Exclusive Interview: Whipworm talk writing and recording “In The Throes”!

The second of a creature double feature pair of interviews with Whipworm Mastermind Travis Weinand (Titan, Burden, Tetsuo), a multi instrumentalist and vocalist who together with drummer Dave Ferrara (ex-Cemetery) have hammered out 15 original cuts and a cover in 17 crazy months over a trio of EPs…

What did you learn from the studio time spent on “II” and “Swarm” that helped make the process of recording “In The Throes” smoother? “I’ve just streamlined my process a lot. Swarm was my first serious venture into fully recording and self-producing something, so it was a lot of trial and error. Now I don’t really second guess my decisions, I try go with my instincts. I think “In The Throes” was the easiest to record and produce so far, and I think it sounds the best. Hopefully that continues for the future albums as well”

How does the writing process of a new Whipworm track start? Melody, riff or rhythm first? “I tend to come up with the verse riff first, then I try to just let it evolve naturally into whatever the bridge or chorus may be. The climax sections and solos tend to take me the longest to develop, I want them to always be epic and satisfying”

“Oracle” has a Death Metal Opera feel to it and leans into the progressive territory; what was the inspiration behind that and did you push yourself further than you expected sonically to make the vision happen? “I always love when bands make the final track the most epic, the conclusion of the sonic journey you’ve been on. I wouldn’t say I pushed any of my boundaries, I just let the song be what it needed to be. I’m definitely not afraid to bring in lots of melody, clean singing or orchestration, if it’s what I feel the song needs. There’s no hard and fast rules to this, especially in Whipworm. It’s like my love letter to all things metal that shaped me into the musician I am today”

What was behind the decision to take on a classic in “Where The Slime Live” by Morbid Angel for the EP? “That song is so damn good, haha. It’s been extremely influential to myself, and our drummer, Dave Ferrara. So when we talked about doing a cover, I’m pretty sure we both said “Where The Slime Live” at the same time. It was a no brainer”

Q5. For us gear nerds out there, can you tell us what you’re using gear wise (pedals, strings, drums etc) to get your sound? “I’m running pretty everything from my laptop, even our live setup. I use Neural DSP plugins for all the guitar and bass tones on every release so far. A mixture of the Plini, Gojira, and Cali plugins. For guitars, I play an assortment of Ibanez RG’s and most recently a 7 string Jackson. Bass tones are from a 6 string ESP. I use Stringjoy strings and Rombo picks. Dave plays on an amazing custom Drum Workshop acrylic kit with Meinl cymbals and Axis pedals”

What difference would it make to you as a band if you could land an endorsement from a gear manufacturer? “I think Dave already has a few endorsements, haha. But it would be cool to get recognized in that capacity. It would be nice to know that people appreciate what we’re doing!”

“In The Throes” by Whipworm is out now and available over at bandcamp