Hard rock metallers NeverWake have written and recorded material for their latest release "Vitality" and have follow-up release "Sleepwalkers" due out soon enough. The whole band got together to talk how these two releases differ, compare, and have evolved and what plans they have the remainder of this year.
1. What type of band are you?
We are a Rock / Metal band just outside of Pittsburgh, PA. We strive to merge those two genres for several reasons. Everyone loves metal, they just don't know it yet. We try to package it in a way that is presentable to a wide range of people. This way we bridge the gap and possibly open people's musical horizons.
2. Tell us the brief history of your band.
We released our debut full-length album "VITALITY" in August 2011. Since then our online presence has rapidly grown from a local 2,000 fans to an international 87,000 fans. On Halloween of 2012 we released a new single “Cut You Down”. In just 2 years we've taken a large step into the industry. We've shot photos with experts such as Jeremy Saffer, shared the stage with several national acts, and released a professionally shot music video.
3. What's the origin of the band's name?
When we were writing the tracks for Vitality, we were listening to how each song sort of took the listener on a ride. Each one told a little bit of a story, one right after another. So we classified it as a messed up dream that you never wake up from. And so spawned the name. It also relates to the next project we have in the works that will be revealed soon.
4. Who are your musical influences?
We have several influences that range from metal to rock, to even orchestration. We've grown up listening to bands like Godsmack and Disturbed, with a tad of Metallica mixed in. As we grew older we started listening to even more metal. Pretty soon we were listening to all metal, every genre and it just seems like we've naturally pulled a little bit of influences from each area. Usually you just write and try not to focus too much on what you want to be like. You just do it. But after listening to what we've created, we can sum up that we like melody overtop of metalcore / hardcoresque instrumentals mixed with a tad of orchestration.
5. Have you recorded any previous CDs or posted any audio files on the Internet?
We do have an old demo with 6 songs that we've actually cut from the internet. They were recorded back under a different name, when we were still finding ourselves musically. From time to time we still do get people asking us to play a couple of the older songs.
6. What are your songs about? What specific themes do they cover? Can you discuss the songwriting process in detail.
Our songs are probably the most deceiving when it comes to lyricism. We are strictly a metaphorical band. A lot of songs reference death and other dark subjects. But when we talk about those things, it's not the actual subjects we are referencing. It's really just a soulful representation of our mental struggle through this artful industry we strive to succeed in.
7. Tell me about the album artwork, who designed it and what does it represent for this release?
The album artwork was done by artist Dave Syliagi. We found him online and basically gave him the concept of what we were looking for. We really liked his work when we came across it, and we thought it fit us best. It essentially a representation of the long and screwed up road we travel with this business. But it doesn't just end with that, there are some dark ominous trials that still lie ahead that we know we will eventually have to overcome.
8. How do you think being from the Pittsburgh, PA/Steubenville, OH areas has changed your sound?
Well our actual town is absolutely obsessed with Halloween. Therefore you can say that had we not been born in this place, there may have been no NeverWake. I consider it a large contributor to our sound.
9. What are your plans for new music?
Our next release is the big one. It's basically going to be the introduction to what we have planned in the future. Not to mention more hard hitting than ever.
10. What can you say about the single "Cut You Down"? Why pick and choose this particular song out of all the others offered on this release?
Fun fact: We're nerds. We love video games. One night we were playing Call of Duty zombies, the astronaut level. We were playing and all of the sudden just thought, can we please write a song about zombies? This is awesome. We didn't want to write about the game but essentially the concept of taking on hoards of enemies and just pwning. So we basically masked this subject on people we've come across in the industry. These are the people who just try to take you down and drain you mentally. So we called 'em zombies and took them all out.
11. How would you describe the overall sound "Vitality"?
Vitality is basically our first statement to the public. It's kind of like "Hey, we're here and we aren't messing around." We wanted it to be powerful but melodic so people in the mainstream world could say "woah, I actually like this music!". And that is exactly what has happened so far!
12. Did the band have any definitive goals they were shooting for before the recording process began?
It's exactly as stated above. We wanted to really hit people with something hard but them come overtop with melody so they can sing along to it. The goal was basically to show people that they shouldn't fear metal. Rather they should embrace it and give the genre more of an opportunity.
13. Are you using any new instrumentation you've never used in the recording process before?
Well most of us have been trained with the software we use to record in the studio. So when we decided to make orchestration, the process came naturally.
14. When did you start writing for this release?
We are writing hoarders. We have had several of these songs written a while ago and some finished on the day of recording. It's all about when you are at your creative peak. Once you get into that groove, you write as much as you can for as long as you can. Because when you lose it, you may be lost for a while.
15. Can you go into one or two tracks on this release? If so, can you give us the track title and brief description of how the track sounds and how it came about?
The most popular track "Pulse" was our way of stepping into the scene. We know that this is hard path to be on and we just wanted people to know that we are going to give it our all. We've seen so much talent fall by the wayside and we are making sure we don't go down the same road.
16. What are your expectations for this release?
Our expectations have already been fulfilled. We've taken a large step into this industry and really have made our mark so far. We've built a fan base that is looking forward to our next release and really, we couldn't ask for more. We also couldn't have asked for a better group of people to help us along the way. But it only gets bigger from here and the expectations for the next album are already planned.
17. Your plans for 2013 are what?
We can't reveal anything at the moment due to secrecy but you will find out in late August :).
18. Anything else you want to say or add?
Thank you to all of our fans for being so supportive of NeverWake. Really that's what keeps us going. Stay tuned and be ready for more, SleepWalkers!
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