Exclusive Interview: The Last Prophecy talk writing and recording “Hate Is My Mentor”!

Having been dragged kicking and screaming down the rabbit hole by The Last Prophecy when they unleashed their debut EP “Hate Is My Mentor” we were forced to take corrective action and interview them not once by twice about the record. In this second installment we talk about what went in behind the scenes to get it done…

How did your previous experiences writing and recording help to smooth the path of the new record? “Previous experience writing and recording is very helpful in terms of getting the basics done. When you have experience in doing things in the studio, they take less and less time in comparison to the previous sessions (not talking about songwriting, more about the recording parts)”

How does the writing process of a new track start? Melody, riff or rhythm first? How does it evolve from there before you consider it the finished article? “Usually one of the guitarists comes up with a base structure of a song that we build on later when we get together to practice. We usually switch ideas and try different forms of the song, and when someone comes up with something good we integrate it to the song”

What made you choose to go DIY with the EP and record, mix and master the EP yourselves? “Well, as we don’t have the possibility to do live shows right now, we didn’t want to make a full length release, so we thought that we can handle the production ourselves. A big part for it is also the fact that we’re unsigned, and the main reason for that is the fact that when we sign, we want to sign to a label that we believe in. We have been contacted by a few different smaller labels, but we don’t think that the labels we have been contacted by are the best option for us, and that plays a part in terms of being DIY”

If you had the opportunity to work with a guest in the studio next time around, who would you like to work with and why? “If were talking about any type of guests, a producer is in store for us next time we’re gonna record. To make the next step as a band we need someone else would be pushing us to our limits, and we think that it applies to all smaller bands. In terms of guest musicians, we would like to work with a guest vocalist; Although it’s not mandatory, it’s nice to spice things up sometimes”

For us gear nerds out there, can you tell us what you’re using gear wise (pedals, strings, drums etc) to get your sound? “Here’s a summary of our gear used on the album

We used two guitars when recording the album: The ESP Edwards Alexi Laiho signature, and the ESP LTD MH-1000. Then we used a bunch of pedals, including overdrive and noise suppression, and the main amp being the Marshall JVM410H. We also used the NeuralDSP QuadCortex when recording electro-acoustic guitars. As bass gear we used the DarkGlass Mictroubes Amp-sim, and the bass we used was a Marcus Miller signature 5-string. In terms of drums we used Centent Cymbals, Pearl and Gibraltar hardware and PDP drums. When recording, we used Shure and Audix-mics”

What difference would it make to you as a band if you could land an endorsement from a gear manufacture? “Honestly, it would more have to do with the fact that the manifacturer recognizes us as a band rather than us being dependent on the endorsements. We are happy with our gear, and while it would be nice to have the endorsement, it’s not mandatory”