Exhausted Prayer Interview April'07

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EXHAUSTED PRAYER from Los Angeles is one of the best and most unique underground metal bands around today. Their latest release, "Looks Down in the Gathering Shadow" (2005) is heavily rooted in black-metal and blistering thrash, but their progressive style is dark and dynamic.

Interview with Swansong and Mike of EXHAUSTED PRAYER
April 25, 2007 by Justin Hughes


1. What is the status of the new album? Are you going to self-release it, or will it be distributed through a label?

Swansong: We are halfway through the ordeal, as we are recording it all ourselves in a brand new studio I built, but it's totally worth it since we are taking our time and making sure we are satisfied with everything. That's a first for us, and I'm glad we finally made the investment -you'll hear the difference. We hope to have everything done and mixed by June, but as far as the actual pressing we don't have any plans yet as to how and where we will distribute it. One good bit of news is that we are going to properly re-release Looks Down in the Gathering Shadow combined with our previous album What Completely is Not, with full lyrics and artwork, through Dwell Records. We're just hammering out the final details, as this is a big decision for us. It's awesome that we'll be able to have these more widely available, and get some press coverage and reviews shortly before we release the new album.

2. Is the material a departure from your previous style? Would you describe your new music as venturing into more experimental and "progressive" territory, or is it going back to straight thrash / black metal roots?

Swansong: Departure, not quite - but I'd say we are definitely continuing along a similar trajectory as we were before. I can't really comment on the whole album's sound as each song has its own character, but we like to think there is a synergy. There are a lot of musical approaches that we are integrating that we have not done before, such as interludes between songs and abrupt tempo changes, so it's more experimental but not completely out of left field. There are some strong thrash/death elements in some of the songs, some proggy twisted chord structures, a song with a really heavy, doomy intro, some dreamy clean passages, and a few other things we felt were necessary to convey the emotion in the music. Oh, and a layer of atmospheric black metal frosting on top for good measure. There's still plenty of blastbeats to be had so don't worry about us going soft, but we are happy with how the dynamics are more mature and there is less "riff-stacking." The jury is still out on whether or not we’ll have clean vocals though. You'll have to wait and see (or hear.)

3. What kind of music have you found to be the most inspiring recently? What have you been listening to lately that has the greatest influence on you musically and why?

Mike: I’ve been studying a lot of harmony and theory lately, and I've been able to find a deeper appreciation of classical music. The way that all those great classical composers arrange for so many musical voices is astonishing. I'm also really digging Brazillian and Brazillian-influenced music. Especially the up-tempo samba stuff that is full of energy but also really laid back at the same time.

Swansong: Lately I've been immersing myself in a lot of powerful classical-type instrumental music as well, particularly Bernard Herrmann (who scored Hitchcock's films), the brilliant tango composer Astor Piazzola from Argentina, and ethereal works by Rachmaninov and Debussy. They masterfully take the pieces in so many different directions, yet the ebb and flow of ideas is totally natural - not forced. I have really been drawn to the idea of developing themes in our music, using a musical phrase and letting it grow and transform so the song takes you to a different place from where it started, and there is coherence without being totally repetitive (a la verse chorus verse type metal). Granted, a few of the songs still follow the formula, but at least the parts are related thematically and not just disparate ideas piled on top of one another.

4. Looks Down Into the Gathering Shadow is a very raw and powerful album. Do you feel that modern metal is too overproduced? What would be the ideal production for Exhausted Prayer?

Swansong: Thanks for the compliment. We simply wanted it to sound better than our previous records and we're glad we seem to have succeeded. Well, each band, I'm sure, has an idea of what type of production they are going for (i.e. the super-slick American thrash Gothenburg-type sound, or the cranked boombox-with-a-broken-speaker raw black metal sound, etc.); it's just unfortunate that many of them are trying to emulate someone else - and in effect, each other. We’ve been playing and recording our style of music for nearly ten years, and have gone from the direct-in metal zone sound to toying with digital processors such as Pods, using four-tracks, eight-tracks, ADAT, analog tube, digital, etc. We believe that it’s easier to capture the sound of a good band than to make the band sound good in post-production - not to pat our own backs. Over the years each of us have switched equipment several times and thus honed our live sound, and been critical of the balance of frequencies (at least I have), so I think we all mesh together quite well sonically. So, the goal is to get that to tape (in this case, hard drive) as clearly as possible since we already know it sounds good, rather than "invent" a new sound as we go along or as popular genres dictate. A big thing for us is the dynamics of our playing. We're not just picking or playing hard the whole time; we like that there is a level of expression in the music, even during the hardest distorted parts. For instance, the new thrash/death sound is ultra-compressed, super thick and crunchy, which sounds good for certain kinds of riffs (and moshing), but it's one-dimensional. So I’ve turned down my guitar gain and compression to allow for different picking strength on different parts, unlike some people who feather pick with paper thin picks - yet the sound is still ball- busting. I guess it's a matter of taste, and we know ours is different, which is cool. So basically, we want our new CD to be, well, heavy.

