Metal go getters
Lord Dying come from Portland, Oregon, a place where its inhabitants are plagued with nerve and joint damage due to the lack of sunlight. In a time where everyone is trying to out-sludge or out-doom each other Lord Dying gives something less than a fuck. These guys play metal and have done so by touring, playing showcases, writing and recording music, in a repeating cycle of sorts. Frontman vocalist/guitarist Erik Olson talks of their last efforts "Summon The Faithless" with some band insight in between and plans for more shows and tours!
1.Can I get a backstory on the band/ band biography?
Lord Dying formed in 2010 and hail from Portland Oregon. It consists of longtime bros Erik Olson, Chris Evans, and Don Capuano. In a short time of 2 years we played numerous local shows and did several US tours before landing a record deal with Relapse Records. We released our debut "Summon The Faithless" in July of '13 and spent the following 18 months touring all over the world and saw appearances at various notable festivals such as Roadburn, Scion Rock Fest, Housecore Horror Film Festival, Stumpfest etc. In May of '14 we recorded our Sophomore LP "Poisoned Altars" with Joel Grind of Toxic Holocaust and it will be release in January of '15. Catch us on the road!
2. How did you guys come up with your band name? What makes you Lord Dying?
To us Lord Dying is a call for the end of organized religion.
3. Where is the band based out of and what is your music scene like there? Are there any local bands you could recommend?
We are based out of Portland Oregon. Portland has a great heavy music scene, its a very tight knit community of bands and artists that play shows on a regular basis (pretty much every night) and support each other. There are a lot of great local bands, too many to list, lets see, Red Fang, Toxic Holocaust, Drunk Dad, Rabbits, Diesto, Witch Mountain, Yob, Holy Grove, The Body, Sempiternal Dusk, Ritual Necromancy, Aldebaran, etc.
4. What bands have influenced your band and its sound?
We all listen to different stuff but i'd say three bands we all love would be Melvins, Slayer, and Black Sabbath. But our sound comes firmly rooted in music of the Pacific Northwest, there has always been a rich history of great musicians coming out of here from Heart to the Wipers to Poison Idea and it still continues to grow.
5. What lyrical theme do you guys use in your music? What message do you want to send?
The lyrics to 'Poisoned Altars' mainly deal with personal vices such as Alcoholism and Depression and realizing you have these vices regardless of the outcome. I hope people will find something positive from my lyrics but that's in the eye of the beholder.
6. Why did you see "Summon The Faithless" to be a good fit as a title for this album?
"Summon the Faithless" was the title of our last album and yes I felt it was a great title for a band's debut release, a sort of calling or offering.
7. Who produced the album? What did they bring to the table to make this album the way it is?
Joel Grind of Toxic Holocaust was the producer for 'Poisoned Altars.' He was great to work with, he knew exactly the kind of sounds he was looking to get and didn't compromise. He has had a lot of experience over the years working on his own band and i've always loved the production he has gotten on those albums.
8. What was the recording process like this time around? Was there anything different that happened or was it the same old studio thing?
I feel like there wasn't anything too unorthodox about the recording but it felt more relaxed to me. Probably because we are getting better at it. Rob however only had 5 weeks to learn the songs so it might have been a little stressful for him! Either way we are really proud of how it turned out.
9. What can we expect when listening to it and what is the message behind it?
I try not to make my lyrical content too cut and dry but if you see a message in there more power too you. Wether it's positive or negative that's up to you.
10. How would you say that album's artwork relate's to the music on the album?
I think that Orion Landau did an amazing job on the artwork and it relates to the music and lyrical content perfectly. The art shows a figure of death standing behind a beautiful creature and covering her, taking her into the darkness. He hit a home run with this one.
11. What's your favorite song on the album right now?
I like playing 'Darkness Remains' the best, but my favorite to listen to is 'Suckling at the Teat of a She-Beast' because its unrelenting and very dark.
12. What does "Summon The Faithless" mean to you all?
We would love to see an end of all organized religion and 'Summon the Faithless' is a call to those who feel the same.
13. How about shows and touring, how has the live activity been thus far?
We have done a lot of touring, in 2014 we did 114 shows across 24 countries and we are hoping to top that in 2015. We love playing live, it's pretty much why we do this.
14. What other plans do you have for this year?
We will do a lot of touring in the US and hopefully we will get back to Europe, and see some new places as well, like Southeast Asia, Japan, and Australia and New Zealand.
15. Any last words for the friends and fans out there?
Thanks for the support and hopefully we'll see you on the road!
