Exclusive Interview: Disrupt The Cycle talk writing and recording “King Of The Rats”!

Having given us a debut EP of high quality Melodic Death Metal Disrupt The Cycle mastermind Wayne Hudspath took some time out of his busy schedule to discuss its writing and recording. The Lebanon Tennessee based multi instrumentalist had already released a wealth of vocal covers of everything from DevilDriver to In Flames for something like fourteen years as well as playing a vital role in both Nightshade and As They Sleep in their time before this project was even a twinkling in his minds eye…

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? “To me, every truly great metal song has a great metal intro and intro riff.  They are the staples for what generally pushes the rest of the song forward.  I will riff for hours at times until I can find that “one” that really has the power.  Once I can get a clean take of the riff and listen to it back in the studio, and I can decide whether it is a song or not.  If I like it, the rest of the song just pours out of me, it’s like the first riff is the bullet in the gun for me haha.”

What was it like working under your own steam on a project like this? Did you find it was driven purely by your passion for Metal at times? “I am fortunate to have had a lot of positive encouragement from friends, family, and fans over the years.  I feel like I have always had the gift to make people feel with my music, and it’s truly rewarding for me on so many inner levels I cannot tell you enough.  I am a perfectionist and a go getter.  I can’t sit still man haha.  I was not always the best song writer and my friends can vouch for me when they heard my initial releases.  It’s a passion that just evolved into something that I can really say I thoroughly enjoy!”

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? “Well I was actually entertaining the idea of having my wife doing some studio work haha, but that will be it for more members of Disrupt the Cycle for right now”

For us gear nerds out there, can you tell us what you’re using gear wise (pedals, strings, drums etc) to get your sound? “Guitar wise?  I used the Andy James signature 7-string Kiesel to record both the leads and rhythms for this one.  I always use d’addario strings because they have a brighter and cleaner tone in my opinion, so it works great for the technical stuff I try to capture.  Strings are actually tuned to standard believe it or not haha. That makes for cleaner recordings in my opinion.  For the vocals I used the trusted, true, and durable Shure SM7B.  I recorded the bass with a 5 string Ibanez that’s like 50feet long and built for Abraham Lincoln.”

What difference would it make to you if you could land an endorsement from a gear manufacturer? “I am a gear nerd. Getting an endorsement deal would mean the world to me because I could further pursue my passion for innovating the sound of metal and music in general!”

“King Of The Rats” by Disrupt The Cycle was released on 6th January 2024 and is available over at bandcamp