18th February 2023

Exclusive Interview: From Eden To Exile talk new dawn, new day and new single “Reason To Hate”!

The headline really does say it all. Critically acclaimed Northampton based Groove Metallers From Eden To Exile have resurfaced with a cracking new tune in “Reason To Hate” following a lockdowns and line up changes, picking up where they left off with EP “Age Of Fire” and confirming exactly why we love them. Having had the honour of getting to listen to the track before its release in order to ink our thoughts, we spoke to guitarist Joey Jaycock about everything that has gone on over the past three years and what the band have in store for us going forward!

Let’s rewind the clock back to 2020. You dropped the incredible EP “Age of Fire” and then suddenly faced the reality of a Global situation outside of your control. That led to the departure of vocalist Tom Franklin and bassist Mike Bell from the group which must have felt like a body blow? “I think we all had times of deep contemplation during lockdown and it’s perfectly understandable that people emerged on different paths than they may have been before. It was a very tough time in the band for us all and we all had to be brutally honest with each other and figure out our goals as a band, and how to best move forward. As you mentioned, we dropped “Age of Fire” with a ton of content that we worked so hard on, and suddenly there were no gigs and we were in need of a new vocalist and bassist. Morale was pretty low to begin with but it quickly turned into a do or die attitude, and we developed a hunger to really make the band go places and do whatever it takes to get back on stage and continue working on our dream”

Not ones to give up and go home having endured line up changes before, you’ve brought in Marcin Durmaj (of Metal 2 The Masses winners Ashborn) as the new vocalist. How did he convince you he was the man to step into the big shoes vacated by Franklin? “Marcin just outworked and outperformed everyone who put their name in the hat and his work ethic and enthusiasm for metal music is infectious. You could tell he really wanted to be our frontman and he gave it his all at auditions, Marcin really went the extra mile and the rest is history. In addition to his killer vocals, he pushes us to get things done and has helped us out so much behind the scenes”

The first cut with Durmaj is “Reason To Hate” which has some incredible credits having been produced at Studio 6 by Stu McKay (Dyscarnate, Ingested, Harbinger) before being mastered by Fredrik Nordström (Architects, Skeletonwitch, Dark Tranquillity). What was the thought process behind switching to those guys and away from Neil Hudson of Initiate Audio and Media (Krysthla, Siderian, Sharkteeth Grinder) who worked with you on “Age Of Fire“? What was it like working with Nordström and McKay? “We simply felt that it was time to try somewhere different and see what it may lead to. We’ve worked with Neil at Initiate for both our first album and the following EP and we felt it was time to shake things up and see what the experience would be like working further afield. Each producer will put their own stamp on a record and we decided on going to Stu because we’re a big fan of a lot of records that he’s worked on. Turns out he’s extremely easy to work with and really went the extra mile for us. The hook-up with Nordström came from Stu, who put us in touch after realising that we’d be a great match. The whole process was so smooth, the drums were tracked so quickly and he really helped us make the most of our time at Studio 6. Communication with Nordström was all via email as he’s based in Sweden obviously, but he was super responsive and made sure that we walked away with the results that we wanted”

You’ve mentioned adopting 7 string guitars for the new cut, how do you feel that has changed the dynamic of the band’s sound and what do you think it will give you going forward? “We’ve been able to tap into a lot of our lower tuned influences and really get into some of the low end dissonance that gives our tracks an extra ton of meat when needed. The versatility is nice and we’ve even been able to add some lower notes to some of our older tunes when we play it live. It’s just nice to have the option to get some of that filthy low end when needed!”

You’re currently a four piece so do you have plans to add a bassist to replace Mike Bell? Who handled the bass in the studio for “Reason To Hate”?

“At present, there are no plans to bring in another bassist. We started using a playback device for bass for practice so that we could get back on our feet as soon as possible and just decided as a group that we didn’t want to risk changing the dynamic of the band as it was by bringing in somebody else. Plus Mike is irreplaceable anyway. We’ll never say never to getting another bassist, but we work so well as a unit lately that it’s a case of “if it’s not broken, don’t fix it””

What’s next for From Eden To Exile? Are you planning an assault on the live arena or continuing to graft away at new material? “We’re going to keep dropping singles and put a heavy focus on social media and streaming platforms this year along with as many live shows as we can fit in. We were lucky to play some awesome shows in 2022 and we want to continue this trend going forward. There’s no full length in the pipeline just yet, but we are going to continue to drop tune after tune, and they’re just going to get heavier and heavier. We want to be the hardest working band out there and realise our full potential. We want to change people’s lives!”