You can read my review of the album here.
I caught up with the band where discussed the making of their new album, the history of the band what influenced them whilst making the album.
Hi
guys. Thanks for doing this interview. How are things with you today?
Awesome
thanks for having us.
Before
we discuss your new album. Can you give a brief overview of how the
band formed and where it is today?
Greg
and I
have known each other for over 20 years through past bands and the
tight knit music scene we were birthed from circa mid 90s. I started
off in a band called Icepick Revival and Greg in Object at the End of
History. Several bands (and years) later, the project i was in at the
time (Raedon Kong) was coming to a halt. I still liked the two piece
set up so i Emailed Greg and we started jamming. That was about two
years ago and we've never looked back.
How
would you describe your overall sound. As you have included quite a
few different elements of Hard Rock/Metal. Especially on your
excellent new album.
Well
honestly that's a tough question because our sound changes from one
song to the next. I feel our songs have a brooding element but
there's also a positive phoenix rising element if that makes sense.
I think some of our heaviest songs are the ones with the least
distortion and the most clean parts.
A song can be heavy on many
different levels and doesn't have to be in your face screaming,
distortion, blast beats etc. all the time. Really we just live by
the philosophy of having a style of NO style. Meaning, we don't
limit ourselves to one particular genre or subgenre of metal/music.
Wherever the riff goes we go. We're just along for the ride.
You
were originally called Raedon Kong before Radiant Knife. Why did you
change your name?
Well
in Raedon Kong i was playing with another drummer David Leonard. He
rips on the drums and has a very unique, bombastic and jazz
influenced style. After our album Critical Paths came out we started
jamming less and eventually it was evident we were going separate
ways musically speaking. We took a break, but i still was writing
constantly and am the type of guy who needs a "riff"
outlet. I also built a small recording studio in my backyard and was
ready to get back at it. I gave Greg a call and we started jamming.
Our jams were a little more tech influenced at the time so it felt
right to just call it a new project rather than carry on the Raedon
Kong name. I'm proud of the stuff in Raedon Kong but Radiant Knife
is a bit different with Greg's influence/style.
You’re
just released your superb new album – Science Fiction. What can
people expect from the album.
Really I believe people can expect a journey or a sonic trip so to speak.
The material on this album morphs every few minutes and ends very
different from how it starts. It starts heavy and ends heavy, but in
very different ways.
What
is the main theme of the album?
No
real theme that runs through this album but i tend to gravitate to
the great question of why we exists and what are we? Truly we don't
know, and any man who claims to know why we are here is a liar. If
you really think about it all we really know is that we exist.
This
could be a fucking hologram. Who knows? No one knows. It's the great
question, and we won't find out the answer until we fucking die, if
that. That theme comes up in "Suffer Under God" and "All
we are is all we know", and weaves it's way into some of the
other lyrics throughout the album.
What influenced
you when writing and recording the album?
Well
I'm sure we were influenced by something, but probably mostly
intangible and subconscious influences. I always feel like we're
just channelling or tapping into a message from the universe with no
intent. It's like being guided or influenced by a hidden hand.
Whatever that influence is i don't know.
Was
recording the album an easy or hard experience?
Hard.
Having your own studio is cool because you can take your time, but
taking your time can also lead to more problems. Certainly no
Metallica moments, but did have some equipment failures and technical
difficulties along the way. Luckily it all worked out and in the end
came out with a good record.
You’ve
been compared to such heavyweights as Mastodon, Torche, High On Fire
and Intronaut over the last couple of years. Do you take that as a
compliment being compared to those bands. Or do you want people to
consider you as Radiant Knife?
Those
are all great bands but sometimes i don't see the comparisons. I'm
probably more influence by Mahavishnu Orchestra or Zeni Geva and Greg
by various artist that range from Jazz to metal, to anything.
Honestly I love Torche for their melodies and probably listen to them
more than the others. Leviathan era Mastodon was great. One of my
old bands and Greg's as well played with them once and they were
amazing at that time but i can't say i listen to them much anymore.
When High on Fire came out i dug them a lot but was always into more
avant garde stuff like dazzling killmen or Zeni Geva. I think i had
one Intronaut album but never really got into them.
What
is the song-writing method in the band. Is it a group collective or
down to one individual.
I'd
say group. In previous projects I'd write full songs on the couch
and then bring them to the band to learn. Jamming with Dave Leonard
in Raedon Kong changed that and eventually i started focusing on just
free jamming to see what unfolds. A lot of times something more
unique comes out, but it does take a bit longer to develop. We still
pretty much employ that freestyle method in Radiant Knife.
Will
you be performing any gigs or tours to help promote the album?
We
have a show coming up in NOLA Aug 18th with Ekumen, Romasa and a few
others. It should be a good one. Sep through Oct Greg will be
touring with another project but we will be picking up some shows in
November.
Do
you have and advanced setup when playing live or recording the
studio. What is your current musical setup.
Yeah
i use a lot of pedals and equipment to fill in our sound. My pedal
board splits the signal across a bass rig and a guitar rig. I use a
few octavers to add some depth. Everything is midi controlled so i
can switch multiple pedals at the same time without tap dancing.
Bass rig is an Orange OB1500 or Traynor YBA300 into an Emperor 2x15.
Guitar Amp is an Orange Rockerverb MK III into an Emperor 4x12.
I
run synth using a Roland PK-5A foot controller that powers an iPhone
with a synth app into the PA. Guitars typically an EGC custom, or a
Gibson SG Diablo.
Greg has been playing some 1970s premiers that are
loud as fuck and can cut through the mix along with some Sonors that
are mellow.
You’re
releasing the album yourselves and releasing the album on vinyl. That
must be a very expensive process for you to do that. Have you had any
offers from record labels offering to release the album on vinyl. Or
do you want to release the album yourselves?
At
first we sent out our record to a few labels but didn't hear much
back. I've been in past bands on several record labels and i never
felt they added much value, but also think it would be cool to be on
Southern Lord or some weird label. I think we eventually had one or
two offers but at that point we were intent on self releasing.
Yeah
it's expensive but it's worth it. We wrote the songs, recorded,
mixed and mastered the album, and also funded the pressing. We also
did the art, videos, etc. It's pretty gratifying to be 100% DIY.
Thanks
for doing this interview. Before you go do you have anything to say
to your fans. Best of luck with the new album.
Just
thanks for anyone who has actually bought the album or supported us
in the past. It helps us make more records and we appreciate that.
Thanks to Radiant Knife for doing this interview. Thanks to Curtis at Dewar PR for arranging this interview. Science Fiction will be available to buy on DD from August 08th 2018 and Vinyl from August 15th 2018.
Links:
Facebook | BandCamp
