In a period where the majority of bands seem to limit themselves to one sound or genre, Sirens stands out as a group which is nearly impossible to label. The band, which consists of guitarists Jordan Caylor and Jordan Thralls, bassist Logan Pollaro, vocalist and mixing engineer Joey Fenoglio, and electronic composer and percussionist Zakk Huff, seamlessly weave between a unique blend of sounds. Rooted in progressive metal, drum and bass, and ambient soundscape, Sirens is heavy, aggressive, syncopated, digital, self-reflective, atmospheric, and experimental. Between crushingly heavy dubstep, thunderous breakbeat, and intricate metal, Sirens will take their listeners on an unforgettable journey through a world of sound and expression, driven by rich, classical harmony, and jarring rhythms. Vocalist Joey Fenoglio discusses their latest EP "Spore" as well as details of new music they have been working on with much more in-store.
1. Where are you from?
Joey: We’re from Terre Haute, IN!
2. What type of band are you guys?
Joey: Our core sound is progressive metal, but the beauty of playing progressive music is we can pretty much do whatever we’d like with it! To label us solely as progressive metal would be wrong, but that is probably the most accurate term.
3. How did you guys come up with the bands name?
Joey: Our vocalist and guitarist were both in a previous band together called Notes of a Siren. After playing for about a year, they added our other guitarist to the band. During this time, the drummer and bassist of that band decided they weren't feeling it anymore and resigned, so the remaining members found our current drummer and bassist and reformed with a shortened name and completely new sound!
4. Do you think not being from a big city like LA or NY influences your sound?
Joey: Not at all. I (Joey) personally feel very fortunate to be working with such a great group of musicians since we live in a rural area, and finding people who are good and their craft and enjoy progressive metal is a rarity. However, I don’t think that really influences our sound as we sort of just write what we want to hear!
5. Do you have a song writing process?
Joey: We typically just write material on our own and then come together to share ideas and structure out songs. Two of our members are experienced with recording and production, which really helps as we can write in a comfortable studio setting.
6. What types of songs do you guys write, what sort of themes or topics do they cover?
Joey: Well, we write songs about a variety of topics, but one story in particular that we introduced on our EP (it’s our song Drift) is reintroduced in our new single, Drone! The story is set far in the future during a time in which it is no longer required of the human race to consume energy through food and water; instead, people are able to implement something like a power strip into their bodies and simply plug into a wall to “recharge” their energy. Eventually, an individual who has grown to be dissatisfied with society in the future creates a digital virus that infects people and turns them into “drones,” which are diseased, zombie-like people. In Drone, the individual accidentally infects his own self with the virus.
7. Where are you in the recording process of the new album?
Joey: We decided early on that we weren't going to record an entire album at once, but instead record and release a few singles and THEN record the rest of the album. So right now, we’re not really that far along in the recording process. However, the writing process is going well, and that’s always the longest part!
8. Who is producing the album? How has the producer aided the recording process?
Joey: Our vocalist and drummer, as mentioned in question five, record and produce for a living under the name Division Studios. They have produced all of our music previously and will most likely always be the ones producing our music. Not only does this mean we can cut the costs of going to a studio out of our budget, but we have complete control over what our music sounds like at every stage of the creation process!
9. Tell me about the new single for the song "Drone" why pick this as the first single off your new album. Why is the song 7 minutes long?
Joey: Drone was kind of just the first song we wrote after the Spore EP. We really liked how it turned out and wanted to release it early on because it’s very different from what we were writing before. Obviously it’s still really heavy, and it’s still progressive metal, but we are trying to add even more depth to our new material, and we feel that Drone showcases this. As to why it’s seven minutes long – we can’t say for certain! It was originally only around four minutes long, but we wanted it to accompany the story mentioned in question six, and we extended the length of it to cater to that.
