December 2008 - Discern

Pictured below: Billy Fraser, the man behind Discern.

MBR: Hi Billy, I'm glad to have the opportunity to do this interview. How are you doing today?

Billy: I am doing great! We just got done with dinner, and I am now ready to relax for the rest of the night. I hope all is well with you, my friend!!

MBR: What inspired you to start making music, and why did you choose "Discern" as your band's name?

Billy: When I was 3 years old, I saw a commercial for KISS on t.v., and the ad was for some of their recent albums at that time, and I thought to myself, “ that is what I want to do! “ Yes, even 3 year olds can make life long decisions at that age, ha ha!! So, the next year, at age 4, I started to play the drums, and I have not looked back since.

I chose DISCERN as the band’s name, as it means, “ to perceive or to make things out clearly.” To be able to discern can be applied to any part of our lives that require discernment from the Lord, like perhaps distinguishing Biblical doctrine from false doctrine, interpreting scripture in its’ correct meaning and context, etc..We, as Christians in the body of Christ, need to be fully equipped to be able to discern at all times.

MBR: When did you become interested in metal? Also when did you get into Christian metal?

Billy: Well, as my love for rock bands, such as KISS, RATT, Motley Crue, Van Halen, and so forth, grew, it eventually did merge into discovering metal bands as well. Some of those bands were considered metal for their time as well by some. My brother introduced me to Iron Maiden and Judas Priest, and many others. In doing so, my metal future was set, so to say.

I got into Christian metal right after I became a believer and accepted Christ into my life and made Him Lord, at around age 11. At the time, some of the bands I heard in the Christian scene were simply just not cutting it musically for me, so I was blessed to discover The Resurrection Band, whom, even though they were not really metal, they were intense hard rock, and were excellent in what they did! They were a band that was and is able to compete with any secular classic rock type band, and so they were my first Christian band I really got into heavily. They knew what they were doing, and they were just so “ real “. From that point, I then got into other bands such as Saint, Messiah Prophet, Philadelphia, Barren Cross, Bloodgood, Soldier, Barnabas, Stryper, Vengeance, Deliverance, and the list goes on.

MBR: I've heard plenty of one-man projects before, and most of the time (not always) a musician only excels at one particular instrument, but when I listened to "To Praise With Persecution" I was very impressed that you pull everything off very well. How long have you been playing instruments, and how many can you play?


Billy: First of all, thank you so very much for your kind compliments!! As far as drums, I have been playing for 30 years, as I am now 34. Guitar, I started messing around with probably back around 89 or so, when I was playing drums in my first band, a Christian thrash band called Summoned, that existed from I believe 86 or 87 until I joined in 88 to then breaking up around 91.

MBR: What do you consider your main instrument?

Billy: Drums, first and foremost.

MBR: Do you think it makes things easier or harder in doing all the music yourself? I once tried to create some music myself but found it is much harder than one would imagine. Do you think it is more difficult having to write parts for each instrument and not having other members to help, or do you think it simplifies the writing process?

Billy: Overall, it feels pretty easy, and I really do enjoy writing all of the music myself. I will be honest, as sometimes it can get lonely being the only member. At times, it can be hard figuring out one little riff in one area of a song to put in, to complete the song, or trying to come up with ideas in general. Thing is, for me, once the ideas start pouring out, and then I remain focused, the actual song writing then seems to be pretty easy going. Getting started sometimes, on a whole new song, can be the most difficult, in terms of the writing process.

MBR: How much time on average do you normally put into writing a single song?

Billy: The actual time it takes to write a song?? Each time can be vastly different than another time. Some songs I have written in a period of hours, while other songs were from riffs I had accumulated in my head over a period of years, and then I was finally able to just sit down and work the ideas out in a song. For instance, a lot of songs that were from the first DISCERN cd, Revive And Rebuke, were song ideas I had years prior to myself recording that cd, while I was in Oblation. The same goes with the new cd, To Praise With Persecution, as those were ideas I have had for quite a while, and then finally, these ideas were able to get recorded.

So, to answer your question accurately, it is very hard to say. Someday I would like to maybe look into getting a 4 or 8 track to help in songwriting. I don’t currently have nor ever have had anything like one of those to help me write, and since I can be obsessive at times, I am afraid it would make the act of writing songs take much longer..ha ha!! I try to keep the songwriting process as simple as possible, with just myself recording my drum parts on a jambox, and then practicing along with my guitar. That is simply how I write.

