild of American metalcore and European power metal.
2. Where is the band from?
Stephen: Sit down. This may take a while.
Kyle: We are all from different parts of the world, with most of us living in various places in the United States such as Atlanta, Boston and Hartford. Morten lives in Denmark.
3. How did the band get it's name?
Stephen: bandnamegenerator.com
Kyle: We made it up (or so we thought, haha.) Turns out there is a place in Switzerland called St. Triphon, but we had no intention of attaching any significance to that location.
4. Do you write your own songs, what are your songs about?
Brian: Yes, how to handle the awkward moment after a queef.
Kyle: Haha! Yeah, that kind of sums up "Open The Gates." 0__0 But yes, All of the songs are composed by us, although we do have a cover song on our upcoming album. The subjects can vary song by song, a lot of my lyrics can carry darker themes with positive undertones. "Fall of the Tyrant" is about a leader making his last stand knowing that his efforts are in vain and is ultimately doomed while “Burning Alive” touches on the cycle of self-destructive behavior. Some of the things I write about are personal and other things are societal, but almost all of my lyrics carry a lot of psychological aspects.
5. Who are some of your musical influences?
Kyle: I grew up on 80's thrash and hair metal and also got into punk rock when I was younger. I started playing piano when I was 12 so I've been really into a lot of classical since then. I listen to a lot of power/death/folk/viking metal, video game music, and classical/baroque. Total nerd.
Morten: Hmm, always a tricky question. Sometimes you are not even aware of your influences. But during the all the years I have played, the ones who made the greatest impact on me must be: Dirk Verbeuren, Sean Rhineart, Gene Hoglan, Peter Wildoer, Thomas Haake, Gary Novak, Vinnie Colaiuta, Dave Weckl etc.
Brian: Tool, Karnivool, Tesseract, LD 50 era Mudvayne. We all vary.
Stephen: Iron Maiden, As I Lay Dying, From Exile. I'm also a big fan of Coheed and Cambria, which surprises some people.
Justin: Pantera, Guns and Roses, Lamb of God, Steve Vai, Zakk Wylde.
6. So what can you tell me about this new album?
Stephen: It's a lot like the first album, but a little smarter, and a lot stronger.
Brian: Alternate tuning's, guest appearances, progressive song structuring.
Kyle: The new album will have 16 tracks, including one cover song. I think it's noticeably heavier than "Distance" and also a little more progressive. The opening track is roughly 7 minutes, which may be something unexpected from us considering our previous material. Writing in different keys, changing tuning's, and challenging ourselves to constantly reinvent with each song has produced something that we are more proud of as a band and I think our fans will receive it well.
7. What title did you decide to go with it and is there a meaning behind it?
Kyle: Our upcoming record is currently untitled. It hasn't been something we've really thought about at this stage, since we are still writing it.
8. Is this album going to be a concept release?
Brian: No.
Kyle: Although we do have some recurring themes throughout the record so far, the album as a whole does not tell a story or have a central theme.
9. Where are you in the recording process of the new album?
Kyle: We are still in the writing and demoing process. Some of the songs are finished and the others are at various stages. We are anticipating 16 songs on the new album and we've been incredibly prolific since our last release. I've felt very inspired to write seeing as our first album did much better than we had initially thought as a new band.
10. Who is producing the album? How has the producer aided the recording process?
Kyle: We haven't selected a producer yet because we have been so focused on writing. Jacob Hansen recorded the drums on the last album and I'd love to have the chance to work with him if his schedule permits. I'm a huge fan of his work, and he's produced some of my favorite albums.
11. Where are you recording the album?
Brian: Various studios.
Justin: Mars!
Kyle: Various studios on Mars, haha! The album will be recorded in both Denmark and United States, not sure on the studios yet.
12. Did the band have any definitive goals they were shooting for before the recording process began for this album.
Stephen: For starters, more songs. We also wanted to explore more styles with our music. This sounds weird, but I feel this album has a lot more variety than the first, but at the same time is more cohesive.
