It's time for Part Two of the interview with Andy Beresky of Black Pyramid and Palace In Thunderland fame. Aleks is happy to offer you this detailed and interesting reading, so let’s
not waste our time with discussing the things we already know and ask
a few questions to Andy.
You can read Part One
here. Time for Part Two...
We finally pulled it
together??
We'd all been off
playing in separate bands for awhile, Adam and Matt with Blue Aside,
Monte with HydroElectric, and me with Black Pyramid. With that space
between us, we were able to figure out a lot of things about what
makes each of us tick, our playing improved, and we all made good
records during that time. It's like when you separate from a
romantic partner, give each other space, you both figure out your
respective shit, and then reconnect in a better place.
Almost immediately
after Monte asked me to jam with him again, songs and ideas started
coming together. We had no expectations going in, we really didn't.
We'd get some beers and sandwiches, watch some TV for awhile, and
when we'd once again have these long jam sessions, just he and I.
Before we even stopped to think about it, we had more than half of
"In The Afterglow Of Unity" written, and we realized that
we had to get Adam and Matt involved again and do this as Palace
proper.
The real key to the
record was that we were finally able to do most of the recording
ourselves. We did the drums and the mix at Sonelab with Justin
Pizzoferrato, though we recorded everything else ourselves, mostly in
the Thunderland Compound. This gave us a lot of time to experiment
with sounds and get everything exactly the way we wanted it with the
guitars, vocals and bass. We'd also been significantly upgrading all
of our gear, so we were really able to dial in some cool, unique
sounds for this one.
Well, I think those
elements and components are all really compatible, when shoves comes
back to push. Doom and stoner rock are pretty much first cousins,
and the same could be said of psychedelic and space rock. So it's
just like a big family reunion.
What's a little
trickier was that on "In The Afterglow Of Unity", we really
tried to bring in more 90's influence, which were the bands that got
us into music in the first place. Having a heavy Soundgarden
influence wasn't really a stretch, and they've always been a big
influence on our sound. I for one wanted to make a real GUITAR
album, like Smashing Pumpkins' "Siamese Dream", and Monte
was certainly on board with that. So we were listening to a lot of
stuff like Hum, Failure, Swervedriver, Dinosaur Jr, bands that
layered a lot of different guitar parts with different atmospheres
and effects. We also tried to bring in some post-hardcore influence.
Quicksand was an influence we incorporated, as were Fugazi, Helmet
and Girls Against Boys.
Once we really got into
the mindset, none of these bands were too much of a stretch, because
they're all guitar heavy bands. We just shifted how we wrote riffs
slightly, and focused a little more on different melodies. I feel
pretty happy and confident that we pulled it off really well. With
the split 12” we recently recorded and the next album that we're
already working on, I feel like we're bringing even more diverse
influences to the table.
So we can suppose that with "In The Afterglow Of Unity" you found golden mean and "right" sound as the question of further Black Pyramid movement is still open, right?
I think we definitely
struck gold with what we did on “Afterglow”, and we're going to
continue in that direction with how we make albums in the future.
The band is really at a high point creatively, firing on all
cylinders, so we're going to ride that wave for all that it's worth.
The next album is going to be a real concept album, inspired by
albums like Pink Floyd's “Animals”, Husker Du's “Zen Arcade”,
and Refused's “The Shape Of Punk To Come.” If that sounds wild
and weird, well, it certainly is. The album is something else, and
we're really stoked that it's coming along nicely.
As far as Black
Pyramid, it's tricky. I think we will end up experimenting more, and
moving as much as possible beyond the confines of whatever genres and
styles we've embraced in the past, though I also feel like we've
pigeonholed ourselves a little more, and it's going to be tougher to
break the mold. It was a real stretch just progressing from the self
titled album to “II.” I really feel like we need to reinvent
ourselves a bit.
Black Pyramid -
Illumination
At first I was going to
say “Decadent Decay,” and I think that song was pretty indicative
of where we were on “Afterglow.” It's a good song, it's catchy
and covers a lot of ground musically.
Overall though, I'd
have to go with “Before The Dawn Descends.” That's the last song
that we wrote for “In The Afterglow Of Unity”, and it's a bit
more where we're going overall, with the more expansive arrangements.
That song has a bit of everything, the loud/soft dynamics, the many
guitar tracks to create atmosphere and depth, the big catchy guitar
riffs, pounding drums, harmonized guitars and vocals. It's also a
song where we establish a theme early on and then revisit it later in
the song. That's going to be pretty key to the next album. We're
focusing heavily on that moving forward.
