The Famine Interview

YOUR SOPHOMORE ALBUM THE ARCHITECTS OF GUILT HAS BEEN OUT A LITTLE OVER A MONTH. HOW IS THE ALBUM DOING SO FAR?
I think we just went gold in Lithuania. Seriously, the response has been great. We are honored and flattered to have been able to make a record that resonates with an audience. The fact that people are still talking about the album is a tiny miracle itself, given the nature of today's music industry.

WOULD YOU CONSIDER IT TO BE A CONCEPT OR THEMED ALBUM? IF SO, WHAT IS THE THEME?
I wouldn't call it a concept album because there isn't a narrative structure, but I'd like to write a concept record one day. I feel comfortable saying that there is a theme to the record, and I think the theme is summed up in the album's title, "The Architects of Guilt." It's a record about the shameful secrets of our present and past, hidden behind our picket fences and between our voting booths. Each song is about something shameful that touches all of us in one way or another.

HOW DID YOU COME UP WITH THE ALBUM’S TITLE?
I tried using a ouija board, but it just kept saying "HELP ME" over and over, and that isn't a good title for a death metal record. I started piecing together the common thread throughout each of the songs, and I knew the record would deal heavily in guilt. After sitting on the theme for a few days, it came to me. I called the other guys in the band, and we all agreed that it was the perfect cherry on top of the record.

WHAT IS THE WRITING PROCESS LIKE FOR THE BAND? HOW WAS IT DIFFERENT THIS TIME AROUND?
The dynamic was much different this time around. Our guitar player Andy pretty much masterminded our first album. It was his vision, and he was responsible for executing it. This time around, we all brought our ideas to the table. Andy was still the engine driving the record, but we were all empowered to experiment more with our own parts. I brought some guitar riffs to the table, and our bassist brought a new dynamic to this record that allowed the music to breathe a little more.

DO YOU USUALLY WRITE THE LYRICS OR MUSIC FIRST?
I generally come up with themes and concepts and phrases beforehand that I keep in a storehouse. Once the music starts to take shape, I will scramble to assemble bits and pieces of what I have already laid out, while connecting the lyrical dots where something isn't quite working. I prepare beforehand as much as I can, but I generally find myself putting the finishing touches on the lyrics after the music is set in stone.

WHAT DO YOU ENJOY DOING THE MOST WHEN IT COMES TO THE WRITING/RECORDING PROCESS?
I've always loved working in the studio. Don't get me wrong, I have a blast on stage, but I'm the kind of guy who loves tweaking guitar tones and doubling vocals. I call it "ear candy", and those moments are what I listen for in the music I love.

TELL ME ABOUT THE ALBUM COVER. WHAT IS THE SIGNIFICANCE AND WHO DESIGNED IT?
It was designed by Ryan Clark, who did a fantastic job. I wanted the cover to match the feeling of the record: uneasy and uncomfortable without being cartoonish or over the top. Ryan nailed it. The cover makes you uncomfortable, but you aren't exactly sure why. It's crystal clear against a white background, so there's no escaping this eerie, contorted image.

TELL ME ABOUT THE STUDIO FIRE. WAS IT THE BAND'S STUDIO OR SOMEONE ELSE’S? WHAT WAS LOST IN THE FIRE?
The studio was ours. It was built by our drummer, Mark, and most of the money and time put into it was his. We had two engineers and all of their gear working out of it, not to mention all the instruments we needed to write and record. The fire started in an electrical panel in the control room, and that's where the most damage was done. We lost almost everything in that room, which included all of the recording equipment, amplifiers, guitars, basses, microphones, computers, cables, you get the point. Everything in the main tracking room was very badly smoke and water damaged, so even the things we were able to salvage still needed to be refurbished. If you ever come to see us play, ask to see our guitar cases. They still smell like burnt plastic.

DO YOU CONSIDER YOURSELVES TO BE A DIVERSE BAND? WHAT DO YOU THINK SETS YOUR MUSIC APART FROM OTHER METAL BANDS?
Diversity is a tricky thing. I can only speak for myself, but I don't have any wild notions about us reinventing the wheel. The kind of death metal we play is at its best when it is honest and raw. That's why we kept it to bass, drums, guitar, and vocals. We play with odd time signatures, but we aren't drafting a new playbook. Hopefully our sincerity and conviction is enough to keep us from needing a keyboard player or an operatic vocalist.

YOU FILMED A VIDEO FOR THE FIRST SINGLE "AD MORTEM." I READ THAT THE ULTIMATE GOAL WAS TO CREATE TOTAL CHAOS THROUGHOUT THE VIDEO. TELL US ABOUT THE DAY OF THE SHOOT AND WHERE IT WAS FILMED.
I wanted our video to be a kaleidoscope of human atrocity, and there were a good amount of clips we wanted in the video that standards and practices just flat out refused. We shot the video on a freezing night in a machine shop in the middle of the country in Texas. We had just done a run with Living Sacrifice and Becoming the Archetype, and we drove through the night from Little Rock back to Dallas in order to make the shoot. We were all sleep deprived, but the shoot itself was relatively painless, since the video relies so heavily on stock footage clips.

ARE YOU HAPPY WITH THE RESULTS? DO YOU THINK THAT DIRECTOR MICHAEL DALTON CAPTURED THE TRUE ESSENCE OF WHAT YOU WANTED?
Michael is an awesome guy, and he did a great job of executing the vision. He's a pro, and he is very easy to work with. The editor of the video also deserves his share of praise, since the editing of the video is where the stock footage came into play, and it also sets the frantic pace. Besides being told by censors that we couldn't use some of the clips we really wanted, we are all very happy with the way the video turned out.

WHAT ARE THE PLANS AS FAR AS TOURING THIS YEAR? WILL YOU BE DOING ANY SUMMER FESTIVALS?
We'd love to tour, but I also love being able to pay the electric bill at my apartment. We all have obligations at home that keep us from touring as much as we'd really like to, but our plans are to go on the road as often as our lives will allow. Hopefully things will pick up steam so we can venture out with more frequency, but only time will tell. We have a few balls in the air at the moment, and we are looking to make some announcements soon.

WHAT DO YOU THINK IS MOST IMPORTANT WHEN PUTTING ON A LIVE SHOW?
Jazz Hands.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE INTERVIEW. WAS THERE ANYTHING YOU’D LIKE TO ADD OR SAY?
Thank you for the questions. I'd like to encourage your readership to head over to www.wm3.org to read about the heinous miscarriage of justice being carried out in our own back yards. It's about time to free the West Memphis Three.