Justin: For each member to showcase his own style of playing/writing.
Kyle: Yeah, we had quite a few of them. I remember Stephen and I specifically making a list of things we wanted to do on this new album. Having recurring themes, using new instrumentation, doing a cover song, instrumentals, and much more. Since our first album was 8 songs, we really wanted to make this album bigger in every way conceivable. I really view this as our chance to showcase what we are really capable of.
13. Are you using any new instrumentation you've never used in the recording process before?
Brian: I will be using various effects pedals and some extended range basses (7 string bass for some tracks) recording that for the first time will be a fun and new challenge.
Kyle: Most definitely. As a keyboardist, I've been obsessing over how to incorporate many different instruments and really challenging myself to see if I can make certain instruments work in the context of our style. I’m endorsed by Casio and they recently sent me a brand new Privia PX-5S digital piano to use on this upcoming album. It is tremendously powerful and has helped bring the keyboard sections to life and spawn some new ideas.
14. When did you start writing for this album? How was the songwriting process different/similar to previous Triphon releases?
Stephen: Some of the songs on this album have been projects of ours since the day we met. On many of the songs on the first album, one or two guys would write an entire song and it would be finished by the time the rest of us ever heard it. On this album, we've tried to have everyone contribute more throughout the entire songwriting process.
Kyle: We actually started writing this album before our debut album “Distance” was released. During the writing sessions of Distance, we have some other ideas and riffs floating around that either weren't complete or didn't fit on the album. One of the songs that will be on our upcoming album called “Ghost of War” has been in the works for over a year. The process was a little bit different too, this time around we feel much more comfortable working with each other over long distances. I had never done anything like that before we worked on our first album. We've gotten more comfortable with each other and I feel like everyone is putting forth more ideas without hesitation.
15. Did you feel any pressure to do this release?
Brian: Yes... I've never played bass until like.... 30 minutes ago.... Just learning as I go.
Stephen: I was shocked by the positive response we got to our first album. After we read the feedback, I looked at Kyle and said "Well now we've set the bar. We need to really bring it for the next album." I hope that we've done that.
Kyle: A little bit, yes. Our 8 tracks debut album was meant to be an initial demonstration of the band. I feel like this upcoming album is going to better represent what we are capable of and who we are as a group. We each come from different musical backgrounds and it’s been an interesting process discovering what each of us brings to the table and how it affects the overall sound of the band.
16. Can you go into one or two tracks on the new album? If so, can you give us the track title and brief description of how the track sounds and how it came about?
Kyle: Sure, one the songs I mentioned before Is called “Ghost of War.” This one really stands out to me because it’s so unique musically and lyrically. This song is a lot more symphonic than our other material and I really push my vocal range to the max. I never get political in my lyrics but this song may be an exception. It’s a reflection of how families are affected by war. Sons lose fathers, families are shattered, parents killing each other on the battlefield and won’t see their children anymore. It may be overly idealistic but I say lay down the weapons and go home to your family.
17. How do you think the vibe in the studio will go?
Stephen: As long as Kyle remembers to bathe every day, we'll be fine.
Kyle: Hahaha! How often I forget! It will be a little different this time around because most of us plan to be together in one location as each member records. Last time we didn't have that privilege. Since we all live so far apart, I’m really looking forward to being able to hang out with everyone while we record.
Brian: Great. We all work well on our own :)
18. When can we expect the new album to be released?
Stephen: Winter 2013.
Kyle: If all goes well, the album will be out in winter 2013. At worst, we could be looking at spring of 2047, haha.
19. What can the fans expect to see from you in the future?
Kyle: A tour, a new line of merch, and one hell of a second album. We are already working on shows for 2014 with most opportunities being in the US so far, but I would love to get over to Europe, Japan, Australia, and more.
Justin: More Kick Ass music and tours
Stephen: More and more music, and hopefully touring.
20. Is that your final answer?
Stephen: I'd like to use a life line.
Kyle: Umbrella Corporation reserves the right to change any answer, at any time, without notice and without reason. ;)
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