Skies
Below impressed me in a big way with their blistering debut album –
Aphelion. An emotionally involving Progressive Doom Metal opus that
includes elements of Jazz, Prog Rock, Post-Metal and even Psychedelic
Rock.
The
band were very kind enough to let me premier one of the songs from
the album before it's official release which I was extremely grateful
for. If you haven't heard Aphelion, then do yourself a favour and
headover to BandCamp and check it out.
Skies
Below are highly thought of in their local Seattle Rock/Metal scene.
They have even managed to get Tad Doyle to co-produce their album as
well as mixing and engineering the album. So it sounds loud as hell.
I
wanted to find more about Skies Below as they've literally came out
of nowhere onto my radar. And Skies Below have kindly agreed to this
interview.
Hi
Skies Below. Thanks for doing this. And allowing me to premier
Doorway_Descent_Dissolution on the blog. Meant a lot. How are things
with you all today.
Liz
- Fantastic! We've been playing local shows and focusing a lot on
getting our music out to the public. It's great to be in a scene
where there is support to continue doing what we enjoy.
How
did the band come about. Can yo give a brief description on how you
all met, how the band formed and where it is today.
Tim
– Dan, our guitarist, found our Drummer Tim via craigslist.
Something about Blue Oyster Cult. Liz and I have been friends for
ages and we were connected with our Bassist Ryan through Andrew
Chapman of Princess.
Dan
- I started out jamming and writing with our former 2nd
guitarist and cellist. After a while, I posted on craigslist looking
for a drummer (yeah Tim, something about Blue Oyster Cult and Drive
Like Jehu). Ryan and Liz were eventually brought on and we scaled
down to a four-piece earlier this year.
Liz
- I jumped in after Tim Ryan and Dan started jamming and were
thinking of adding a vocalist. At the time there were 5 dudes in a
stinky rehearsal space and I wasn't sure what to do with the music
that was starting to take shape. I've been friends with Tim for many
years and we both had worked in other bands so his wife Angie
suggested that I try out. It was kinda like yeah OK let's see what
happens. The songs just kept coming so we started practicing and
sharpening up to play our first live shows. We started out in
September 2012.
Ryan
– It was the first time I’d ever “tried out” for a band. I
was all set to pack up my stuff and let them talk about me when they
asked me to join the club.
Your
debut album – Aphelion – has just been released. You had the
official release party recently. How did that go.
Dan
- The release show was great. We had a great turnout, everyone was
very supportive, and I think we all agree we played our best set as a
band that night.
Liz
- Party was a blast! Our friends and family who were here came out
and celebrated our release. It happened to be my 40th birthday so
that was quite a way to commemorate that. We had a major windstorm
that knocked power out to many homes so it was relieving to see so
many still willing to come out.
What
can people expect from the album if they haven't read my review of
course.
Dan
- It's definitely a mixed bag, some heavy stuff, some atmospheric
stuff, sometimes brooding, sometimes frenetically paced. Oh, and a
little bit of disco. Hey, it worked for KISS.
Liz
- Heavy mellow music stew. There are shades of Psychedelic,
Progressive, Doom and Metal in our recipe.
Ryan
– Musical magic. I always have a hard time with genre labels, so I
have trouble explaining what our music sounds like. I have heard a
lot of people use the term “doom” with our music lately, which is
a little confusing to me, and seems like it might lead people to
expect something darker than what we do. That’s not to say we are
all sunshine. I don’t know what people think when they hear us for
the first time.
Why
did you choose Aphelion for the name of the album.
Tim
– We’re all a bunch of nerds and the space theme was pretty
natural for us.
Dan
- We decided on an astronomy-themed title and made a list of
potential titles. We settled on Aphelion because it sounded cool to
us and I think we dug the metaphorical connotation. Aphelion is the
point in the point in a celestial body's orbit when it is furthest
from the sun.
Your
music is very different to other Progressive Doom Metal bands. As you
include Jazz, Prog Rock, Post-Metal and Psych. How would you describe
your own music.
Tim
– Hotdogs of rock. Take everything out there and mix it in a meat
grinder.
Dan
- The eclectic musical tastes thrown into a blender to make a
delicious and nutritious smoothie.
Liz
- I think what makes our sound so different is that we all have such
varied taste in music. I grew up listening and singing Latin music so
I apply that flavor into what I bring vocally. I also love rock music
of the 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s and there is that element sprinkled in
there as well. It's a wonderful mix and I'm real happy with it.
Ryan
– I think it’s definitely a product of the different styles we
all listen to and have played in other bands. I definitely like the
slower, more melodic style, while Dan tends to have much more tension
and quickness in what he plays. Tim is great and helping us blend
things together, and Liz layers herself in with unexpected patterns
and melodies.
I
love the Latin based vibes especially on the beautifully written –
La Loba. I suppose this is a question for Liz. What is this song
about. I have a feeling it's quite a personal song. Was it a hard
decision to include a song such as this on the album.
Liz
- It was decided early on when we were in stages of writing that I
would sing a Spanish song. My good friend Lissa was gracious enough
to let us borrow her poem that was just the right amount of intensity
for translation. This song is about a woman who is cold and destroyed
basically so she does not want to feel or be attached to anyone. She
is the stone goddess a heartless wanderer who is wanting nothing more
than to bring ruin.
