Silent Theory's Mitch Swanger Talks Of Delusions

Silent Theory have released a couple of singles turned video releases off their latest album "Delusions". Whilst that album and those singles and videos have been out for a while now, all new music is said to be a work in progress, with shows and touring to follow suit. Drummer Mitch Swanger talks of the album and it's accompanying releases, as well as the plans for the future.


1. What role do you play in the band?

Mitch: I’m the drummer.

2. Why the name Silent Theory? What makes a theory silent?

Mitch: I wish there was a really cool meaning or awesome story behind our name, but unfortunately there isn’t.  In 2010 we had quit our previous band, Faded, and needed a new band name to start anew. We went to one of our favorite local Mexican restaurants and decided we weren’t leaving until we had a name. After many margaritas we settled on Silent Theory.

3. Who or what has influenced your sound and style?

Mitch: I think there are quite a few factors that play into our sound a style. Three of us are brothers in the band and grew up playing music together so when it comes to writing music, we collaborate really well together because we can typically anticipate what the others are going to do. Everyone brings in various musical taste into the band as well which allows for a more elaborate writing process.

4. Tell me what are your songs about?

Mitch: It definitely depends on the song, but looking at our last album, there are a lot of common themes, including depression and mental illness.

5. Do you write your own material?

Mitch: Yes we do.

6. How do you describe the music that you create to others who have never heard of you before?

Mitch: I always tell people that musically we are inspired by bands like Breaking Benjamin and Evan’s Blue, and vocally there are a lot of similarities to 10 years.  Dakota our singer also has a unique talent in that he can rap really fast so we are hoping to show more of that on the next album. We all really like the rap/rock fusion.

7. "Watch Me Burn" is your second single off your album "Delusions", why only release two singles off this album? Why did you want "Watch Me Burn", to be picked as a single then video choice? Can you discuss the song and video's concepts for us?

Mitch: Originally there was only supposed to be one single, and that was Fragile Minds. We all enjoy Watch Me Burn but didn’t think it would receive the response that it has. It’s neck-in-neck in popularity with Watch Me Burn so the logical thing to do for us was to release a video for it. We wrote the song in the midst of the last presidential election and it was like no matter where you looked, you were getting slapped in the face with politics. Though we’d never consider ourselves a political band, it seemed fitting to write the song about our surroundings at the time. Constant bashing and empty promises from all sides.

8. "Delusions", has been out for sometime now, do you have any new music in the works?

Mitch: Yes we do.  We are planning on heading to the studio the first week of January to record and release a new single.

9. How come you went with calling the album "Delusions"?

Mitch: Once we noticed a lot of similar themes across our music, mostly leaning toward mental illness, we wanted something that fit. At one time or another I think it’s safe to say we’ve all experienced depression and/or a mental illness of some kind. We’ve all been delusional to some extent as well.

10. What do the title and album's artwork do for the music that comes from this album?

Mitch: I think it portrays an inner struggle a lot of us have and have to work through.  We wanted to portray a lone person fighting with the voices in his head. Again, I think we’ve all been there.

11. Do you have a favorite track that comes from "Delusions"?

Mitch: My favorite track on the album is Boogeyman. I love the energy and raw sound. It is almost my favorite to play live.

12. What are the plans between now into this next year coming up?

Mitch: We will release the single and probably an EP or album prior to summer and then the plan is to tour and hit the festival scene. Unfortunately I can’t get into those details yet but stay tuned!