Exclusive Interview: Electrocutioner talk writing and recording “False Idols”!

The arrival of a full length album after a pair of EPs is a thing of beauty and if you’re a lover of the heavy end of Thrash and 80’s dystopian movies then “False Idols” by Electrocutioner is the album for you. Having reviewed the record, which is the most fun you can have short of getting tasered, we caught up with riff lord, synth master and screaming lunatic Mark Pursino for a conversation about what went on during the writing and recording sessions…

How did your previous experiences writing and recording help to smooth the path of the new record? “The first two EPs were giant learning experiences. A lot of people like our EPs because of how raw and unpolished they sound. Listening back to them they definitely have a charm to them, but I wasn’t happy with how inconsistent my vocals were. I worked to improve my technique, take care of my throat, and learn to sing in a style that was more natural to me. Doing everything DIY from setting up the room, equipment, recording, and mixing, presents a lot of opportunities for little issues to cause bigger problems with consistency, so we really worked hard to improve everything for the album”

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? “It’s all about the riff. It has to be interesting and dangerous with a high replayability to it without getting old. I usually write a riff that can work as a verse and start chaining it together until it’s a full song or I can’t think of what to do. Then I bring it to the band and they can filter out the good, bad, or what to tweak or add. Rich and Tyler write killer riffs too and are actually great musicians where they write riffs that sound like I wrote them. No bends, no single note bluesy stoner shit, and no hardcore-style breakdowns allowed. We like to write songs that get in and out so anything over four minutes is long for us. We like to stay in the 3:00-3:30 range or it gets boring. When I write songs or we work on something I always ask, “Does the song need this part?” It’s a good way to not put too much into a song”

You took a DIY or DIE approach with “False Idols” and recorded, mixed and mastered it all yourself in house. What was it like being the masters of your own destiny and not having an outside ear from a producer to guide you? “DIY is a double-edged sword. On the positive side, it allows you to really capture some of the best performances you’re capable of without having to worry about being on the clock and how much money you’re spending. Also, all the synth tracks and most of the guitar solos were improvised. I like to drink a few beers when doing synth tracks and guitar solos, while throwing on Escape from New York or Terminator in the background. I think a producer would hate that idea haha!

It also improved the song writing as when you hear the songs recorded, you get an idea to try something you never heard before. I’d suggest trying different fills for Tyler on drums, Rich would suggest different accents on vocals or even different lyrics which we could try out, and I’d be able to tell Rich to play something different on the bass. A lot of times those little things added up to make the songs more unique.

On the other hand, the DIY or DIE mentality created a lot of stress and pressure. Every little blemish is totally on you. There’s no safety net if someone doesn’t catch something while you’re laying tracks down, so you feel those mistakes as like a personal failure. And with DIY… something always slips through the cracks. The highs are high and the lows are low. Humorously, we lost a few takes to the oil burner kicking on to heat my house. Other times, we had these amazing takes that for some reason got ruined by ProTools and computer glitches. Those were stressful nights trying to problem solve that kind of stuff with no one to tell you why it kept happening”

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? “Randy Burns. I would love to see Randy work with a metal band that’s raw and in the beginning of their career. What could he bring out of them? What would it be like to sit under that learning tree? Obviously he worked the most important thrash and early death metal records of all time like Darkness Descends, Peace Sells, Seven Churches, Game Over, Scream Bloody Gore, etc., and he also worked with great New York thrash bands like Ludichrist and Crumbsuckers and more obscure thrash bands I love like Mortal Sin…. But man I can’t help to imagine what it would be like for him to work with some new unknown band and light a fire under their ass”

For us gear nerds out there, can you tell us what you’re using gear wise (pedals, strings, drums etc) to get your sound? “Sure! Currently I’m playing vintage mid-80’s Kramer Vanguard flying Vs with D’Addario .009 gauge strings. I’m absolutely in love with the old Kramers and they will probably be with me for a long time. For the album I used a Jackson Warrior with Seymour Duncan Black Winter pickups, a 2001 Gibson SG Special, and for solos an Ibanez Xiphos, all with 10’s. I don’t think any of those guitars will make a comeback as I just wasn’t happy with the overall tone and reliability. Live I’ve been using a a Seymour Duncan Power Stage 700 which has been a total game changer. Super lightweight, portable, and sounds killer. We love it when sound guys see it on stage and look puzzled as to why it has a speakon connector like a bass amp.

A few months ago Rich and I started sharing a Quad Cortex on stage which was a huge gamble that paid off big time. Rich always wanted to get into the amp sim/ir loader world, but not jump into a larger and more complex Axe FX system. Although we used Tube heads on the album, we mainly use the Quad as a digital pedalboard live. That and the Power Stage 700 has really saved a ton of room when we travel for shows and on stage… however at our record release how the crowd got so nuts that it spilled on stage and knocked the power out to the pedalboard haha! We had to wait for it to reboot to start playing again while Tyler just kept the beat going. It was pretty hilarious.

Rich uses an Ampeg PF 800 Solid State head which he loves. We can actually fit that and the Power Stage in one case. We are big on minimizing load in and load out time.

For pedals I keep it simple with an old Ibanez TS9DX Turbo Tube Screamer with an MXR EQ. Rich uses MXR, Earthquaker Devices, Dark Glass, Horizon Devices, and more. He rocks this low-profile Temple Audio pedalboards that he stocks to the brim haha!

Tyler plays Pearl Drums and Zildijan Cymbals.

For the album Rich got the Quad Cortex”

What difference would it make to you as a band if you could land an endorsement from a gear manufacturer? “For any band it would be huge. Any penny we make gets put right back into the band. Rich is the gear freak so to him it would be monumental”

“False Idols” by Electrocutioner is out now and available over at bandcamp.