1. First of all, who are you, and what do you do in the band?
Steve: I'm Steve, and I'm the vocalist for Silence The Messenger.
2. Can you give our readers a little History 101 on how Silence The Messenger came to be.
Steve: Well the band has been around since 2007, but our current lineup has been in place for about 3 years now. I'm the only one who's actually been in since 2007, everyone else, including myself actually, has come along due to other local bands falling apart.
3. Silence The Messenger is your name choice, but who is this so called "messenger" that needs to be silenced?
Steve: To be honest, even when I joined the band, the name was already in place and becoming established. We all openly admit to having nothing to do with the name of the band, we just never felt a need to change it. Some people have interpreted as "don't let anything or anyone stop you in life, or tell you how to live your life", that sort of thing, which is cool. If that's what people get from it, then awesome! But like I said, nobody in the current lineup had anything to do with it haha.
4. “Achilles” is your latest offering to the masses. What was the recording process like for you guys this time around?
Steve: "Achilles" was a great experience with our now good friend, Landon Tewers. We went up to Cleveland, OH for a couple weeks and knocked the record out pretty quickly actually.
5. When it comes to writing an album is there a brain child in the group that over sees it or do you all work collectively? What’s the song process like for Silence The Messenger?
Steve: Well we pretty much all play our parts in the writing process. Paolo will write full songs in a program called Reaper, and then send them over to our drummer Fernando, who puts drums to them, and then sends that product to our band email so everyone can hear it. Once we've all decided how we want the song to go, then I'll just listen to it over and over on my computer and put lyrics to it. I like to think of it as an assembly line type of process haha.
6. How about musical influences, do you all stick to the same acts to take inspiration from or does it vary year after year?
Steve: We've all got a lot of the same core influences, but as new bands and new music emerge, a lot of times you start to think to yourself, "man that's a really cool riff." or "that guys vocal phrasing is fantastic." It really ends up being a mixture of things you've listened to for years, and what's currently going on in the music world.
7. Who was responsible for the album artwork for this piece?
Steve: Our friend Alex Hofmann from Cypher Visual did all of the artwork for "Achilles", as well as our EP entitled "Buried" before that. He's the singer of an amazing death metal band from California called Fallujah. If you haven't heard of them by now, then you're messing up hahaha.
8. How did Landon Tewers of The Plot In You get involved as playing the producer role for the recording process?
Steve: Our record label, Standby Records, actually brought him into the studio to do our record. We previously hadn't even heard of him recording bands, but once we listened to his work, we were stoked to do the album with him. It ended up being an awesome friendship with him, and the rest of the guys in The Plot In You, which we got to tour with this past August. Great group of dudes.
9. Would you ever consider playing either of your releases "Buried" and "Achilles" in their entirety like other bands have done with their own releases?
Steve: Well, we've played both of those in their entirety for our cd release shows for each album, but when you open up tours you really only get to play about 5 or 6 songs each night, so you've got to pick and choose. We actually haven't played anything live from "Buried" in over a year, but who knows what will happen down the road.
10. Do you have any new music in the works in terms of a follow-up to "Achilles"?
Steve: We do actually, and we're currently in the studio recording our new album as we speak! This time around, we're recording with Josh Wickman at Dreadcore Studios up in White Lake, MI. He's done multiple albums for our buds in Within The Ruins, And Hell Followed With, King810, Apparitions, and more. We're hoping to have the new record out by late spring or so, and get back to touring!
11. Aside from creating and playing killer tunes what do you guys do for fun in San Antonio, Texas?
Steve: We all have our friends and family we like to spend time with, since we miss time with them while we're on the road. We all play video games, watch Netflix, that sort of thing. Our bassist, Jared, works at a bar that is only a couple minutes from both him and I, and I'll help bar back there from time to time. You can find one or both of us there multiple nights a week haha.
12. How do you all balance being in a metal band with the needs of normal life?
Steve: It gets hard sometimes. You miss birthdays, holidays, and things like that, but the people who matter most will understand that and let you do what you need to do as far as band stuff is concerned. Financially, it's a struggle in the beginning as well. I had the same job for 8 years, and eventually we started touring too much for me to keep it and I've had to find things in between tours to make money. If you REALLY want to be in a band that tours, puts out multiple albums, and eventually (hopefully) makes money, you've got to have an enormous amount of dedication that some people just don't realize. It's not all fun and games 24/7, it takes tons of time and work.13. What does the band have planned for 2015?
Steve: Like I said before, we've got a new album in the works that should be out in the spring, and then we'll get back on the road. Once the record drops, we're going to be super busy!
14. Is there anything you’d like to say to your fans?
Steve: Just a huge 'thank you' to everyone for sticking with us for so long, and to be on the lookout for new stuff in 2015. A new version of this band is coming, be ready.
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