Fear Absolute
Wywiad przeprowadził Piotr Pyczek
Some say that you should always give other people a chance, no matter how reluctant you are to do so. You're just not always in the mood, you know? Anyway, it was recently my turn to give somebody a chance; the recipients of my generosity were some guys from the Canadian death metal band, Fear Absolute. Although at the beginning I did not like their CD very much, I decided to do an interview with Dale, who seemed to be a really interesting guy and who was really keen to promote their new album "Apprehension". I sent my questions, and - seven hours later - the answers were in my mail box. Wow! I can name a few bands who could learn a thing or two from Dale. Anyway. This is also Dale's chance to challenge some of the (not so flattering) things that I wrote in my review. It's his move....and here it is:Hey, Dale. How are you? How is Canada this autumn? I've heard that it is really beautiful during these months...
"Hello Piotrek, how are you man? I am doing alright here. Keeping busy trying to get FA totally up and running again, and promoting the new album. It's beautiful here! The leaves have all turned color, the air is cool, and the nights are cold. In about a month, we shall be getting our first real taste of Winter - snow, and lots of it! Time for hockey!"
I made you wait for these questions for a long time! Are you mad at the guy who promised an interview and kept you waiting?
"Of course not, Piotrek. I knew you would send your questions when you had the time to do so. I am just very grateful you want to help Fear Absolute out in any way. Your support of all kinds of Metal bands on your site is unquestionable. Now we can get started with the interview, and I am looking forward to it."
I will have to start with quite a basic question about Fear Absolute. You are not known here in Poland and a few words of introduction will be all right here I guess...
"No problem at all, man. Basically Fear Absolute started as a side project / "jamming" band back in the Summer of 1998 while my main band, Awakened, was getting our new drummer settled in. So while we waited, I called up two friends, Steve Parker & Jody Flanagan, to play music with me. We had a great time and wrote three songs. About six months later I was fired from Awakened, and on January 27, I called Steve and Jody once again, but this time to form a serious band. So Fear Absolute was officially born and was now a real band. I got to work on writing new songs and lyrics, and that is when FA took over my life, haha. That is the brief version for you out there. More on our site..."
Just like I mentioned in the review of your latest album "Apprehension", you play quite a strange mixture of metal. What is it that you play? You call it progressive metal but for us here this means nothing at all. Some might even think that you are even more progressive than power metal bands. Explain that please...
"Our music is very strange, I totally agree. With FA, we have no one concept or blueprint - we write what we like, regardless of style or what else is going on in the Metal world. If we like something, no mater if it's Death, Thrash, Black, Power Metal, Hard Rock or Jazz, it gets used. We have absolutely no limitations or borders on our music. Too many bands want to emulate one band, or play one style. Fine for them. But since we listen to so many styles of Metal and music in general, we are like a combination of all of those influences.
When people ask me, I tell them we are "Progressive Extreme Metal." "Progressive" because we love pushing our musical limits on our instruments and being selfish, pleasing ourselves first. "Extreme" because we go from acoustic guitars with clean vocals to blast beating Death Metal, then on to some old school Thrash Metal like Metallica, then trip out on East Indian-ish/tribal-ish rhythms like on the tune "Forgotten" from the new album.
We have no interest in cloning a band we love, or playing it safe with anything we do. Our music is 100% from the heart, and I can proudly say that we will never turn into something heartless and shallow. Why play in a one-dimentional band?"
Honestly speaking, at first I was not too fond of "Apprehension" so much, but after some time I started enjoying this album. I still find lots of weak moments in it but nevertheless I have to admit that I kind of like it now. As I said, it took me a while to "understand" your music... Was it the same with others who got this album? BTW.. I still would not change a line in my review.
"I am glad you said that, Piotrek. I think our album is a very challenging listen for sure. There is alot going on within each song, and sometimes the differences are very, very subtle. I think the single biggest reason why people either don't like our music, or don't quite "get it" at first is that we do not use standard arrangements. We don't use choruses, verses, bridges, etc...that just about every other band does. And that is fine for them, but Dan and I think differently about it. Who says we "have" to write a certain way, you know?