10. How does Spore and your new album differ and compare to one another?
Joey: For one, the production on the newer album will be much better than Spore, haha. That isn't to say that we aren't still satisfied with Spore, but everything can be improved! Mainly in the new album, however, we plan to explore new musical ideas and expand upon the ones we have already displayed in our previous work. This seems like a generic response, but for example, we decided after releasing Spore that we wanted our newer work to have more technical and challenging guitar work, so in Drone, you hear more complex rhythms and more runs. We’re just going to step it up with the new stuff in pretty much every way possible!
11. Where are you recording the album?
Joey: Most likely we’ll be recording all of the instruments at our vocalist’s house and then all of the vocals are our drummer’s house. It isn't easy recording your own vocals! This is what we've done in the past and it has served to be the most efficient.
12. What label will be releasing the album?
Joey: We can’t reveal that just yet! We’ll be releasing a new single sometime in the near future, and we’ll do a label announcement alongside it. Make sure and keep an eye out!
13. How would you describe the overall sound of the new album?
Joey: Ummmmm… It’s pretty much like a hurricane. It’s thunderous and hard-hitting, and then before you know it everything is calm and relaxing. Then, in the next minute, it’s thunderous again. Just be prepared for dynamically contrasting heavy and soft elements intertwined with the same electronic influence you are familiar with from us!
14. Did the band have any definitive goals they were shooting for before the recording process began for this album?
Joey: Not anything in particular, but as stated in question ten, there was a consensus among us that we would write more technical guitar riffs. We try not to limit ourselves too much with strict guidelines for our music, but we knew we wanted a bigger and more diverse array of sounds after Spore’s release, so that is probably what our most prominent goal has been so far.
15. Are you using any new instrumentation you've never used in the recording process before?
Joey: Oh yes! For example, we incorporated a variety of instruments that aren't entirely traditional to progressive metal in our new song Drone. The acoustic guitar and Indonesian gongs you can hear in the middle section of the piece, for example, create a soothing, ambient atmosphere that definitely augments the lyrical content there.
16. When did you start writing for this album? How was the songwriting process different/similar to previous Sirens albums?
Joey: We began writing at the end of summer 2012. We released Spore at the beginning of that summer and then wanted to take a little break to promote the album.
Joey: The songwriting process so far has been very similar to how we wrote for the Spore EP! However, we've been much more detailed with our song arrangement and structure. For instance, we charted out each section of Drone on paper before actually piecing it all together. This type of organization, we feel, has made our new material sound much more mature.
17. Did you feel any pressure to follow it up?
Joey: Nah, not at all. As stated in the previous question, we took the entire summer off after the release of Spore before writing any new material. In fact, it’s been over a year since we released Spore! 4/5s of us go to school as full time students, so we make sure to take as much time as we need to get everything done up to our expectations!
18. 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?
Joey: Well, I don’t want to give TOO much away about the material on the new album specifically, but I will say this: some songs from Spore will make a reappearance on the new album! They might not sound exactly the same as they did on Spore, but they will absolutely be the same songs.
19. How is the vibe in the studio?
Joey: The vibe is great! The studio is our vocalist’s bedroom and Zakk’s front room, so it’s very comfortable.
20. Have you chosen a title for the album and will this be a concept release?
Joey: No we haven’t, and no it won’t.
21. When can we expect the new album to be released?
Joey: Honestly, we don’t want to set a specific deadline. We aren't even sure. HOPEFULLY early 2014, but spring 2014 looks pretty good right now.
22. What do you hope for in 2013?
Joey: We hope to get the album completely written and recorded by the end of the year, and we also hope to get a short tour going in December/January. We’ll have more information about that in the future!
23. Anything you’d like to say to your fans?
Joey: We just want to say thanks for the support. We love music, and without you guys we wouldn't be this far along as a band! Additionally, we ask you to please support your local music scene and the local bands that are a part of it. They need you so that they will continue to have a place to play, and you need them so you have delicious music for your ears to consume. Thanks again for everything! Sorry the formatting got a little screwed up!! Thanks again for letting us do this interview, and sorry a million times over for taking so long with it.
Best regards,
Joey/Sirens
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