That's true. Black
Pyramid tends to be more dark and menacing. I believe that dark
emotions can be really energizing if channeled and utilized properly,
so I tend to draw on the raw, primal pain and anger.
Palace In Thunderland
is definitely the more light-hearted, positive band, you're
absolutely right. I try to bring in some darker elements and
emotions, though I like to have a turning or breaking point in the
songs, where the light breaks through the storm clouds and transcends
all the previous darkness.
Well, Black Pyramid
lyrics are really about using stories and mythologies as metaphors
for inner conflict. Nothing is literal; everything is allegory. When
I'm singing about wars, horrors and violence, I'm not talking about
the external world, what I see around me. I'm talking about what's
inside of me. I'm a pacifist - I believe we should strive for peace,
and that violence only creates more violence. This doesn't mean that
I necessarily feel inner peace and serenity all the time, and the
lyrics are an outlet for when I'm not feeling it. The words are
cathartic, a way for me to purge my various inner demons. They're in
no way meant to glorify or dignify war, atrocity or violence.
With Palace In
Thunderland, I use a lot more science fiction concepts, and that's
largely because I am writing those lyrics more about society and
humanity as a whole. They're more about finding freedom, identifying
the various things that keep us in chains, both external and
internal, and then looking for ways to transcend our boundaries and
barriers. It helps to be primarily forward thinking rather than
inward thinking in that regard, which is why the sci-fi is fitting.
Not that Palace lyrics aren't introspective as well, it's just to a
different ends. I'm going for a more transcendent feeling than a
cathartic one, at least on “In The Afterglow Of Unity….”
On the split 12”
we're finishing up, I didn't write all the lyrics, everyone in the
band contributed, so they're a bit more personal. The lyrical slant
is also much different for the next album, as it's about a fictional
character, and there are a few voices within him that sometimes
conflict or manifest in different ways.
It's actually not that
tough for me. I go by feel and intuition. If I'm writing something,
and it feels more like Black Pyramid, it becomes a Black Pyramid
song. If it feels more like a Palace song, then it's a Palace song.
Do you have certain plans on Palace in Thunderland or Black Pyramid is your main focus now?
No, Black Pyramid is
not my main focus. It's a wonderful thing that we've been given
another shot at doing that band in its original form. That's a rare
and special opportunity. Clay is still in Georgia, Eric and I are up
North in Massachusetts. The idea is that we're going to do this on a
permanent yet part time basis. We'll see what other opportunities
we're given, and we'll do what makes sense.
Palace In Thunderland
is a different animal. We practice every week and we gig regularly.
We're constantly writing new material, upgrading our gear, working on
our skills and our sound. That's really where much of my focus is
right now, as we're also working on new material for our next album,
“The King Of The Empty Aeon.”
We really have no idea,
as we've just started piecing the album together. It's mostly
written at this point, so I'd guess we'll rehearse like crazy and
record next year. It looks like we're going to do it as a two-part
double album, so we'll release the first part sometime in 2017, then
the second part in 2018? Maybe we'll get the second part done
earlier, I'm not sure. We've actually started the second part, so
anything is possible.
I'd imagine we'll do a
new Black Pyramid record for 2017 as well….
Andy Beresky - solo
I'm honestly not sure
what we'll do in terms of a release. We'll work with a label if it's
a mutually beneficial relationship. There are pros and cons to self
releasing, and if a label was able to help us overcome some of those
cons while maximizing the pros, we'd definitely be all in!!
As far as Meteorcity
Records and Hydro-Phonic Records, Palace has never had any
involvement with either label. Blue Aside and Black Pyramid have
worked with Hydro-Phonic in the past, though they're currently on
hiatus, which is a real shame. Travis put a lot of time, effort,
energy and passion into his releases, and his inactivity is a real
loss for the scene. That dude developed vinyl releases to a high art
form.
I'm also not sure
what's up with Meteorcity, as they haven't released anything in the
last couple years, and honestly, I haven't talked to Dan in a long
time. I'm honestly not sure where we stand, as my abrupt departure
from Black Pyramid brought up some tough conversations where I didn't
exactly act or communicate in an exemplary manner. I was not in the
greatest of spaces, and I was a bit of a prick to a lot of people
because I was feeling confused and angry. I should reach out to him,
and definitely offer an apology….
Palace In Thunderland
has a good relationship with Twin Earth Records, Ric has helped us
out in various ways through the years, so we've got that going for
us, which is nice!
Words by Aleks Evdokimov and Andy Beresky
Links:
https://www.facebook.com/PalaceInThunderland/?fref=ts
https://www.facebook.com/Black-Pyramid-49292323952/
http://palaceinthunderland.bandcamp.com/
