1. Wake was born in 2009 in Calgary, why was the band formed and why was the name Wake chosen?
Wake started years before I joined, and I actually have no idea why they chose the name, I’ve never asked. But, it’s simple and multifaceted and it fits the music. The band early on was much more influenced by grind and hardcore bands like Nasum or His Hero Is Gone as opposed to what we’ve been doing on the last couple releases, but like most heavy bands I’d imagine it was started by people with a common interest in releasing aggression and sharing mutual influences. One of my old bands from when I was a teenager played one of the first Wake shows they did in Edmonton, where I’m from, and I remember watching them thinking “fuck, they are going to be good in a few years.”
2. A band like yours that comes from grind sounds back in 2009 when it was formed, has been turning towards more black / death grounds in these years, perhaps the main difference in terms of sound between this “Devouring Ruin” And is your previous “Misery Rites” having managed to offer a more black / death sound without being so dependent on your grind beginnings?
I joined during the touring cycle for “Sowing the Seeds...” and was in on the writing process for “Misery Rites’; I think it was just a natural progression to be more varied in influences that started right around when I joined. We started to feel like we’d said all we could within the ‘blackened grind’ context, and leaning more into black and death metal was just what felt right. We started wanting to nail down a bit more of an identifiable sound as a band, and focus much more on creating an atmosphere and writing well structured songs, less on pure aggression via blast beats and d-beats. At this point I really don’t think any of us would say we are a grind band at all. I’m sure it’s still there in some capacity, but we just want to sound like ourselves and push into new territory.
3. An album like “Devouring Ruin” is full of rhythm changes and above all intensity, leaving some post-black influences to glimpse, are you aware of these influences in your sound or is it something spontaneous?
We weren’t aiming to have post-black influences specifically, those types of parts were the result of us trying to add depth and melody wherever we could, and above all it’s the atmosphere where I think those comparisons are drawn. I think that those epic, melancholic elements are huge in what makes the last record what it is, and what makes the black metal influences more in the forefront. We do that within the context of using electronic noise, guitar effects, whatever is necessary. The tempo and rhythm changes stem from how Rob tends to write riffs, and we’ve gotten good at hammering down the odd times or changes in tempo and making it sound natural. I think it catches the listener off guard and is aggressive as hell if the band is suddenly playing in 7 and you’re nodding your head to a new beat that’s way faster, and I guess it’s become part of our sound.
4. How has the composition and recording process of the last album been? Is it difficult for you to reach a consensus as five musicians in Wake?
We all know what Wake is going for and what we aren’t. It’s cool to play with open minded people who add their voice and know their role and can quickly be productive on the spot, but all know what they need to do to help the greater cause. Over the last couple records we’ve developed a bit of a system with writing, and it’s a fun process. “Devouring Ruin” was an album that we spent a long time writing, we wrote probably an albums’ worth of music that was scrapped entirely or rewrote in the process of trimming the fat. We went over the whole thing with a fine toothed comb. But I think because we are all on the same page as a band, it didn’t seem tedious or irritating, it was just fun and exciting. If we thought we could do anything better, we worked on it until we knew that we couldn’t, and that was that.
5. Do you feel that “Devouring Ruin” is the culmination of a work that began in 2016 with the release of “Sowing the Seeds of a Worthless Tomorrow” where the band began to attract attention with a sound that began to show signs of changes?
Yes, that album’s demos are why I wanted to join when we first got in touch, and I knew that it was the start of something different and exciting for the band. “Misery Rites” was us stepping away from grind and into something a little more varied and in line with what we wanted to do, and “Devouring Ruin” was us taking the next step into doing exactly what we wanted in a very focused and purposeful way. The whole catalogue is a pretty good example of a band growing, and it took many years and lineup changes to get here but this is the culmination of what we all have been leaning towards. As of now we are working on new things that will develop and push further into what we liked about “Devouring.”
6. Previously, guitarist Arjun Gill worked as a producer, however for the last two albums you have worked with Dave Otero, why this change? And what has Dave Otero brought to the sound of Wake's last two albums?
Arjun has produced some of his own stuff, and Ryan has produced some older Wake material. But Dave was someone we were interested in working with early on in discussing producers for “Misery”, with “Devouring” we didn’t even have to think about it really, it was just booking studio time. Dave knew immediately what we were after and he helped us to get there without ever being confrontational or anything like that. He’s very good at identifying your strengths as an individual player and also the goals as a whole band, and he has his routine down pat so the whole process is painless and just about getting the best out of the session. He is a great dude and is a fan of music, it’s cool to work with someone so skilled who knows exactly how to get what is best out of all parties involved immediately.
