Eloquence of Suffering

8.08 V1.2

RBN: EOS has been described as doom metal, is that an accurate assessment? How would you describe your sound, influences?

Andy: Doom metal is what it would be, that's the intention anyway. Everybody's got their own way of seeing shit but the intention is to be a predominately doom oriented band. Me and Jay had a debate the other day whether it was death/doom or doom/death (laughs). He said the only thing that kept it in the death realm was my vocals but I hear some death changes and stuff. But, I digress.(laughs again) Influences... there's just so many. Ultimately it's whatever we want to play but doom was the idea we all came together on. Funeralium would probably be at the top of the list. There's a little bit of Neurosis, but everybody wants to be Neurosis nowadays. But I ain't trying to copy Neurosis I just like the dudes, know what I'm saying?

RBN: Let's talk history. What are your former bands and how did this one come together?

Andy: Oh shit. (collective groan then laughing)

Kyle: Let's say Timmy used to be in Paralytic. We're gonna start with that right now. Of course everybody else used to be in Izopn. (more groaning) I had to say it, it's gotta be talked about.

Jay:

"What is this fucking therapy or something?"

Andy: Izopn was awesome. It was the shit. I enjoyed the hell out of it for ten years but this is EOS and I want to focus on being known as EOS, not a motherfucker that used to be in Izopn. Cause a lot of times, motherfuckers don't like Izopn. You go around telling' everybody that and they won't come see you play, they're not going to give it a chance.

Jay: At the same time, though, a lot of people know who Izopn is.

Andy: I guess it cuts both ways but I was ready to start fresh. This band is everything I couldn't do in Izopn. Just to be blunt about it.

Jay: It seemed to me like when I came into Izopn, I felt like it had to be played a certain way or I had to write a certain way.

Andy: You came in trying to play Izopn instead of just playing your own thing.

Jay: Well I was just trying to be in the band, not try to start a new band.

Andy: Well, you're the only guitar player that didn't do that. For the most part every guitar player that came along changed our style. Every time one left the next time we played a show it was different than what we played before.

RBN: I noticed there's a lot more clean vocals in EOS. Was that a conscious decision or just a natural pairing with the music?

Andy: Well I still don't want to talk about it but when I was in Izopn everything was so regimental. You almost stuck with a certain pattern that you could do. The music dictated so definitely that there was no room to play with it. After ten years it gets kinda boring actually. So once I threw that yoke off I figured I'd try shit and if I sucked at it, I just sucked at it. But I don't think it's terrible. Some of it works, some of it doesn't.

Jay: I think it matches the music. There's more variety, it deserves more variety in the vocals.

Andy: Every vocal I did on pretty much every Izopn song was the same style. So with this I'm trying to give people more of a range.

RBN: So are you guys still in the process of recording your EP, "Suffering in B Minor?"

Kyle: We're still writing.

Andy: It will probably wind up having five or six songs.

Jay: I wouldn't mind doing a split with someone, like a seven inch vinyl or something with a band that sounds kinda similar. I was thinking about maybe Gravebound cause I like the hell out of them. It's faster and a little bit more aggressive, more of a hardcore influence. That's the only thing I've heard coming out of Chattanooga right now that interests me.

Andy:

"Gonna get some hate mail for that."

(laughs)

RBN: Do you want to talk about the recording process?

Andy: Let me tell you, this motherfucker (Jay) writes the guitar, sends it to me in an e-mail, I listen to it, make a couple of suggestions, send it back to him, he refines it and sends it back to me. I record some vocals on it,send it back to him and he mixes it. It's totally ridiculous but it works.

RBN: What about the lyrical content? What is the subject matter and inspiration for them?

Andy: Again that's kinda a collaboration with Jay. He writes these riffs and when he sends them to me he's already named them. I just roll with that thought and write whatever comes my way and that's what the lyrics wind up being about.

RBN: Is there a message?

Andy: They all have their messages I guess. "Bleed the Sinner" is about motherfuckers that look down their nose at you and you can't please everybody all the time.

Jay: From what we discussed, I think it's kinda a criticism of a hypocritical point of view.

Andy: "Depth" is about withdrawing into yourself to avoid the bullshit from everybody else. Like at the bottom of the sea, the safest place you feel, where you want to be. It's got a lot of feelings but you know you're going to be safe there.

RBN: You guys have been involved in the local scene for awhile now. Would you like to comment on the current state of things?

Andy:

"I don't think our scene is as terrible as everybody would like you to believe. There's places to play if you want to play. I mean you can't put a bulletin on myspace and expect 300 people to show up at your Ziggy's show."

Kyle: You definitely got to put work into it around here.

RBN: Do you think doom metal is something that could be commercially accepted or achieve mainstream status?

Andy: No, I don't think so.

Jay: People want something faster, more extreme, they want metalcore...

Andy: They want fashion, people don't give a fuck about music anymore. They want black haircuts that look the same, jelly bracelets and goddamn women's jeans. Metal with accessories. If doom was going to be famous it would be famous already. Take Crowbar, those guys have been jamming for twenty something years and aside from a small group of people in the metal community no one knows who the fuck they are.

Jay: That's not my goal to get on the radio. It's to make music that I like, that other people like, that drives me.

RBN: Is there anything you'd like to add?

Andy: More drugs, more pussy and less bullshit.

Kyle: Less police?

Tim: I feel less adequate being the drummer. (laughter)

Jay: That's what you want to add?

Kyle: I feel more adequate being the bass player than the keyboard player.

Jay: I want to be adequate. I'm a dime a dozen, I play guitar. What the fuck? Bassist and drummers are the hardest motherfuckers to find for a band.

Andy: So there.