I listen to the album now and think, "Man, there is some really passionate and intense playing on there." Our music takes time to grow on you, it needs to be listened to a few times to make any sense. But if you give it a chance (like you did), then it becomes a lot clearer and I hope that means that the album will stand the test of time. I have had many people say they thought the CD was ok when they first heard it, but just love it now. Or they like it a lot more after five or ten listens. That's fine with me.
I may not be the best guitar player, or singer, or whatever. But if you give it a chance, you can feel the passion we put into every riff and every song we write. And you can't top Dan on drums, he's a god."
Are you still satisfied with this album? What would you change now?
Very much so. Nothing is ever perfect, but you can strive for perfection regardless. We wanted to make the best sounding/produced CD we could, and we wanted to be able to finally compete with the bigger Metal bands out there. Now we have an album that sounds and looks professional, so the songs will now get judged on the quality of the writing - not the production.
"What would I change? Would love to do some new solos, I could do better now, seeing that I tracked my parts over 18 months ago. Might want to turn the bass guitar up a touch here and there. We took a long time producing and mixing this album, and it shows. Like I said - it's not perfect, but it's the very best we could do for the budget and time we had."
Do reviews help you to look at your music from a different perspective? Do you think about them when creating new tunes and tracks?
"Never been asked that before. I love reading reviews from people, good and bad. It makes me think that we are doing something special and challenging to the listener. But to be perfectly honest, I would NEVER allow what other people would like for us to be to effect or influence what we write. We are doing this totally for ourselves, and if you like it, fine. If not, that's fine too. There are plenty of other bands to go check out and listen to. If I listened to what everyone had to say, and then allow that to influence my writing, then I would call that selling out. The reason I picked up a guitar wasn't to get laid, or for money or booze. I wanted to be James Hetfield. Simple as that. Then I studied his playing, all the while finding my own voice."
You seem to have plenty of problems with your line-up. I know how painful that can be.. Now, as far as I know there is only you and Dan. Did you find new musicians to help you...
"Hahaha, good call man. It's really just the bass player part that has been a headache. Dan and I have been playing together in FA for almost four years now. But finding a steady, reliable bass player to fit into the band has been tough. Dan and I wrote the tunes on our first album without a bassist, because we didn't have one at the time. Then when we had a couple of tunes from the new CD written, Chris Mercer came back to the band, and he helped write a few riffs for some of the new tunes.
Now we are looking for a permanent guy, but right now we are happy to have a "hired gun" - someone not really "in" the band, but will do shows and rehearse with us, letting Dan and I write all the music. But ideally we would like to have a person step in on bass, play great and help write new songs with us. Either way, we're happy.
Metal is hard work, and when prospective bassists found out just how hard it really is to play in FA, they disappear. Dan and I demand a high level of playing and dedication to this band, and it seems that is a reason why so many bassists I have talked to do not stick around. You want to be in the band? Great! But it's hard work, so be prepared. But it is so FUN to play this music with a drummer like Dan, I don't get why someone wouldn't just jump at the chance."
You do vocals and play guitar. Does that mean that you are the backbone of Fear Absolute? Would you imagine your band as a one-man-project?
"Backbone? Maybe. I mean, I write 95% of the riffs and all the lyrics, and I sing and play guitar and front this band. But without Dan on drums, helping me with arrangements, time signatures and pushing me to be better, FA would not be anywhere close to what we have become. Dan is my musical partner in crime, and we click when we play music together. And he has been there everytime I needed a friend or some help.
I consider FA a team all the way, but in the end, I have final say over most decisions within the band, all the way from the logo to the artwork to the website to the music itself. But Dan is right there, giving me fantastic options and new perspectives. So Fear Absolute may be my vision and my baby, but when you are in FA you are part of a team."
That would not work during concerts of course. Do/Did you play them a lot? What kind of audience comes to your concerts? Only death metal maniacs?
