Having caught the eye of Roadrunner Records on the strength
of their first two EP's (2003's independently released 'Dying With A
Smile' and 2004's Benchmark Records release 'If Love Was Born To Die'),
Grand Rapids (Michigan) based melodic death metal/metalcore outfit Still
Remains soon signed up to the label in September 2004, and duly released
their debut full-length album 'Of Love And Lunacy' in 2005.
The album quickly attracted critical acclaim, and with
tours throughout the US and Europe alongside acts such as Trivium, Shadows
Fall, Hawthorne Heights and Bullet For My Valentine, Still Remains firmly
placed themselves as one of Roadrunner Records' brightest future hopes.
It's been two years since then, and Still Remains (who
now comprise of vocalist T.J. Miller, guitarist/vocalist Mike Church,
guitarist Jordan Whelan, keyboardist Ben Schauland, bassist Stephen
Hetland and drummer Adrian 'Bone' Green) have finally returned with
their sophomore effort 'The Serpent'.
Prior to the album's official release, I caught up with
vocalist T.J. Miller while on a promotional visit to Roadrunner Records'
UK's offices to talk about the growth and maturity of the band since
the release of their debut album, their experience working with a genuine
producer and the loss of innocence that is focussed upon throughout
'The Serpent'.
Rather than follow up 'Of Love And Lunacy' with a carbon
copy of exactly the same thing, Still Remains have instead decided to
stretch out and push their sound to opposite ends of the extreme on
'The Serpent', with the melodic elements of the band's sound sounding
catchier and more accessible, while the aggressive aspects sounding
heavier than ever.
"We didn't really have any goals with this album,
apart from making sure that we wrote some really good songs. With that
mindset, this is the album that kind of came out of that. I think that
during the writing process, we just ended up exploring the more melodic
side of the band, and the more aggressive side of the band in equal
measure. As the songs were coming together, we all thought that it sounded
pretty cool. We definitely feel that 'The Serpent' has two sides to
it, and we were pretty pleased with the way those songs sounded at the
opposite ends of the spectrum. On this album, I think we went outside
the box. I think it's something that a lot of bands within this genre
don't really do. They don't really touch a lot of the stuff that we
do on this album. I think that when fans pick up 'The Serpent', they'll
really hear that. I also think that we've set the bar for other bands
with this album."
According to Miller, much of the band's change of sound
was influenced by the many different experiences the band has been through
in the two years since the release of 'Of Love And Lunacy'.
"Yes, I would agree with that. I guess the things
that we've all experienced together in the last two years have helped
shape our sound. We released 'Of Love And Lunacy' back in May 2005,
and then we toured constantly in the two years that followed. Within
that time, you meet different people, you discover different bands and
you get inspired in different ways. I think that's kind of what happened
on this album. I can't really explain it, apart from the fact that we're
all a little older, and that some of our influences have changed within
the last couple of years! (Laughs)"
Another major difference between 'Of Love And Lunacy'
and 'The Serpent' is Still Remains' choice in producer, with Steve Evetts
(whose previous credits include The Cure, Hatebreed, The Dillinger Escape
Plan, Symphony X and Sepultura) taking over the producer's seat previously
occupied by Garth 'GGGarth' Richardson (Atreyu, Kittie, Rise Against,
Mudvayne, Rage Against The Machine, Testament and Spineshank).
"Well this time, we worked with Steve Evetts and
he was simply a real producer. I mean he actually worked with us on
the songs and the structures. He didn't really change anything because
the songs were already written before we went into the studio. But what
he did was help us solidify some really good ideas, and really help
bring out the best within the band. Richardson really didn't do that
for us on 'Of Love And Lunacy'. He just of listened to the songs, told
us how good they were and how much he would like to record them with
us. Evetts was very hands on, and while he didn't have anything to do
with the fact that we wanted to do some mellower, more melodic and heavier
songs, he did help us achieve that."
