Cemetery Road: What is now a solo project, originally formed in September of 2006 under the name" Fall of Ancient" as a full band. After a lot of time, many member changes, and musical differences, Stephen decided it would be in his best interest to continue this project alone.
Stephen is influenced by many styles of music but his main interest was to start a metal band that brought forth influences from all different types of metal. Bringing you tight low end rhythms, harmonies, and catchy lead lines, Stephen hopes to write music that will attract a broad range of audiences by including many different styles in his music. With that Stephen himself discusses his latest works and plans for the coming future.
1. Introduce yourself, tell me what you do in Cemetery Road, and how long has this project been together?
Stephen: My name is Stephen Miskie and I'm 22. I've been playing guitar for approximately 8 years. In Cemetery Road I am the only member other than a good friend of mine who has been kind enough to do all the screaming vocals for me. (Nathan Bales, who has a full time project called "Psychotic Pulse") .
All the music was written, arranged, and recorded by me with the exception of the screaming vocals
along with most of the lyrical content with the exception of contributions made by Nathan. I've been working on this project for a long time but I will go into further details in the questions below.
2. Where is this project based out of and what is your music scene like there? Are there any local bands you could recommend?
Stephen: Cemetery Road is based out of Mississauga, ON Canada. The music scene here isn't bad, bands support each other which is definitely something to be cherished. If I had to recommend any local bands from around this area I could definitely name a few.
Horizons
Something You Whisper
Starfall
Dreamers
Where Giants Once Stood
Unlimited
The Northern
3. Can I get a backstory on the project and it's biography?
Stephen: In the beginning, this project started out with the intentions of being a full band. I had been working with a drummer for a while and the two of us began searching for more members. After about 2-3 years of searching for talented/committed musicians, the two of us ended up having a falling out (for reasons unrelated to music or the band) that resulted in the ending of our friendship and the band.
In light of things coming to an end, I decided it would be in my best interest to continue the project alone, under a new name. Since all of the material was written and arranged by me, there was no issue in doing so. I went ahead and started recording. I re-wrote all the drum parts and programmed them into my songs and I got in touch with a vocalist (Nathan Bales) who was kind enough to record all the "screaming" vocals on my debut EP along with some lyrical contributions of his own.
At this stage, I now had a 3 song EP fully recorded and I was starting to see my dreams come together. I had been sitting on this material for so long and I was really upset when everything fell apart. I thought at that point, for sure, no one would ever hear my music. Because of all the help from Chris Cosentino at Citadel Studio and Nathan Bales, I was able to accomplish my dreams of releasing music to the public, that I had written.
4. You were once called Fall Of Ancient then changed your name to Cemetery Road why the name change?
Stephen: The circumstances of the project changed and I felt that it was time to start over with a new identity.
5. Why did you want your project to be called Cemetery Road? What does it mean?
Stephen: When I was trying to come up with a new name, I knew I wanted something a little more mature than the previous one. I wanted a name that stood out and grabbed peoples attention. I was out driving around up north one weekend through some country roads and I came across a street called Cemetery Road. It really stood out to me, and I liked the way it sounded. After pondering on that as a name
for a while I decided that it was a good choice for me.
6. What bands have influenced your band and its sound?
Stephen: My biggest influence would have to be Lamb of God, but there are plenty of other bands that have made a big impact on my writing style. To list a few: Killswitch Engage, As I Lay Dying, All That Remains, Affiance, and Parkway Drive.
7. What lyrical theme do you guys use in your music? What message do you want to send?
Stephen: In my debut EP a lot of the lyrical content was written based on past relationships and moving on from them. Now, that's not to say that in my future releases the lyrical content will only consist of the same. There isn't a specific message that I try to send in my lyrics. Everyone is different and everyone will interpret the lyrics differently. Take from my songs what you will and hopefully they help you get through whatever it is that you're going through. :)
8. Who produced "Fear of Dreams... Love for Nightmares" and what was it like working with them?
Stephen: Chris Cosentino @ Citadel Studio in Mississauga, ON. He was an absolute pleasure to work with, very professional and I would recommend him to anyone in the area looking for quality recordings at an affordable price!
9. Is there any story or concept behind the "Fear of Dreams... Love for Nightmares" title?
Stephen: I've found when things are good, something almost always goes wrong but when things are bad there is always a light at the end of the tunnel. So to put it simply, the fear of something good because it will probably turn sour and the love for something bad because it will probably turn out better. I tried to apply that concept into a title that could be used to describe relationships, based on that topic being the main influence for the lyrical content on this EP.
10. Who did the cover art for "Fear of Dreams... Love for Nightmares" and how much input did you have on it?
Stephen: It was Mikey Powell, the vocalist of "Conducting From The Grave" another big influence of mine! To be honest, it was actually a pre-made design he had that I just instantly fell in love with when I saw it. I already had the title of the EP in mind and to me, it just fit so perfectly.
11. Select two songs from "Fear of Dreams... Love for Nightmares" and what inspired the lyrics.
Stephen: Considering that this is only a 3 song EP, I can basically narrow down all 3 songs for you. They are all based around relationships. Some people may think it's corny or repetitive to write about that but to each their own.
The lyrics written for all of these songs have helped me get through certain tough times in my life and reading the lyrics today I look back on them and see how I've grown.
Sometimes all people need to do is write their feelings down on paper to begin their healing process without hurting the people who hurt them by voicing it to their faces.
12. Do you have any new music in the works as far as a follow-up release?
Stephen: At this current time I have a new EP in the works that will consist of 5 new songs. I have almost all of the instrumentals recorded for it, just a few final tweeks on them and then on to some vocals! I'm hoping to have this new 5 song EP out sometime around Christmas :)
13. Has Cemetery Road ever played in the States or plan to do so in the future?
Stephen: Cemetery Road has never played a show, because it's a solo project it is basically just my studio project.... at least for now. Who knows what the future will bring!14. What are your upcoming touring and show plans?
Stephen: Please see the above question :)
15. What can the fans expect to see from you in the future?
Stephen: They can definitely be expecting some merch and of course more music!
16. Anything else you'd like to say or add?
Stephen: I'd like to thank you all for taking the time to read this interview.
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