"We haven't played a show in almost a year and a half, but that's due to not having a bass player to player shows with. We will be playing shows within a few months again, so our newer fans can come check us out onstage. Our audience is all over the place - some are Metalheads, some are friends, some are there because they heard our songs on College Radio or from our site. Some are curious Iron Maiden fans that don't really like the speed and vocal style of what we do, but it still intrigues them enough to come check us out.
We get great crowds when we play live here in Fredericton, and also in other cities. We have some real die-hard fans that will travel hours with their friends to come see us play live. And we deliver a solid show that features a ton of energy, passion, intensity and crowd interaction. And it leaves us feeling exhausted after a show!"
Do you notice any changes in people's attitudes towards gigs since the times when you first started listening to metal? I do.. It looks quite different now in Poland. I could say - It is worse. People stay at home, get lazy... How is it in Canada?
"Interesting...Right now it seems that we have an entire generation of people that would rather sit at home in front of the computer screen than to actually come down to see a band they like play a show. We could drive five hours to the East to a big city with a large population only to play to maybe 40 people on a Saturday night. Is it really that hard to get off your butt and go to see some great bands pouring their hearts out onstage? I guess so. But there are some great, dedicated fans in every city we have been to that will come out and support the bands they like.
But really, here in our hometown, I really cannot complain. We get good crowds that are really into what we do and can get pretty crazy as well!"
Do you remember how it happened that you started listening to metal? Who was the first metal band that you listened to? Who do you listen to nowadays? Who inspires you ?
"I certainly do. In 1985 my Brother and Mom bought me a portable stereo, and the two tapes I asked for - Van Halen's "1984" and Twisted Sister's "Stay Hungry" cassettes. I was into their videos on TV, and thought they were great. At the time I was also listening to popular music like Huey Lewis, Platinum Blonde, etc. Then a few months later I saw the home video "Live After Death" by Iron Maiden, and that basically changed my life right there. I pretty much only focused on Metal from then on. I was a Metalhead!
When I heard Metallica in January 1988, they really made me change everything. I thought (and still do) that their music is the best ever. They were the gateway for me to get into Slayer, Megadeth, Death and Testament shortly after.
I listen Metal still after all these years. Really, it's the only form of music that I love and have a passion for. I will never, ever stop listening to Metal, and I love it more now than I did back when I first caught the bug. These days? Death. Metallica. Hate Eternal. Morbid Angel. Nile. Just so many! Dream Theater, Carcass, Megadeth...I find everything I am exposed to inspires me in some way or another."
Let's go back to Fear Absolute again. You signed with Discorporate Music - a small label from Halifax, Nova Scotia. Is Raland doing a good job for you?
"I could not ask for more. It is a wonderfully powerful feeling to know that Raland not only enjoys what we do, but he's helping us to promote the band throughout the world, as well as help out financially with the costs in manufacturing our new CD. It takes some of the pressure off of us, because we don't have to do literally everything. Now we can share the responsibilities of getting our name and albums out to the world. I am very pleased and grateful for all he has done for us."
Are you already thinking about the new album? What will it be like?
"Of course! Well, I think the songs will be a bit shorter overall, and I think there will be a lot more aggression and speed in the new tunes. But we also love melody and taking our music on a journey - those things will never change. The music will be better, the performances more confident, and the lyrics still heartfelt. There are some really great moments on "Apprehension", and we hope to make the new album even better than the last. Intensity will be on display for sure!"
Dale.. Is there anything that I should have asked you about and I didn't? This is the place for you to say whatever you want and to promote your new album "Apprehension". Thanks for your time and good luck with Fear Absolute!
"It has been a pleasure my friend! On behalf of Dan and Raland, I want to thank you for your time and interest in FA. I think the new album is amazing. I am so proud of it! It sounds great, looks fantastic, and so far, people have been really, really amazingly positive about it. I guarantee that if you guys out there will give our tunes a chance, you might like them. Go to our site and check them out for yourself! Stay Metal, and I hope to hear from all of you sometime! www.fearabsolute.com / fearabsolute@yahoo.ca"
