Exclusive Interview: Promethean Reign talk writing and recording!

For the second time in seven days a conversation with Oxford Blackened Death Metallers Promethean Reign is exactly what the Doctor ordered (along with a scalpel and an apple to keep hunger locked up until lunch) so we turned from talk of their latest burnt offering “Eat The Rich” to the subject of what goes in behind the scenes when they’re writing and recording. Once again a full band interview, this one sees TJ Higgs (Vocals, Bass), Jon Arnold (Guitars), Joe Andrews (Drums formerly of Fragment) joined by Kai Boyce (Guitars, formerly of Confront The Carnage) all answering the burning questions…

What did you learn from the recording of your 2017 debut EP “Aftó Eínai Pólemos” (from the Greek “This Is War“) that helped when it came to recording the new single “Eat The Rich“?

TJ: “When naming things, stick to a language you can pronounce!”

Jon: “We learned a lot of what not to do that’s for sure, like hunting for reviews after the release and spending way too much time on parts in the studio that are not really important.”

How does the writing process of a new track start? Melody, riff or rhythm first?

TJ: “New tracks are always riffs first, Jon is our riff machine, he can churn them out all day long, the tricky part is picking which ones to focus on! Then it’s a process of us jamming them out and seeing what flows”

Kai: “We just have a shit idea, then we come up with something to go with it, then we get rid of the first idea! Somehow that turns into a song”

What was behind the decision to re-record “The Great Deceiver“ as part of the new single sessions as opposed to a cover or another new cut? If the opportunity arose to record a cover, who do you fancy paying tribute to?

Joe: “A cover isn’t likely, because we can’t all agree on one! I think recording a cover is different from playing one live, because recording a cover is more about taking an original idea and changing it to fit your style, whereas live is about playing something for the fans of the genre and just having fun with it”

Kai: “If I was choosing a cover, I’d probably choose a classical piece, or something obscure that’s not metal”

TJ: “”The Great Deceiver” is one of our favourites, and we just wanted to record it sounding a bit heavier! I don’t know what cover we’d do, I think we all have different ideas about who we’d want to pay tribute to. Satyricon, they’d be fun to cover”

While your debut was mixed by Arthur Young at Shaken Oak Studios, this time around you decided to mix yourselves. What was behind the decision to keep things in-house and did you find it easier than working with someone else?

TJ: “The main reason for wanting to do it ourselves was so we could spend the time we wanted on it with no pressure. Staying in-house gave us the opportunity to take our time and refine our sound”

Jon: “I mixed the tracks at home over several weeks. Quite simply we wanted to make sure it was 100% our vision, undiluted by any outside forces. It’s not perfect but it’s in the direction of what we are trying to achieve sound wise. The music was recorded live in one take, and I had TJ add his vocal after so we could try to nail the music live, I think the end result turned out ok”

Kai: “I always think it’s easier working on your own than with someone else”

Joe: “It’s not that it’s difficult working with someone else, we just didn’t get the sound that we wanted with the first record. “Eat The Rich” was the first time that the drums have been close to the sound I wanted and that was just an off-the-cuff live performance! I remember recording drums for Fragment, spending the whole first day just getting the drums sounding right, unlike this time where it was pretty much right straight off”

For us gear nerds out there, can you tell us what you’re using gear-wise (pedals, strings, drums etc) to get your sound?

TJ: “The bass I use is Ibanez, running through a Big Muff Pi and a Sansamp for a nice dirty tone”
Jon: “Peavey 6505+ amp head, Ibanez RG 7-String, D’addario NYL strings. FX Delay, Wah”
Kai: “Diamond Nitrox amp head, alternating guitars, D’addario NYL strings”
Joe: “Paiste Rude Cymbals, Pearl Eliminator Double Kick Pedal, Roland TM-2 Trigger Module, Roland RT-30K Kick Sensor, Gretsch Snare, 5b Vic Firth Black painted Sticks”

What difference would it make to you as a band if you could land an endorsement from a gear manufacturer?

TJ: “It would probably mean we’d have nicer gear!”
Kai: “Aw, strings! I’d save hundreds!”
Jon: “Yep 100% a strings endorsement would be a good one, that shit ain’t cheap!”
Joe: “The most important thing for me would be bass drum pedals, I need a really solid set. Axis Longboards, please!”

“Eat The Rich” by Promethean Reign is out now and available over at bandcamp.