How
did you manage to get Tad Doyle to work on the album.
Tim
– Tad a super nice guy. I ran into him at another recording studio
opening and mentioned the project. He was interested and the rest is
history!
He's
done a fantastic job on the record. Co-producing it with you guys,
mixing and engineering the record. What was working with Tad like and
did he provide any useful advice for you as a band.
Dan
- Tad was great! He has been making and recording music for quite
some time and obviously really knows what he's doing. He was
excellent at striking a balance between offering suggestion and
direction during recording and mixing and sitting back and letting us
do our thing. That and both he and his wife, Peggy, were super
hospitable.
10
– You're from Seattle which is mainly known for the Grunge scene.
Though I know it has a more vibrant Hard Rock/Metal Scene other than
grunge. What is the local music scene currently like in Seattle.
Tim
– Seattle has a very healthy heavy scene and can be very
supportive. I think we have seen a lot of growth in the Doom Metal
genre, which is definitely where my tastes of gravitated to recently.
Ryan
– Tons and tons of great bands. Some really great musicians live in
Seattle, and we have gotten to play with a bunch of them.
Do
you get to perform gigs in your home-town or do you have to travel
further afield.
Tim
– We stay local to the Puget Sound area, but are planning on
touring over the next year.
The
album cover for Aphelion is superb. Who designed the cover. And what
does the cover mean to you as a band and for the album in general.
Tim
– Our friends Jules Inkwell and Matt Jahn (Into The Storm)
collaborated on the artwork. And the originals are 24x24 oil on
canvas. We are all big sci-fi/fantasy nerds and almost all of our
songs are about a book we like.
13
– What's the song-writing dynamic within the band. Is it a group
collective or down to one individual.
Dan
- Nowadays, either Ryan or I will come in with a riff/some riffs and
a loose structure. As we go through the process of developing the
drum parts, the songs take form. Then Ryan and/or I write lyrics and
send them to Liz to chop up and form along with her vocal melodies.
Liz
- It
is group collective. Dan and Ryan do the bricklaying along with Tim.
I come in with melody and chorus building. The guys also love science
fiction so a lot of our songs have lyrics that are related to that.
What
have been people's reaction to your music. Good or bad reactions.
Dan
- For the most part, people are pretty receptive and into what we are
doing. My dad said “it sounds like music”.
How
do you deal with negative reactions to your music. Do you take
suggestions or criticisms on board or do you focus on your own thing.
Tim
– Constructive criticism is always welcome and I think hearing what
people do not like helps me grow as a musician.
Dan
- I personally love receiving criticism whether it is negative or
positive. We definitely write music that is, first and foremost,
stuff that we dig, but it is nice to hear the opinions of pairs ears
outside of the four of us.
Liz
- This is very much our own thing but I like to know if there is
anything we can do to make it better. I think taking things to a four
piece made the world of difference to our sound live. The studio is a
different beast altogether. I appreciate honest feedback always.
Ryan
– I think I always have an ear open to what other people might be
hearing, but at the end of it, we are the ones writing the music, so
we have to be happy with what we are doing. We have enough
differences of opinion between the four of us that we don’t need to
include a lot of other voices in our process. We aren’t after the
“in” sound, we do what we like.
Which
bands and artists inspired you to become musicians. Any particular
albums that stand out.
Tim
– I grew up in the Midwest listening to 60’s and 70’s rock
(Zeppelin, anything Clapton or Joplin), some good metal (Pantera),
and a lot of bad metal. Since I became more serious about playing
music, my inspirations have come from a broad range of music.
(Kylesa, Shellac, Fugazi, Dead Low Tide, Russian Circles, Death From
Above 1979, Pink Floyd, Tool, Deftones, Helms Alee, Lesbian, Isis,
Botch, Gaytheist, Lord Dying, DETHKLOK!, Whores).
Dan
- Not that I am anywhere near his level, but Robert Fripp of King
Crimson was one of the musicians in particular who inspired me to
pick up the guitar. Heavy bands like ISIS and Melvins are definitely
a big influence on how I play and write. Also, I really love the
B-52s.
Liz
- I
had always been into music and singing from a very young age. My dad
sang classic Latin ballads and folkloric music so that was my first
influence to start learning how to vocalize. He taught me my scales
and breathing. I love Janis Joplin and her album Pearl is one that
influenced me to belt out with soul and heart.
Ryan
– Well, when I was a kid, Def Leppard was number one for me. I
almost hate to mention it at this point, but Undertow by Tool was the
album that really shifted my perception of music. All of a sudden, I
was listening to the dynamics of the music instead of just the
vocals. I still spend a lot of time with Tool, as well as bands like
Neurosis, Failure, Mastodon, Don Caballero, Electric Wizard, High on
Fire, Kyuss, Sleep, Mogwai, Sons of Otis, Pink Floyd. Mostly stuff
with a sense of drama to it.
Thanks
for doing this interview. All the best with your new album. It's a
superb record.
Thanks
Steve!
Words
by Steve Howe and Skies Below
Thanks
to Skies Below for doing this interview. Aphelion is now available to
buy now.