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| Behold! The Monolith |
Having already released one of the best albums of the year, 'Defender, Redeemist!' in January 2012. It was met with almost universal acclaim and The Sludgelord were frankly stunned at how good this record is.
2012 has been a busy year for this band, however in between a recent tour, Behold! The Monolith were kind enough to spare some time to talk to us and here is my 20 Questions with Behold! The Monolith, for your reading pleasure. Enjoy!
Hey Guys. How are you?
For those people who are unfamiliar with your music, can you tell me a little
bit about your history? Where you're from, when Behold! The
Monolith first formed? Current band members?
Well I'm Matt and I play guitar, Kevin plays bass and
does vocals and Chase plays drums. We are from Los Angeles, California. I met and started jamming and writing with
Kevin in 2008. We quickly wrote and recorded an EP and a self titled LP in
2009. Chase became our permanent drummer in 2010 and we wrote and recorded our
latest record "Defender, Redeemist" in 2011 and released it in
January of this year (2012).
How would you
describe your sound? Has it evolved?
We'll it's heavy that's for sure. I think we started out more Stoner Rock/Metal
but we seem to be moving more and more into different areas. More straight up
Metal, Sludgy-Doomy stuff and more dynamic stuff. We mix it up as best we can.
Is there a rock/metal
scene in your home town?
Yes there is a pretty cool scene here in LA. The clubs change up a lot but the core of the
scene is awesome.
What made you start
the band?
It kinda just happened. I was just recording stuff just
for fun at home. I happened to meet
Kevin through friends and we jammed and it just clicked.
Were you in any bands
before Behold! The Monolith?
Nothing really worth mentioning. Nothing that made it far
out of the rehearsal room. I was trying to join or put some kind of version of
this band together for a few years…and there were a lot of false starts!
Cool band name, what was
the thinking behind it?
We just wanted something big and epic. Behold! The
Monolith just worked. And it suits the
band and our sound well.
Are you a full time
musicians? Or do you work too?
We all work. There's not a whole lot of money in
underground Metal lol. I'm lucky enough
to make a living as a guitar teacher though.
Chase does some lessons and drum stuff around town too.
As brilliant as your
record is, Why should people buy your new record?
Because we need the money so we can make the next record!
How did you come to
work with the legend that is Billy Anderson
I was playing with people, playing some cool heavy, doomy
stuff, and we had been writing and rehearsing. We never played any shows
though. We hadn't even settled on a name and I had been playing with them for
like 9 months. They knew Billy and we recorded some stuff with him. Right after
we recorded basic tracks the band just kinda broke up…I just kept in touch with
Billy after that.
"Behold! The Monolith
are one of Sludge Metal’s best kept secrets but its now time for that secret to
be shared with the world....the first masterpiece of 2012 has truly arrived.
This will definitely be on my best of 2012 list that is for
sure." How do reviews such as this make you feel as a band?
It feels great!
We're glad people are liking it.
What's it like being
in an underground metal band? Is it a struggle?
The finances can be a bit of an issue. There is much more we wanna do; vinyl, more
touring, an EP or the next album...stuff like that. All that stuff is gonna
happen, we just have to be patient.
What are your
influences musically and artistically?
Probably to much to mention at this point…but we always
seem to lean on various types of "classic" Metal stuff. Black
Sabbath, Celtic Frost, Judas Priest, etc.
But we keep up with current stuff…we're definitely not a throwback
band. We just try to mix things up a
little differently.
Do you write your
songs as a band and does everybody contribute?
I write a lot of the riffs and demo up a lot of the
ideas…but everyone contributes. Everyone has input, it's very much a band. All
my ideas are filtered through the others when we rehearse. Sometimes the ideas
stay pretty much the same and sometimes they change completely. Kevin writes
all the lyrics and a good bit of the music and arranging as well.
What's your career
highlight so far? What your aspirations for the future?
The positive response to "Defender, Redeemist"!
You got any
interesting stories from your tours?
Nothing too crazy yet.
Some funny "you had to be there" kinda things but that’s about
it.
Are you writing music
all of the time?
We're pretty much always working on a new riff or
something. But right now we are full
speed ahead writing for our next album.
What you think of
people downloading music for free? Would you consider releasing your album for
free to get more people listening to your music?
I don't have a personal problem with downloading. If I
download something I like I almost always buy a physical copy on cd or
vinyl. As far as releasing something for
free I wouldn't be opposed to it, but recording costs have to be covered
somehow lol.
Any plans to tour? Any
chance you're coming to the UK?
That is one of our main goals…no plans right this
second. I personally hope that happens
in the next year or so.
What are your plans
for the rest of 2012 and the future?
Recording an EP or starting another full length. Getting
"Defender, Redeemist" out on vinyl and doing more shows and touring.
Last question, you got
anything you like to say to your fans?
Thanks for all the support and we hope to cross paths
with all of you out on the road very soon!
A big big thank you to Matt from Behold! The Monolith for taking the time to talk to us. He's a very cool dude and I'm personally very grateful to him for answering my questions. Listen to their music and purchase their songs, EP and Album, you won't be disappointed. You can also check out The Sludgelord interview here. Check out the link before for info on the band and where you can buy their music.
Official
BandCamp