7. The texts of your songs, who is in charge of writing them? What themes do you deal with? Has there been a variation over the years in terms of theme?
Kyle has full control with lyrical content. He writes about his personal experiences for the most part, and the last couple records have been based on specific themes, and yes there has been some variance in what he writes about. That said, as much as I or anyone can relate to what he sings about, I think he purposefully writes in a way that is open to interpretation while still being very personal to him and specific to his life.
8. For extreme metal, the emergence of the COVID-19 and the subsequent suspension of concerts has been a severe setback, how has this fact affected you? Do you plan to return to the stage soon?
Yeah, we’ve had a couple tours cancel by now. Our last album came out right around when we were due to do an American tour which coincided with when covid hit hard over here. At the time it was still like, “if we go we might have to quarantine when we get home, holy shit.” And then shows cancelled one by one and it was a clear no-go. It’s surreal and very fucked up but we are all in the same boat, mad and clueless across the planet. I just hope that if there is a lesson to be learned with how various countries responded to this, the lesson was learned for future pandemics. With cases going back up in America currently, we are starting to plan for Europe at some point in 2021 and Canadian shows if and when we can. We will play live as soon as we can.
9. Who was in charge of the album cover design, what is it referring to, and what relationship does it have with the music?
The last two album covers were done by our French Canadian brother Alexandre Goulet. We sent him some lyrical themes and some rough demos and let him go to work, and he understood what we were after immediately. He has a style that really captured the vibe of the music, it sets a scene and puts a face to the music. I loved what he did for us and I couldn’t be happier with how it turned out.
10. Canada has a solid and strong scene within the extreme metal that we can place in the Quebec area, however you belong to the Alberta area. Is there also an influential and important extreme metal zone between Calgary and Edmonton? Which bands can you recommend? Do you feel connected in any way with your neighbors to the East (Quebec, Montreal, Ottawa)?
Canada is so fucking huge, scenes are pretty confined to whatever city or province you’re from. It’s about a 37 hour drive from Calgary to Montreal, for example, and touring here in winter is not really a thing. That being said, because Wake has toured quite a bit we do have friends from across the country spreading to Quebec and other areas, it’s just rare that we see them or play together. There are great metal bands from any city in Canada, metallum yields great search results if you dig. Friends of ours locally would be Begrime Exemious, Auroch, Feeding, Baptists, Cultist...the list is long.
11. Are you satisfied with the work Translation Loss Records has done, in terms of promoting and publishing the album?
Very happy, they have treated us very well and have worked hard supporting us since day one.
12. How were your beginnings in music? And what did I do in your lives that made you want to be musicians?
Rob and I grew up on a mountainside in Alberta and were raised by hoofed men who trained us till we were 16 and 24, respectively...no, everyone in the band has had different upbringings musically being formally trained or self taught or whatever, but we all basically share the common story of getting into metal and punk as kids discovering Metallica and the Misfits and then Darkthrone and Morbid Angel and so forth, and it’s all downhill from there. We all have the bizarre passion to play this music no matter what the state of our lives are in, for better or worse.
13. What future plans do you have for Wake, regarding concerts, upcoming editions, etc ...?
We have no concerts planned due to the shitstorm that has been 2020. Other than that, touring when we can get back to it, and recording a full length whenever that can happen. Pushing forward, satiating our never quenchable thirst to make progressive metal in the spirit of old.
14. Thank you very much for the time spent on Black metal spirit, if you want to add something for Wake fans, this is the place. I hope the questions have been to your liking.
The questions pleased me greatly, thank you for the interest in our band. Hail Quorthon and hail death. Thanks to anyone who supports Wake.
Josh, Wake drummer
12"DLP (black)
DECLINE OF THE I originates from France and is inspired by the works of the French surgeon, writer and philosopher Henri Laborit. The band is led by a multi-instrumentalist, A - a skilled musician, who's been a part of the metal scene for over 20 years, during which he played in bands such as Vorkreist, Merrimack, Neo Inferno 262, Malhkebre and Diapsiquir. DECLINE OF THE I is his personal approach on dark music, in which he's accompanied by musicians of Merrimack, Anus Mundi, Temple of Baal, Eibon and Drowning fame.
Tracklist:
1. Disruption
2. Enslaved by existence
3. Organless body
4. Hurlements en faveur de FKM
5. Negentropy (Fertility sovereign)
6. Je pense donc je fuis
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