MBR: What bands have influenced your music, and what are your personal favorites?

Billy: I have so many favorite bands!! My favorite bands can range from any of the Christian metal classic bands I mentioned earlier this interview, to KISS, Iron Maiden, Iced Earth, Iona, Asphyx, Twila Paris, Suffocation, Vore, Death, Napalm Death, Hammerfall, Crimson Thorn, Sonvolt, Sick Of It All, The Misfits, and so forth.

As far as bands that have actually influenced my writing in DISCERN, I would have to say perhaps Napalm Death, Death, Deicide, Suffocation, Morbid Angel, Paramaecium, Mortician, Persecution, old Vengeance Rising, and Stevie Ray Vaughan.


MBR: I really enjoyed the instrumental guitar track "The Anointing", from your latest album, 'To Praise with Persecution'. What inspired you to do this song, and do you have any comments about it for those reading this interview?

Billy: Thanks!!!

I always thought when Van Halen did “ Eruption “ back in the early days, it would be really neat to do something similar on one of my albums. I also have always liked guitar solos, and when lead players would perform big solos in concert when I would see a band play live. I had never heard a death metal band do anything of the sort on cd, so I threw the idea out to Rick Hunter-Martinez, who played all leads on the new DISCERN cd, and he was all for it, and understood completely the goal that I was trying to achieve with “ The Anointing “. Simply put, Rick shredded, and he shredded at will….haha!!


MBR: In your own opinion what do you think sets Discern's sound apart from other similar styled bands?

Billy: That answer can be wrapped up in the primary goal of DISCERN:

DISCERN will always be about myself writing the catchiest and most intense death metal I can come up with, to glorify the one true God, and to point all listeners to Him and Him alone. From plenty of blasts, to intense grooves, laced with blues here and there, wrapped up in the best production I can record the insanity in, the style is pure death with a hint of the blues, in pure metal form, in all of its’ splendor.


MBR: I can’t help but notice some blues influence in "To Praise with Persecution" at times (which I enjoy). Am I correct in noticing this?

Billy: You certainly did notice this, and have a keen ear my friend!

I absolutely love blues, such as Buddy Guy, B.B. King, and my personal favorite, Stevie Ray Vaughan. Blues, to me, is just soaking with substance and feeling. Any of these artists I just mentioned, to me, have songs that are just as heavy and powerful, if not more, than just about any metal band out there. So, with my love for blues, I wanted to inject that into the death metal I write for DISCERN, and the response has been very well received! Two forms of extremely heavy music, IMO, fused together, and you have an original onslaught of a touch of blues with pure death.


MBR: Are you currently working on new material? If so, when can we expect to hear a new song?

Billy: Yes, I am working currently on new songs, as we speak! I am extremely pleased with the material so far, and although I am not sure when a new song will be available, I hope to start recording the new DISCERN cd next year in 2009.


MBR: What is your favorite release so far from this year? And are there any albums in particular you are looking forward to?

Billy: My favorite release is not just one cd!! My favorite releases this year so far have been the new Iced Earth album, The Crucible Of Man. Also, the new Whitesnake album, Good To Be Bad, is amazing, and is such a strong release.

I am looking forward to hearing the new Napalm Death, as well as the new Asphyx, Absu, and the re-recordings of classic tunes that KISS did this year.


MBR: Lastly I want to thank you for doing this interview and are there any other comments you would like to make for anyone who reads this?

Billy: Thank you so much my friend for the interview!

If anyone is interested in DISCERN or purchasing a cd, please visit my myspace site at:

www.myspace.com/discerndeathmetal

Also, if you like excellent melodic metal, please check out Rick Hunter-Martinez’s band Walk The Sky at www.walkthesky.com

To God be the Glory!!!

 

 

 

 

Visit Saving Grace on myspace

MBR: Hello, its great to have the opportunity to interview you guys. If you would, please introduce all the band members and their roles.

Saving Grace: Hey whats up and thanks for the opportunity!!!
Saving Grace consists of myself (Vasely Sapunov) on Guitar, Ben Davidson on Drums, George White on Bass and Nick Tautuhi on Vocals.


MBR: I see you released an album this year, has it been well received?

