In life, it is
often said that timing is every thing, indeed it is through careful consideration
of other external factors than can often influence some desired outcome, a time
to be born, a time to die, a time to fight, a time to love, a time for peace, a
time to riff. We all have a clock that
has been set but it means something different to everyone. Whilst timing, is used to refer to the time
at which something happens or is planned to happen, or to the length of time
that something takes, it is also a skill or action of knowing when to judge when
is the right moment to do something. So
in the case of Boston’s, Second Grave,
you could say my timing to introduce the band to our readers sucks. But first
let us set the scene….
Conceived in
early 2012, Second Grave combine
elements of doom, heavy rock, and metal, with an emphasis firmly planted in
riff worship. Their sound partially hearkens back to a time when red hot
tubes–pushed to their limit–delivered massive tone through huge cabinets, while
delivering epic tales of ancient battles, horror, human nature and the
mysteries of the arcane.
By the end of
2012, Second Grave had released their
debut self-titled E.P. played shows with likes of Witch
Mountain, Castle, Elder, and Pilgrim. A 2-song 10” EP “Antithesis” (released
by Pariah Child on vinyl) would
follow in November 2013 and the band would appear at the Stoner Hands of Doom festival in Richmond, VA.
May of 2014 saw the band at the Eye of the
Stoned Goat Festival in Worcester, MA.
So fast
forward to August 2016, I receive an email from Second
Grave to announce the release of their long-awaited full length
album—3 years in the making. Cue much
excitement, a killer band, killer riffs, the timing was perfect? Well you’d
think!
Please welcome
Second Grave, it is “The End of the
Beginning”
SL: Can you give us an insight into how
you started playing music, leading up to the formation of Second Grave
Chuck Ferreira (drums): I think, like most other musicians, as
children the love of music takes hold of you and, at some point, you pick up an
instrument—often not the one which you're most proficient on as an adult—and
start emulating your musical heroes, and this process just grows until you
develop some degree of ability. Practice
and jamming, over and over again, and you get to a point where you join a band
or start a band, etc.
As for Second Grave, we formed in 2012 when drummer,
Chuck Ferreira, contacted singer/guitarist, Krista Van Guilder, about “starting
something heavy”. Initially not sure
about it, it was several months before Krista reached back out to Chuck to
determine if he was still interested—he was, and so the initial steps toward Second Grave forming were taken. Krista brought along Chris Drzal (guitar) and
eventually Dave Gein (Black Pyramid)
was brought on board to play bass. When
Dave left a couple years back (he plays on both the “Second Grave” and “Antithesis”
EP s), Maureen Murphy joined the band and we kept rolling along!
SL: What can you tell us about your
upcoming record and where do you feel it sits within the context current doom
scene
Chuck Ferreira: The record, “Blacken the Sky”
is now officially out (currently available for a name-your-own-price on
Bandcamp) and features a hugely collaborative effort where we were all of the
same mind set. We don't like to peg
ourselves as being strictly a Doom band, but it's clearly a huge part of our
sound. Each member of the band has a
wide array of influences, and having played together now since early 2012,
we've sort of figured out a way to meld those influences into the “Doom” sound
that you hear on “Blacken The Sky”.
The current
Doom scene is extremely diverse, with many various off shoots—blackened Doom,
Doom Metal, Stoner Doom, Sludge, etc. “Blacken
The Sky” probably has a foot in the classic Doom sound in the line of the Black Sabbath inspired sound, and one in the
more Doom Metal genre, but even within that description, there are
variations. At the heart of it, though,
it's extremely melodic and heavy, and we feel it doesn't purposefully try
impose any particular style, rather, it incorporates all the elements we
love.
SL: How was the mood in the camp going into the
recording of the record
Chuck Ferreira: The mood was great—but also
determined. It took us four years to
finally get to the point of recording a full length—we had released two very
well-received EP s prior, but it was time to buckle down and get this out. We had a lot of great new material and worked
hard to hone it down. When it came time
to tracking (at Mad Oak Studios in
Boston, with co-producer Benny Grotto), we were in a good place because we had
these songs down really well. There
wasn't much tinkering in the studio.
SL: What can fans look forward to from you over the next 12 months? How is
your schedule shaping up?
Chuck Ferreira: In a true “doom” and despair scenario, many people
will be surprised to learn that as of August 27th we've decided to
put Second Grave to rest. Everyone is going in different directions
with new projects and we're all just at different places in our lives from the
time this band started in 2012. There
are the obvious musical differences and desire on the part of all four members to
head down new paths, but we all remain committed to making sure everyone gets
to hear “Blacken the Sky”. In a
lot of ways, this full-length is a great way to cap off what's been a great run
for us, we've had the honor of sharing the stage with bands like Windhand, Witch
Mountain, Castle, Elder, Jucifer,
Gozu, Gospel
of the Witches, Pilgrim,
and many others, and we made a lot of friends along the way. We're thankful for all of that. Doom on.
- Chris Drzal, guitarist, has a heavy/doomy due project called "Winterbolt" that he's getting going.
- Krista Van Guilder, vocals guitar, and Maureen Murphy, bass, are getting a new project going that will likely be unveiled later in 2016. No name yet.
- Me (Chuck)--I'm
involved with several projects in the Boston area (non-metal bands Eddie Japan and Aloud), as well as
being a busy session drummer. It's only a matter of time, though,
before I get a new heavy rock/doom project going again.
“Blacken the Sky” is available here
