Jim: How are things with Silent Fate?
Anthony: Things are going great. We signed
with MEI at the beginning of the year, wrote a
bunch of killer tracks and pumped out one hell
of an intense album. Since signing, we've had
so many great opportunities open up for us.
J: You've moved to a new record label since The
Autumn Machine. How has this changed things for
Silent Fate?
Anthony: It's amazing how much things
change once you have a label behind you. You can
hear the difference from the last album to this
album right off the bat. There is more of a focus
and direction in the music now. Our previous album,
while musically diverse, seemed to have something
missing in the way of direction. When you have
a bunch of people with such musically diverse
backgrounds, it's going to show through in the
music ... as it did on T.A.M. The label kind of
put some things in perspective for us and focused
the music and members towards a more unified sound.
J: The new album "Burned, Buried and Forgotten"
incorporates several vocal styles. Does this make
the songs difficult to pull off live?
Anthony: Well, we have two vocalists as
we did for T.A.M. Alessio takes care of all the
high screams and most of the lower growls, I take
care of most of the melodic vocals live. Alessio
has been broadening his range as well, which you
can hear on the track "Dealt Dead".
Eventually, I would like to pass off most if not
all the vocal work to Alessio. Right now though,
I think the dual vocals are what adds to our originality
and sound. As far as it being hard to pull off
live? Not at all.
J: Silent Fate's sound incorporates a wide range
of styles. What are your biggest influences?
Anthony: Everyone in the band comes from
such a different musical background it's hard
to pinpoint one or even several musical influences.
My influences stem from more of a classical to
old school thrash/black metal scene (Megadeth,
In Flames, Soilwork, Bach). Danny is probably
the most musically educated out of us all. Musically,
he's probably the most diverse and open to all
sorts of things. Steve comes from the hardcore
side of things with some heavier influences (Biohazard
to Pantera to Lamb of God). Alessio is into the
newer underground scene, Beneath the Buried and
Me, Glass Casket, Black Dahlia Murder ... definitely
more into the heavier side of things than most
of us.
J: As soon as I put "Burned, Buried and Forgotten"
into my stereo it was obvious that Silent Fate
has a tighter, classic metal sound on
this album. What changed?
Anthony: We just got used to each other
and collaborated way more on this album than the
last. T.A.M was all over the place because you
had one person writing an entire song instead
of having everyone have their say in the composition.
This time around, I would lay down a riff, Steve
would put something of his on top of it, Danny
would throw his rhythmic interpretation of what
was going on and then Alessio and I would work
out a vocal scheme. Working like that contributed
to a more unified sound across the album. Another
thing I have to mention is the fans... We definitely
noticed what people were more into it when we
were playing live. The slower songs were well
received, but the harder material definitely got
a more powerful response which we responded to.
J: Tell me about "Buried". This track
is awesome! It's powerful, melodic and ferocious!
Anthony: "Buried" is the epitome
of the band at this point. The intro and keyboard
work is my classical influence. Danny's footwork
on this track is nothing short of incredible.
Steve added the glue for the chorus that brought
this song together. Alessio took the theme and
tore up the screamed/growled vocals and wrote
the chorus, which we both sang. This track just
puts it all out there.
J: "Forgotten" is another high point
on this release. This song borders on radio friendly,
and still incorporates furious metal. Do you think
songs like this will make Silent Fate appeal to
mainstream metal fans?
Anthony: I don't know if this song or
others like it will pull anyone in, but I can
definitely see it appealing to a broader audience.
This song was actually written at the same time
as some of the Autumn Machine tracks, so it does
have a lighter feel to most of it... especially
the second verse and solo section.
J: The song titles on "Burned, Buried and
Forgotten" seem to have a running theme.
Is there an overall theme to the album??
Anthony: With the exception of "Doc
Holliday", all the songs on the album deal
with subjects that are personally related to us
in some way. "No Longer Yours" was written
for Alessio's Great Grandmother who passed while
we were in the studio recording. "Forgotten"
is a personal song for me about myself in relation
to someone close to me. "11:11" is about
some strange things that I've been going through
for years. "Masquerade" is about the
band and the recording process. Overall, though,
the album deals with the life cycle and times
in all of our lives that, at some point or another,
we all have to deal with.
J: What's next for Silent Fate?
Anthony: Lots and lots of touring ...
We're not looking forward to studio time any time
soon, so we really just want to get out there
and support this album as much as we can. Once
we feel confident that we've done all we can for
this release, we'll go back and take all our experience
and inspiration in with us and crank out another
hopefully even better album.
J: Do you have any parting thoughts for our readers?
Anthony: Check out the new material,
and check out the other great bands on MEI Records
as well. Support your local musicians, without
them music doesn't have a future!
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