Exclusive Interview: Weaponry on recording “Forever Nothing” (1 of 2)!

If you’ve been following the series we’ve written over the past 6 days that documents the recording of “Forever Nothing” by Reading Post-Hardcore quartet Weaponry at The Ranch Production House with Daly George then you might want to grab a beverage of choice before reading on. We decided fairly early on in the week to make it a full 7 days of Weaponry so here is an exclusive interview that we did with the full band as the EP took shape…

Producer Daly George has been your go to guy for recording, mixing and mastering since day #1 of Weaponry. How did you find working with him this time around?

Bassist Jay Rozentals: “I feel he pushed to get the best of us more this time, he knows what we can do and makes sure we get there. I think it’s good he is doing this as it shows a good relationship building between him and the band

Drummer Tim Doyle: “I feel we have really found our sound with him as he’s learnt our sound and the feeling we are aiming for with this latest EP. Certainly I’ve found that I’m anticipating what he is requiring from me when recording my drums to get the best sound

Vocalist and guitarist Al Bristow: “Amazing, he makes us better musicians! My vocals are so much better having him there directing traffic and tweaking my pitch ideas etc. I feel like I need to run any new songs by him first in the future!”

Guitarist Max Ashworth: “It’s been more creative working with Daly, even compared to the previous sessions. The tracks now sound fuller and more complete, we’ve got more guitar layers with different tones this time

This time around you have three songs that have complete drums by Tim Doyle. How does it feel to have him fully integrated into the band now?

Max: “Tim was on the recordings for Something I Lack and Blindly Follow Us but they were already written and he added to them with changes. The drums are a lot better on these new tracks where they’ve been done from scratch, the fills are really good

Tim: “It’s a great feeling to be able to play tracks to friends and fans and being able to know that is my own drumming on the track. I also feel we have found our sound now as a band now we have been playing together for over a year

Al: “It’s great. He doesn’t just bring the second best drumming we’ve ever had (behind the drum machine…..) but he’s a proper member of the band, bringing in all the behind the scenes stuff we need to function too. He’s a good mate now too.

Jay: “For me it’s as a bass player it’s perfect! I know what his going to do and his a perfectionist, a reliable drummer making my life easier! Apart from the double kick speed! That gives me a hard time as I don’t play with a pic!

Take It Or Leave It“ has been part of the live set for what seems like forever. How has it changed between when you first started playing it and now that you’ve finally commited it to tape? Did you ever think about not including it on “Forever Nothing” due to its age?

Al: “No chance! It’s a song i’ve always thought could be big but it was just finding the right way to bring it out. Having it build up and then having a huge break down/bridge bit after all the verses is the perfect tone for the lyrics I feel

Jay: “Double kick!!! The drumming has got faster in parts but the structure has stayed the same I think! I don’t think we would ever leave this song behind!

Max: “I don’t know, I can’t remember what I had for dinner yesterday, I live life on the pause menu! We’ve been playing the song since forever and we’ve gradually changed it over time. There is more lead now and there have been minor changes even in the studio

Tim: “We have changed not only the patterns on the track but also the build and dynamic of the song. What used to be 100% for the entire 3 minutes, now builds to an explosive final 2 lines

During the recording sessions bassist Jay Rozentals mentioned that “Mine” has been around a long time and reworked multiple times to get it to the place you wanted it to be. Did you ever think about parking or dropping the cut during that time? Does it feel like a weight off of your shoulders to get it recorded and into the live set?

Tim: “It’s always been a controversial track in the band with parts being loved by some and hated by others. And always being re-worked to try and find a sound we were happy with. Now we’ve found that having worked at it for long enough we do have something we can put into the live set but proving that you don’t have to drop a song purely cause it isn’t working, but we amend them and add/remove parts until it fits the sound we are looking for

Al: “Again it’s another song I felt we had all the right parts but it was figuring out which order to put them in that was the trouble! I couple of the guys have suggested dropping it in the future and it was pretty much dead and buried at one point but I brought it back because I knew it was good. I think we all agree after hearing the recorded version

Max: “The lead for the song was a bit meh on the previous versions, I will admit I didn’t have the ability to write the lead I wanted to then but now it’s at a point where there are God tier leads and it has a lot of hum-ability, which has definitely inflated the ego listening to it now. Hum-ability and the chug-o-meter is how we rate the guitars

Jay: “This song is a pain in the arse for me. There’s nothing I disliked about it but it never gelled with me. I definitely said let’s park it a few times. Luckily I was ignored, it’s probably still going to be a pain for playing live because of the last minute changes but it’s definitely there now. If it wasn’t then we wouldn’t put it out

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