Saving Grace: Surprisingly so.... it's a real blessing to have so many good reviews and a lot of press not to mention going over to tour the other side of the world and finding out we have already sold hundreds of copies of the album without having ever set foot outside of New Zealand and having done so in such a short amount of time since the album's release.
Having kids at shows singing along to the songs and going crazy and telling us that they are excited because they have been waiting a long time to see us play, is just incredible, for us it's a dream come true.


MBR: Would you like to explain your album cover? What is the meaning behind the artwork?

Saving Grace: The concept of the album is the every day warfare that we, as Christians experience in the world today.
The album has a very war-like feel to it, everything from the artwork to the layout to the samples and arrangements is used to portray that concept.
We are very happy with the way the artwork came out and Dave Quiggle is one of the most amazing illustrators in the industry.


MBR: Were you satisfied with the outcome of your album? Would you change anything if you could?

Saving Grace: We are really happy with the way it came out. We were blessed with the opportunity to work with an amazing group of people on this album and we have learned so much from the experience. The only thing I regret is the fact that we took so long with it (the original studio sessions for 'Behind Enemy Lines' began in 2006 and the album was released April 2008), but I guess in that length of time we were able to really perfect things and get the record to a standard that we were more than happy with as well as giving us time to secure record deals and good global distribution etc.
The next album will hopefully be a much more fluid process from the writing to the recording and release.

MBR: How is the Christian metal Scene in New Zealand?

Saving Grace: Practically non existent unfortunately... Saving Grace is the only current Christian metal/hardcore band in New Zealand.


MBR: I know you are a Christian band, but was there anything in particular that made you lean towards the name "Saving Grace?"

Saving Grace: The fact that it's by God's amazing Grace that we are saved from eternal death... this is everything we as a band are about.
Ephesians 2:8

MBR: Its always refreshing to see a Christian band that is not ashamed of the Gospel. Lyrically, Do you prefer to focus on salvation, teaching, or other life issues?

Saving Grace: We prefer to cover all of those things.

Coming from a hardcore background, we feel it is very important to cover life issues and things that we deal with in the physical struggles of every day life, not only the spiritual issues, however the majority of our lyrics are focused on God's love and the salvation we have through faith.
'Behind Enemy Lines' deals with everything from sexual addiction to suicide and everything in between... we even have one song which is pure metal worship 'Even As I Bleed...'
The next record which we have already written a handful of songs for, will once again touch on a variety of different social topics, this time including ones that deal with things from our personal convictions and experiences including vegetarianism/veganism to growing up without fathers etc.

MBR: What are some of the band's influences, and what are some of your personal favorites?

Saving Grace: We all listen to a really diverse cross section of music these days. At any one time, you can find us having a random collective playlist that looks something like this:
Atmosphere, Death Cab For Cutie, Kataklysm, Infectious Grooves, Reprisal, Wu Tang, Radiohead, Integrity....

We all grew up listening to metal and hardcore so our combined influences include: Slayer, Pantera, Cannibal Corpse, Machine Head, Biohazard, Arkangel, Promise of Bloodshed, Point of Recognition, One Must Fall, Earth Crisis and Strife etc etc.

MBR: I've really enjoyed everything I have heard so far. Without trying to put yourself into a box, how would you describe your music?

Saving Grace: Brutal spirit filled hardcore.

'Imagine if All Out War, Arkangel and Old school Throwdown had a love child... that's Saving Grace' - Justin 'The Great Commission'


MBR: What are some of the bands you have played with? And are there any bands you like to some day tour with?

Saving Grace: We have toured with and played with countless bands... I would be here all day trying to list them all. Some of the bigger names that you may recognize include Bleeding Through, Parkway Drive, Darkest Hour, Comeback Kid as well as many other awesome bands.
We would love to one day share the stage with bands like Earth Crisis, Arkangel and Biohazard, those are the bands that really influenced our sound and had a lot of impact on us as kids growing up, getting an opportunity to share the stage with bands like that (and talk to them about Jesus haha) would be a true honor.


MBR: As a band what is your most memorable or unforgettable moment you have had?

Saving Grace: There really are too many to mention... however the powerful moves of God that we recently saw in Mexico on our tour with For Today and Man of Sorrows are some of the most incredible and life changing days of our lives.
The love we were shown by the people of that country can never be repaid. The true heart of Christ that is present in the lives of everybody that we had the privilege of spending time with is indescribable, not to mention the pure biblical miracles, moves of the Holy Spirit and face melting shows that we played in one of the world's most beautiful countries... we will never forget Mexico and we can't wait to come back!

