Trap Them have recently released their Seizures In Barren Praise album and it's making all of the year-end lists. The RI band sound like a toxic mix of classic Entombed, His Hero Is Gone, and Black Flag and it seems like
2009 will take the band to new levels of critical acclaim and fan worship.
The Gauntlet sat down with vocalist Ryan McKenney to talk about the new record, working with Converge's Kurt Ballou, and their love of Entombed.

The Gauntlet: Seizures In Barren Praise recently came out and it seems to be making it onto some year end lists already. What do you think about the reception so far and do you even read your own reviews?

Ryan McKenney: I'm glad the reception has been as positive as it has been. Without sounding like a douche, we do this music for ourselves, but any time the outside world has something good to say about what we've done, it's a nice feeling to be appreciated. I very much read our own reviews. I like to do it late at night and play drinking games with myself. Every time a reviewer feels the need to mention Entombed, I chug some whiskey. I don't remember too much of the last few months.



The Gauntlet: Conceptually speaking, the album is threaded together by these stories of a fictional town you created. What do you think informed that more, film or literature? From my standpoint, the lyrics have a cinematic feel to them this time out.

Ryan McKenney: The lyrics are what they are. They're influenced just as much by film as they are by literature or listening to other records. More than anything, I felt influenced by my own need to push some sort of boundaries I have inside my head. I wanted to take the normal lyric writing approach further and expand on the traditional punk ethics and topics in a manner more abstract.



The Gauntlet: The artwork/layout Jake from Deathwish Inc did for the record fits perfectly with the feel of it. How involved were you with that aspect?

Ryan McKenney: I agree whole heartedly. I think it's one of the finest punk / metal layouts I've ever seen and I'm proud to have my band associated with it. I gave Jake some overall ideas (what the record was about, the direction and feel we were going for...) and let him run with it. He's an extremely talented artist and I think this record gave him a chance to push his normal artistic boundaries, just as it did for the rest of us.



The Gauntlet: You worked with Kurt Ballou this time out. What kind of producer is he in terms of method? Is he the kind of guy who will get in the live room and really push you to play harder or does he take more of a laid-back approach to the actual performances?

Ryan McKenney: The beauty of recording with Kurt is that he can go both ways. He was hands on when he needed to be, willing to tell us a riff could be played better or a vocal line could be shouted clearer. He's also willing to be hands off when he sees that someone knows what they're doing. Recording with him is great. I've never been nervous about the outcome, and every time we leave his studio I've felt amazing about the final product.



The Gauntlet: The guitar and bass tones on Seizures In Barren Praise are out of control thick! What kind of rigs were used while you recorded?

Ryan McKenney: You're asking the vocalist, which in this case is the guy with absolutely not even one bone of musicianship in his body. Or, I'm lying and I know everything we used and I'm keeping it a secret just to be a prick. I guess we'll never know....


The Gauntlet: Playing the faster, Discharge-like stuff night after night on tour and then not being able to sleep in the most comfortable situations must be psychically taxing. How grueling does it get and how do you deal with that aspect of being in the band?

Ryan McKenney: I love what we do. I love playing these songs every night. My body may be sore from beginning to end (and a few months after every tour....), but I'd rather my skin and bones hate me for doing what I want instead of my mind hating me for giving up and settling into a normal life.



The Gauntlet: Do you have health insurance?

Ryan McKenney: I have twelve teeth, a broken nose, a shoulder that's about to fall off and two vertabrea that stick out like some fucked up growth on my back.
Health insurance would be nice.


The Gauntlet: You're signed to a label that is mostly associated with hardcore bands but your sound has more in common with death-metal. You also play on bills with groups that fall into both genres. Which crowds have been the most receptive to you when you play out?


Ryan McKenney: I think both crowds have their positives for us. What it comes down to is that we cater to the people that crave intensity. We play each show like it's our last, and there are many that seem to appreciate that, regardless of their musical preferences.



The Gauntlet: Entombed is a name that comes up a lot when people talk about Trap Them. Can you talk about what they mean to you and the rest of the band?


Ryan McKenney: Thank you....I was thirsty for some whiskey (reviews get one shot....interviews I take two...).
The band is great. Entombed is influential to not only us, but a vast majority of the extreme music community, whether or not some are willing to admit it. I mean, what can you really say that hasn't already been said about them? I love every album (yes....EVERY album..) and it's one of those bands that when we're in the van and one of the records gets put on, it commands all of our listening capabilities. We owe a great debt to a lot of Swedish bands, and it's with the utmost respect that we take their sound as an influence on the music we write.


The Gauntlet: With the year ending, what records stood out to you this year? What's been playing in the van?

Ryan McKenney: Shit....I hate this question. Trying to remember everything from the van is so damn hard. So, let me try and break it down like this:

Overnight drives: everyone falls asleep and I listen to all of the Numero records "Eccentric Soul" compilations, followed by Duffy "Rockferry", and Sharon Jones "100 Days...". Absolutely nothing with screaming. After raging hard and packing up the van, the last thing I want is someone yelling at me for hours on end.

Daytime driving: Torche "Meanderthal", Disfear "Live the Storm", Victims "Killer"....many, many more.

Driving up to the show: I don't know how, but we almost always end up listing to Sabbath as we roll into the Enormo-Domes or riff shanties we're about to destroy.


The Gauntlet: What's on the schedule for the band in the next six months?

Ryan McKenney: New music. Touring here, there and everywhere. Basically, everything but sleep.