5. Mike...what are your views on drum triggers?

Mike: I don't use them, and I don't plan on it. I think they’re fine if you are going for a particular sound. And sometimes the bass drums get drowned out when you are playing with guitarists going through full stacks and whatnot, and triggers can help you cut through. But more and more, I'm getting into playing dynamically and when you use triggers, that kind of goes out the window. It seems like 95% of metal right now has a bass drum sound that is consistent throughout the whole song or album, and that's just boring to me. Plus, I take pride in my drum sound, and I think a lot of bands use drum replacer or whatever it is, and they just use the bass drum sound from some other popular metal album. That is definitely not for me.

Swansong: I agree, it's helpful every now and then to be able to have a consistent drum sound in the stage monitors, but it's worth it to allow yourself to tune the ears to hear nuances in the dynamics, as I mentioned earlier.

6. Any advice on blasting?

Mike: Yeah. And I guess this kind of ties into the last question. I use two feet for my blasts. So we'll be playing at, for example, 230 bpm, and I'm playing the downbeats with my right foot and the eighth note upbeats with my left. My hands also alternate, but on a 16th note subdivision (and sometimes I play the hands together). Now, I don't know if I'm totally happy with this. Some people prefer to play just right foot on all the eighth notes, and although I like the drive of that approach, when you play at 230 bpm its hard to play that fast, and even if you can, the volume just isn't there. I guess that's where triggers can help (if you want to call it that). As far as advice goes, I'd say start slow and work your way up, regardless of how you end up using your feet. This will make the beat tighter at faster tempos. Also, when playing a single stroke (alternating hands) blastbeat, I like to play accents with my right hand to push the music along, while the snare drum is much quieter. If the snare drum is on the upbeat and it's too loud, it hurts the flow, like on a Zyklon record. Did I just say that?

Swansong: Nick Barker uses speed!!! So I've heard. Damn cheaters.

7. Mike...you have devoted a lot of time to studying philosophy. The lyrics of Exhausted Prayer are deeply critical of faith-based systems of belief. Is there any philosophy or religion you are specifically drawn to, and why?

Mike: I am critical of faith-based systems of belief in large part because I studied academic philosophy. Philosophy in current academic circles is not about sitting under a tree and contemplating your navel and letting everyone have their own particular truth. It is concerned with applying rigorous laws of logic to arguments and various positions on knowledge, existence, language, etc. When you hold religious dogma up to these standards, it totally dissolves (in my humble opinion). So I’ve left all of that stuff behind. I am definitely not drawn to any religion at this point, and as far as philosophy goes, it has given me the tools to consider different opinions in the most unbiased way that I am capable of.

8. What is the best show you have ever played, and why? What would your ideal lineup for a show be?

Swansong: Well, honestly any show where people don't stand still and silent is a great show, as this has actually happened a few times. We typically have a great crowd response, and people come up to us afterwards and are genuinely appreciative of our unique style so that makes it all worthwhile. If I had to pick, we have had some incredible basement shows, over-playing bars or big venues. We had an awesome time at our first time playing the Hazmat in Oakland, and we also enjoy Portland since we have many friends up there. Their "metal community" is really supportive and extremely diverse as far as styles go, from black and death to noise, grind, thrash and power metal. So they totally dig our mixed bag. If we got to play with Enslaved again, I wouldn't turn it down. They're really breaking ground as far as diversifying extreme metal, which is cool, so it's nice to know we're on the same team.

Mike: Ideal line up? I don't think that people like this band, but I think Akercocke is awesome, and that we would go well together on a bill. Although, talk about triggers... Seriously though, I like brutal music, but if a band isn't doing something refreshing with it than I'm not really interested.

9. What do you think is the number one greatest problem that the world faces today? Overall, would you consider yourself optimistic or pessimistic about the human condition?

Swansong: Ahh, the Miss America question. Well, there are many issues that are interrelated and converging upon our society simultaneously- so there is no single problem worth devoting the most attention to. Well, I guess I would pick ignorance, both in self-indulgence and conditioning through advertising and mass marketing. I think the biggest thing that people can and should change is self-awareness of their place in the world, as we are all so busy working and playing and taking care of our own that we forget there are billions of other people out there doing the same. There is so much happening in our world right now that it pains me that so many people are simply not interested, and that they defend their ignorance as happiness, so to speak. As soon as you unplug your iPod and allow yourself to expand your world view (which has been collapsed by TV and other extraneous, materialistic, selfish desires promoted by greedy companies), you cannot help but want to educate yourself about other cultures (for example incredible indigenous music), nature and the state of the environment, science and technology, history, and significant problems such as socio-political and financial disparities, etc. To shun ignorance is to open the door to mental wealth. I guess I was more pessimistic and disappointed at the time Bush stole the last election, but now that the shit's hitting the fan on so many fronts, our wars and failed foreign policy, pollution and global warming, corporate corruption and cronyism, and religious fundamentalism, I figure now is the best time to give a damn because we have unprecedented access to information and means of communication through the internet. Once you choose to inform yourself, you can begin to prioritize and value knowledge, and it's practical implementation. You can organize and inform other people, and eventually enough are aware to voice concern for something to be done. Sure beats being a defeated couch potato, if you ask me.

Fore more information on EXHAUSTED PRAYER check out: http://www.EXHAUSTEDPRAYER.COM
Or at their Myspace page.

[pankaj123]

i think this is wonderfull EXHAUSTED PRAYER.

[EverybodyLoveEverybody]

classic