Monday, May 9, 2016

AlgomA Interview


1.Can you give us an update on what has been going on with the band since the recording and release of the new split?


Well, since the recording and release of the new split, we have been recording our track for our next split with Hooded Menace. Which is coming out on Doomentia Records sometime later this year. We've been playing live shows both locally and out of town. We have been setting up a tour for June in Southern Ontario, which is shaping up to be really awesome! We love playing Southern Ontario, we have a lot of great friends down there and love playing with new bands too! We've also been doing some jamming and working on writing some new songs.


2.Recently you where a part of a split, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording and also how does it differ from the stuff you have released in the past?

I think the recordings on our recent split with Chronobot are a lot more raw and aggressive sounding, This isn't your pretty polished metal! haha This is really gritty stuff. Not for the masses at all. I think our previous recordings are also very raw, but on the split material we recorded live off the floor, which gives it a a very raw and abrasive sound. I think our tracks on the split are a lot more aggressive and I also think the vocals are a lot more angry and intense on these recordings. Overall, the new material compared to the old material, we are still writing the same slow sludge filled tracks. Very down-tuned, distorted, ugly stuff.


3.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the newer music?

Well, we have two songs on the recent split with Chronobot, one is about ancient Tuberculosis, called "Phthisis". It's the third song in our disease trilogy ( the other songs in our disease trilogy are on our first album "Reclaimed by the Forest", "Tertiary Syphilis" and Extinct Volcanoes"); and the other song is called "Electric Fence", about Camp 14, a labor camp in North Korea. All our lyrical topics and subject matter for all our music is definitely dark and depressing subjects. Songs about death, torture and rabid dogs. We like to choose unique topics and talk about things from a different perspective. Our upcoming song for the Hooded Menace split is about a stunt man having a very bad accident. It's a very depressing tale! We're a sludge band, we're noisy, heavy and abrasive, songs showing the darker side of life just fit for this kind of music.


4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'AlgomA'?

The steel mill in my city used to be called "Algoma Steel" before it was sold and changed it's name. We were inspired to name our band "AlgomA" because our music is heavy as an iron bar! Boyd and I were sitting in his basement after a jam, and we looked up at the steel support beams with the name AlgomA stamped in the side of them and we thought it was perfect! There is also something really dirty, gloomy and depressing about an old steel mill, it fits well for a sludge band!


5.What are some of the best shows that the band has played over the years and also how would you describe your stage performance?

We've played some awesome shows with other great Canadian bands like Chronobot, the Golers, Horse Lung, Biipiigwan, Black Tremor, and IRN. Some of the best shows were down in Toronto, It's always great getting down to play in the big city. Playing with our buddies in Shit Liver is always a great time too! It's too hard to pick just a few, it's always a great time!! We really enjoy playing live! Sludge is great music to experience live, it's loud and very intense! The crowds get fully immersed in the heavy down-tuned riffs. As far as our stage performance goes, it's 3 dudes on stage, lots of feedback and screaming at you! haha We like to rock and enjoy ourselves. It's a sonic wall of chaos and feedback!!! it's pretty standard rocking out, no choreographed dance sequences or anything! haha


6.Do you have any touring or show plans for the future?

This summer we have a tour planned for Southern Ontario. We'll be playing in Sudbury, Toronto, Windsor, London and a few more. We also have a few local shows to play as well. In July we are playing a show with Iskra, a cool blackened crust/grind band from British Columbia, so that should be a lot of fun too!


7.Recently you where a part of a split with 'Chronobot', what are your thoughts on the other band that had participated on the recording?

We love Chronobot!! Awesome guys, really easy going and fun dudes! They write some killer doom riffs and deadly tunes! We played live with those guys back in 2014, it was a ton of fun and we really hit it off! Gotta show some love for our fellow Canadian doomsters! It would be great to meet up again sometime for a show and smoke a bowl or two! Hopefully we do that sooner than later! Cheers to the Chronobot boys!


8.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your newer music by fans of sludge, doom metal and noise rock? 

We've gotten really great feedback from the doom/sludge fans. We are really proud and happy about that! Local fans who were never really exposed to sludge before are also really digging us too! We appreciate everyone who comes out to our shows! We received some great reviews for our first album "Reclaimed by the Forest". The new split with Chronobot has been really well received too, everyone seems to be digging it, so that's awesome!!


9.When can we expect another full length and also where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?

We are currently writing new songs for our next full length, so that's been a lot of fun! We're writing tons of slow stuff, but we might also have a few faster tracks as well. We're not exactly sure when the next full length will be out, sometime in 2017 most likely! Who knows what the future holds, but our music will always be noisy and heavy, I don't see us changing musical directions.


10.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your newer music and also what are you listening to nowadays? 

Some of the bands that we have been influenced by are definitely the Melvins, Eyehategod, Boris, KIttens, Black Flag , Shallow North Dakota, and ton a more! We're basically influenced by a lot of different music genres, like sludge, noise rock, hardcore punk, etc. Lately I've been listening to Discharge, Scholastic Deth, 16, Pyramido, Melvins, Of Spire and Throne, Trees, Buzzoven. plus lots of death metal and other punk stuff! Everyone in the band has very eclectic taste in music.


11.What are some of your non musical interests?

We all have a bunch of different interests...watching movies, playing video games, cooking, photography, writing, hiking, among others. Myself, I collect a bunch of different things like dvds, cds, vinyl, video games, and books. I like to go searching through pawn shops and thrift stores for cool junk! haha



12 Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?

Thanks for the interview!! Cheers to all our fans and supporters!! Tune low, play slow.. Sluuudge!!


Bandcamp link - https://algoma62.bandcamp.com/album/split-w-chronobot
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