MBR: Do you do anything special at your live shows? What are your most popular songs to play live?

Saving Grace: We don't really do anything crazy or have any wanky synchronized dance moves, we just bring it tough, the only way we know how...
Our vocalist Nick is renouned for spending a lot of time curled up like a dying man on the stage or on his knees screaming with veins bursting out of his massive shiny head.
Crowd favourites always include 'In Your Own Hands' 'For So Long...' and of course 'Unbreakable'.
We're not really into playing 'The Most Beautiful Promise' live, but its also usually a crowd favourite, and everyone hassles us for it, its definitely the album's 'hit' and is by far the most melodic and accessible track on the record.

MBR: What does the future hold for Saving Grace? And is there any chance for a US tour?

Saving Grace: Well we just finished our first US tour a few weeks ago with our friends in Wrench In the Works, Man of Sorrows and Sovereign Strength.
There is already talk of us coming back around the same time next year but for a much longer leg with our bros in For Today and The Great Commission.
As far as what the future holds? Only God knows and he may either laugh at our plans or bless them and open the doors... hahaha fortunately for us 99 percent of the time its the latter.
Right now we are getting ready to head out on our first NZ tour since our return from the US. with an Australian band called Wish For Wings.
Then over the summer we are playing a few bigger shows and festivals.
We are returning to Australia in April to headline the metal showcase at the massive Easterfest in Queensland which will be huge.
We have also recently had opportunities open up in Europe and Asia for touring next year, so if things go well for us, we may be spending a lot more time abroad in the coming months.
Right after that we intend to take a few months off to write and record our next full length album which should ne ready for a release in Fall 09.



MBR: What do you want people to take with them from your album after listening?

Saving Grace: Hopefully an enjoyable experience, as well as either a revelation, encouragement or a planted seed of Faith in who the real Jesus Christ is.
All glory to Him!!


MBR: Is there anything else you would like to add for anyone reading this?

Saving Grace: Thank you for all your support and prayers. Thank you for taking the time to check us out.
Please help support our ministry by spreading the word and picking up a copy of 'Behind Enemy Lines' in stores or online at www.harvestearth.com
Thank you so much for showing interest in bands from the other side of the globe... keep it metal and keep supporting Metal Blessing Radio!
See you all soon!

God Bless!

The band of the month for October is Sanctum Incendia, a neo-classical metal band from Scotland.

Pictured below: Sanctum Incendia, with "Mr. Leo" (center) at the recording studio.

Sanctum Incendia is:

Rhianna Bain – Lead Vocals (no longer with the band)
Ben Smith – Guitar, Vocals
Matthew Thornton – Keyboard
Fraser Greenwood – Drums

While Sanctum Incendia plays a type of neo-classical metal, they also incorporate many of their own original touches to their music. You will hear Rhianna's singing vocals accompanied by Ben's death metal style growls and guitar. Matthew adds to the atmosphere with his keyboarding while Fraser handles the drums.
Here is a short interview with Sanctum Incendia, where they answered a few of my questions:

Metal Blessing Radio (MBR): Why did you choose the name "Sanctum Incendia"?

Sanctum Incendia (SI): "Well we went around as 'Syndicate' for a while, but that name didn't really suit our style of music (it sounds more emo I think, maybe indie?), plus I felt it had bad connotations, it had the idea of gambling and getting drunk I thought. Or maybe it doesn't. I dunno.
Anyway me (Matthew, the keyboardist) and Ben were chatting about names on MSN one evening and he suggested that I try out some cool sounding words on an online translator. I tried a few and nothing really worked, then I tried the words 'Holy Fire' in Latin, and it came with Sanctus Incendia, I think. Which is what we called ourselves for about fifteen hours until we decided to change it to Sanctum Incendia, because that sounded much cooler. XD"

MBR: When can we expect to see an album released?

SI: "An album you say? That would be nice. I think we have reached the opinion that we will continue working on material and playing in different places for a while and just see where that takes us. The stuff we have at the moment on our Myspace, Bebo, Facebook and Last. fm pages was recorded at Mr Leo's house (this cool american dude), and I know that we all enjoyed it so we'd like to talk to him about it I think. We'll probably be doing some more recording next summer holidays, possibly even a bit over christmas. I don't know. We'll just have to see how it comes. But yeah, an album would be awesome.
*Update - we'll actually be recording our album in spring/summer '09 it's just a matter of getting the cash together and doing it. We currently have about 12 songs learned and playing but we'd to increase this to 20+ before we settle down to do any seriously heavy duty recording. You can probably expect one or two more demo tracks released in december however so look out for that!

