ALL SHALL PERISH vocalist Eddie Hermida and guitarist Ben Orum were recently interviewed by Teeth of the Divine.
So I’m excited to see you guys. I’ve been following you since the Amputated Vein release of Hate. Malice. Revenge back in 2003, before you signed to Nuclear Blast. My first question is how is this tour going? It’s close to being done isn’t it?
Eddie: Yeah it’s been good. It’s met all our expectations. Every single market we’ve hit, we’ve enjoyed the turnouts and enjoyed all these people coming out to see us play for an hour and 10 minutes.
That’s good to hear, welcome to being a headliner right? Eddie, if memory serves me correct, before being in All Shall Perish, you were in a band called Gun Metal Grey right? When did you join All Shall Perish?
Eddie: I joined in 2005 officially, but didn’t release a record with me as the vocalist until 2006′s The Price of Existence.
Got it. So how’s it been with this bill? It’s largely an American deathcore styled bill with Conducting from the Grave, you guys and Carnifex. Then you’ve got a more progressive band like The Contortionist and finally a brutal technical, Italian death metal band in Fleshgod Apocalypse. How has the chemistry been between the bands?
Ben: We are all here for the same purpose and that’s just to play the music we love and maybe learn a little from each, we respect each others craft. Everyone has been very easy going and everyone gets along so it’s been really great.
In my opinion, The Price of Existence was your real breakthrough album, fair opinion?
Eddie: I think so. That was my first record with the band. I personally felt like I had a lot to prove. I loved Hate. Malice. Revenge, I saw the band play local shows, so when I got an opportunity I attacked it full bore, and I think that comes out on the album. Add (guitarist) Chris Storey joining the fold and it really changed the spectrum and sound of All Shall Perish on that album.
That’s a great point. Chris wasn’t on Hate. Malice. Revenge, and all of a sudden; more melody, more shredding and more technicality…
Eddie: I don’t agree with that really. I thought there was lots of melody on Hate. Malice Revenge. That’s what drew me to them, that they would go from these slammy death metal riffs to these more open melodic parts.
OK, is it fair to say then that Chris really added to that then?
Eddie: Absolutely. However, I do feel that when Chris and myself came into the picture we changed the gears of the band and it hasn’t changed since. We kept that sound. I really don’t feel that The Price of Existence flipped things around from Hate. Malice Revenge, I think the band was headed in that direction and we just helped it come along faster.
So The Price of Existence is a killer record that really put you guys on the map, but then in 2008 you released Awaken the Dreamersand while I don’t want to sit here and tell you it’s a step back to your face, but it was, and the critics seemed to think so, but then you come roaring back with This is Where it Ends, which simply rips. Talk to me a little about that process and the difference between Awaken the Dreamers and the new album.
Ben:Awaken the Dreamers was an interesting cycle/process, because of what was going on in our personal lives. Some of us were going through some hard times, family stuff. Some people weren’t present to contribute. Some had more time than others to contribute. And that all comes through on the album. That was a fucking crazy time. I look at all of the albums as a time in my life, that album (Awaken the Dreamers) defines that era of my life when it came out
Was Chris Storey on that album?
Ben: Yes. But he left the band right after it came out.
When you look back at Awaken the Dreamers and apparently what a crazy time it was — any regrets about that album?
Ben: Nope. I think I wish Eddie and Mike (Tiner, bassist) were more there for the recording and writing.
How so?
Eddie: Well it was more that Matt (Kuykendall, drummer) was more forcefully present in the vocals and writing process. We worked well together on The Price of Existence, but on Awaken the Dreamerswe worked much more separately. He would write songs including the vocals, and I would just record them, then I would write songs and sing the vocals. I was much more detached from the songs onAwaken the Dreamers.
So it’s safe to say that Awaken the Dreamers is a ‘disjointed’ writing and recording effort compared to The Price of Existence?
Eddie: Absolutely. You can hear and feel on that record that everyone wasn’t getting along. When you don’t get along personally it comes out in the music. Music is a very gay way of copulating — both sides have to be into it, or it just doesn’t work [laughs]
Ben: I wish that our drummer at the time was different, the way he was at the time was really not a positive working environment.
Eddie: I still love the record though. There’s some great songs on that record.
I think “Black Gold Reign” is a great song. One of the better songs in your whole discography. But it definitely stands out on Awaken the Dreamers.
Eddie: That’s right. The whole album is like that. It’s not really a complete record, there’s bits, more bits and pieces than anything else we had put out.
So back to the new album which absolutely shreds. It sounds like a very cathartic album.
Ben: This is the album that should have come out instead of Awaken the Dreamers.
Eddie: The fire and intensity that we had on This is Where it Ends is what we wanted for Awaken the Dreamers. It’s the fire and intensity we want to have going into every record. We were a unit and we were ready to take over and it’s the mentality we have now and going forward.
Was it very difficult writing an album without Chris Storey, who in my opinion really brought some special guitar work and solos to your sound?
Ben: It was a 1000 percent easier. He was a very difficult person to work with.
You can read the rest of the interview here.
Photo by Snypaz118.
