Power trio WARCALL's first official track turned single "Riding With Zombies", talks of the grueling life of touring, hence their fourth assault titled "Invaders", deals with us humans fighting against the forces of an alien invasion, not knowing if it is really over. Vocalist/guitarist Mathieu Simard goes into greater detail on the single, the album, and future.
1. Give a brief history of WARCALL music style, and the members.
Mat: WarCall started in late 2007 as an evolution from our old project Plan B, to achieve a more aggressive sound. Straight from the beginning in early 2008, the band went on the road in eastern Canada to spread their music with Catamenia, Impaled Nazarene, Norther, in festivals, etc., quickly establishing itself as a road band. As of late October 2017, WarCall will have managed to put out 4 albums, 5 tours 3 of whitch were in Europe in 10 years of existence. After 10 years, the music style has evolved to be thrash metal, mixed with melodic death, a touch of black and punk rock. But I prefer to call it good old metal!
WarCall is: Mat on guitars and back vocals, Gord on bass and lead vocals and Phil on drums. Mat and Gord have been playing together in various projects since 15 years. Phil joined the band in 2013 and brings the energy behind the kit that we need to deliver our fast music.
2. How did the band come up with the name WARCALL and tell me what does it mean for you?
Mat: Drunken night, we wanted to have an aggressive band name that evoked the subjects and musical direction of the project so WarCall was born.
3. What inspires WARCALL's music and lyrical writing? Which acts do you take influence from the most when creating your work?
Mat: Events of life, historic or personal that are translated in stories and emotions, difficult question for me it changes all the time, but mostly metal, death, thrash, black and also classic and progressive rock from the ‘70s.
4. Why did you think that "Riding With Zombies" was suitable to be made into a single and video? What other songs off this album, do you see will make it as singles and or videos?
Mat: It represents well the different moods that the audience can expect in the album. Because we think all the songs on the album are excellent, we debate a lot on which should be the singles. So far, we have Mission Commando and Bully Bastard because they are straightforward kick ass songs.
5. What is the difference between your latest album "Invaders" and the very first records?Mat: Better production, better musicianship, a clear artistic vision but mostly, a lot of experience. You cannot buy or artificially accelerate experience.
6. Why did you want to go ahead and title this album "Invaders"? Who are the invaders that this title represents?
Mat: We had a sci-fi concept in the global vision of the album so a general background story with aliens invading was natural. In the imagery of the album, the invaders are from space and want to destroy us, but in the songs, it is more general than that and there is no continuous story besides the first and last song that directly deal with the alien invasion.
7. Which producer did you decide upon when writing and recording for this album?
Mat: JC was a member of the band for Blood, guts and dirt and was on the first European tour. He had just built this world class studio and the choice was evident. He knows the band, our personalities and what to expect from us so he could drive and motivate us appropriately. He used a very different approach than what I did in the studio for the first three albums and it gave us a different perspective for the performances. Plus, the fact that I did not have to look over the recording and perform at the same time was a big relief for me!
8. How would you describe the album's artwork, who was the one to create it?
Mat: The artwork represents an epic battle between a human army and some form of extraterrestrial life form. It was created by Timur Khabirov from a sketchy napkin drawing that we sent him.
9. What have you guys done to prepare yourselves for this European tour?
Mat: Since it is a full DIY tour, a lot of things have to be looked after. From booking the shows to arranging for the van, gear, etc., it is a lot of work! We have been working on this project for well over a year. And on top of that, we have to practice! The band meetings are divided half of the time to talk about the tour and the other half to jam.
10. What can be expected from this touring run and it's assortment of showcases compared to previous shows and tours?Mat: It is 8 shows, in 8 different cites, 5 of which we have already visited. It is pretty similar as the other tours and we have a few days off in good cities so we can also relax.
11. Where can we listen to your band and where can we buy your stuff?
Mat: You can find our albums pretty much everywhere online. If you want CDs, come to the gigs and we’ll be happy to meet you and chat about the band!
12. What is it you’d like a listener to remember the most when hearing your music for the first time?
Mat: That we rock hard and make a lot of noise for 3 guys.
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