MBR: What bands have influenced your music the most and What are the band members listening to these days?

SI: "Mainly metal and classical music. When I say classical I mean anything that isn't too modern, so it would include baroque and all that. I think Nightwish influence us quite alot, at least with the female fronted metal band business. Just anything awesome really, and that isn't dance. A good judge of whether we'll like it is whether it's 'in the charts', if it is then the chances are we won't like it. XD
Fraser and Ben listen to really heavy black metal sort of stuff, like Dimmu Borgir and Children of Bodom, along with softer classical music like Handel and Vivaldi. I (Matthew) listen to metal like Metallica and Megadeth, for example, and Prog rock/metal like Dream Theater, The Mars Volta, and Ayreon. Rhianna likes more punk and indie sort of stuff, I think. Like the sort of music that would be the soundtrack on a skateboarding videogame."

MBR: I like the original mix of elements you have incorporated into your songs. Aside from the neo-classical sounds, I hear a bit of death metal influence in the occasional growl vocals (assuming this is Ben Smith), also the organ sound on "Nothing in Return" gives off a bit of a gothic vibe.

SI: "Yeah, it's an interesting mix, but it seems to work well. We just take everything that we enjoy listening to and mix it together. I mean, if we enjoy our music then the chances are that somebody else will, right?
And yeah, the growls are Ben.
Though since Rhianna joined last March we have become considerably more tuneful and less 'lets just make as much noise as we can and hope somebody likes it' sort of thing. Having a female vocalist definitely helps, there's just so much more we can do and it sounds alot nicer. I really like the mix of Ben's growls and Rhianna's singing, like the chorus of Redemption in Blood, for example. Plus Ben's singing isn't bad, it sounds nice later in the same song along with Rhianna's."

MBR: Lastly, I feel Sanctum Incendia is full of potential. Where do you see yourselves a year from now?

SI: "I really don't know. Obviously I'd love to be better known and playing in more places, but I'm not really too bothered whether we do more than we are now, or just continue with what we currently do. I enjoy practises, they're fun, and as long as we're enjoying it it doesn't really matter.
I hope that our music can at least introduce people to the bible as well, that would be nice and make it all worth it.
Personally I'd like to play at Frenzy, this christian music festival thing in Edinburgh. It's a great day out I think. The music there is the traditional worship band sort of stuff, which is ok, but every single band there does the same/very similar sort of things. So I'd like go there and 'introduce' them to our music. It would certainly be interesting."

 

* Unfortunately when I featured ForeverAtLast, Metal Blessing Radio was still in it's baby-stages and I had not yet implemented an interview into this feature. Below is what was originally posted regarding ForeverAtLast. Hear their song "File_Save_As" on the June 2009 Podcast!
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From now on I will be featuring a band every month, the current featured band will always take the number 1 spot on the myspace friend list as well...

The featured band for September is "ForeverAtLast". A female fronted hardcore band from Indiana, Forever At Last is leaving a burning trail of holy fire behind them as they continue to rise. At first listen one may be reminded of Bloodlined Calligraphy as Brittany Ritchey's refined screams echo through your speakers.

Comparisons aside, ForeverAtLast holds their own in a genre seemingly flooded with cookie-cutter bands. With Chris Lantz and Jared Paris on guitar, Anthony Robison on bass, and Ryan Tennessen on the drums, ForeverAtLast adds some welcome variety with Ryan Ames on the keys and synth, and Chris Lantz taking on backup vocals.

Also refreshing is their genuine desire to spread the love of Jesus through their music as stated on their official myspace page:

"First and foremost, we are a Christian Ministry. Our only purpose for this is to share with the world the Amazing Love and Joy we have in Jesus Christ. We want to help everyone to see the happiness that we have in our hearts, that only Jesus can bring!"

ForeverAtLast's debut album "Lost Cause - Population 0" is scheduled for a winter 08' release, but in the meantime you can get a taste of their music on their myspace page by clicking the link below.

Visit ForeverAtLast's Website