Another difference that's evident from two years ago is
the lyrical approach Miller has adopted with 'The Serpent', with the
new album coming across as far more personal on many different levels.
"The album is focussed around the themes of fear
and failure. So with the lyrical content centred on those types of issues,
I thought it would be great to have the artwork represent that in some
way too. I think 'the serpent represents the failure of mankind around
the beginning of time, so I guess you could basically say that the serpent
represents the devil. The egg represents innocence, and on the back
of the album you can see that the egg is broken. So in a sense the serpent
prevailed."
With a shift in sound, and a greater personal influence
present lyrically on 'The Serpent', you could say that Still Remains
have put themselves on the line with their new album. But surprisingly
enough, Miller has no expectations of the band's new release.
"I'm not really sure what I'm expecting. The only
thing that really matters about this album is that I'm really happy
with it. I feel that I'm in a better state of happiness as far as an
artist's perspective goes. Having finished making this album, as opposed
to the last one, I think this album blows the last one out of the water.
So I guess you could say that I'm expecting good reviews, but if people
don't want to give it good reviews, or if they're not into it, then
that's totally fine by me. Having said that, I have given a copy of
'The Serpent' to all to my friends at home, not to mention everyone
here at the Roadrunner Records office, and everybody seems to love it.
There haven't been any negative reactions to the album yet, so that
makes me happy. I guess you could say that I'm hoping that the album
will take us many places that we haven't seen before, and that there's
some good sales for the album. I mean, how we feel about the music is
much more important that what our expectations are. 'The Serpent' is
an album that we're so proud of. We're going to try and take this album
as far as we can, and if that only permits us to go so far, then so
be it."
Although having already filmed a promotional video clip
for 'Anemia In Your Sheets' to help promote 'The Serpent', Still Remains
have come up with a novel way to get the fans involved with the band's
next visual effort, with the offer to direct their own video clip for
the band's second projected single 'The Wax Walls Of An Empty Room'.
"I don't know what to expect! (Laughs) We're just
curious to see what people can come up with. Whatever strikes a chord
within us will win. We won't view any of the contributions until the
competition finishes up (on July 30th), so at this point we have no
idea how many contributions to the competition there have been so far.
We've been told there's quite a few to sit through when the time comes.
I hope that there are a lot of people that will enter the contest and
create something really unique and different. With the concept of letting
the fans produce the video for 'The Wax Walls Of An Empty Room', we
just felt that it was a good way to interact with our fans, and give
them something special so that they can feel like they're part of the
band, or behind the scenes if you like."
Although still a few weeks away from release, Still Remains
have been busy making plans for plenty of touring in support of 'The
Serpent', with the first dates the band plan to undertake being on this
years Vans Warped Tour.
"That's right. That's going to be really cool because
we've never done a festival tour before. On top of that, we've never
toured the US in a bus before! (Laughs) I guess the Vans Warped Tour
crowd is a little different from the people that we would normally play
to, but we'll still feel pretty much at home on the tour because there's
a lot of bands like us playing the tour, like Killswitch Engage, As
I lay Dying, Underoath, Norma Jean and a lot of other heavier US bands
that we've played with before. So we're going to feel very much at home
on this tour. As soon as we're finished with that tour, we'll be doing
a few dates with Poison The Well. We finish the Vans Warped Tour in
LA, and on our way home, we were offered a couple of dates with Poison
The Well along the way. Once we get back home, then we'll be doing a
tour with Aiden in September. As far as anything beyond that, there's
nothing concrete as of yet. But something that we really want to do
is tour Australia. I promise it will happen eventually! (Laugh) It won't
happen anytime soon, but it will happen while we're out on tour for
this album!"
I would like to thank T.J. Miller for his generous
time, and Janine Morcos at Roadrunner Records for making the interview
possible.
For more information on Still Remains, check out - http://www.stillremains.com
© Justin Donnelly - justindonnelly@ozemail.com.au
