Alex Wade - Whitechapel (18/08/2014)
Whitechapel have been one of the dominant forces in modern metal for the past few years now. The bands latest release, 'Our Endless War', fully proves that metal is still alive and well, with it selling almost 16,000 copies in its first week. It's also handy that the album is one of the bands most accomplished releases in their eight year history! After they were forced to drop off this years Soundwave lineup due to personal matters beyond their control, fans will finally get a taste of the six-piece's brutal live set next month. So in anticipation of this upcoming national tour with fellow US heavyweights, DevilDriver, we had a quick chat with their guitarist, Alex Wade, about the new effort and the new tour.
'Our Endless War' - the bands fifth album to date - has been out for almost four months now, and Wade tells us that the band aren't really phased by any of the criticisms that come their way. "We're just one of those bands who just gets in the studio and does our thing without being worried about what all the internet warriors have to say".
That's always a good attitude to have, especially when you're one of the biggest metal bands going these days. But not everything falls on the deaf ears for the band. In this day and age with a majority of people downloading of iTunes or using illegal downloads to obtain music, the band we're taken aback by the first week of sales for the album, with a whopping 16,000 copies sold. "We were really shocked about how well it did! But ultimately, it goes to show that metal isn't dead and that there's still a very strong fan base out there who will always be very supportive and buy the CDs".
Good sales are always a good thing to have, no doubt. But where it counts is getting people out to the shows. "The tour with Devildriver in the States went really well! They have a more older fan base and we have a younger one and it was really cool to see both come together and make all of the shows really awesome. We're also pretty excited to see how those shows do in Australia compared to the US".
Wade does admit that their fellow tour mates weren't really a band he was into when the band where starting out. "I didn't really get into them till later on in our career. But they've always been a band that I've respected and looked up to based on how they've carried their carrier in metal for so long".
Yet with all the touring the two bands have done together, some form of bond was bound to develop between the two. "After being on the road for so long together, you can definitely form a bond between the bands you're on the road with. So we definitely got the chance to become good friends with them".
Take a step back a few years ago, and Whitechapel's self-titled release was one of the best metal albums of 2012. A big part of what made it so special was it's massive sound. When asked if that was why the band chose to go with producer Mark Lewis again, the guitarist couldn't agree more. "We figured that if it wasn't broke, don't fix it! We really did love the way the self-titled album came out, so hence why we chose Mark again".
A lot of bands use their music as an outlet for any negative emotions and thoughts they have of the world around them. Whitechapel are no different. 'Our Endless War', similar to it's predecessor, is a giant middle finger to the "American Dream", especially with its eponymous track and the brutally heavy 'Worship the Digital Age' and 'Fall of the Hypocrites'. "All of our older stuff was whatever Phil [Bozeman, vocals] wanted to talk about at the time of writing the albums. Some of them are concept albums, others not so much, but with this new CD I do feel that there is a far closer connection to what's going on now".
The band will soon be joining the ranks of other acts having their albums and DVDs being crowd funded as the sextet have a new DVD on the way too. "We're shooting for a Spring release in 2015. We're gonna be filming all of our tours for the rest of the year and then putting all of it together in the Winter of the next year. So it's going to be a pretty good mix of behind-the-scenes and live footage", he adds.
The campaign also hit it's goal quicker than the band the expected it to be! "Within the first couple of days, we hit about 50% of our mark, so I figured it'd go overboard, and in the end it did end up going over by a bit. I think it took about a month and a half to reach our goal". But Wade doesn't think that crowd funded releases are the be-all-end-all. "It definitely has it's place in the industry and I don't think it'll completely replace a label, but if used properly then it's a great tool for bands to release things such as DVDs and albums".
When asked if the band will continue to progress and mature in the direction of their latest LP for the next step in their career, Wade could only agree. "I feel like we found our niche on the self-titled album and 'Our Endless War' is just a progression of that so I'd say the next one will be an even fuehrer progression. We haven't really stated writing for it yet, so I just think that as we age as people and as musicians, it'll be an even more mature sounding record".
Alex Sievers
TICKETS ON SALE NOW
DEVILDRIVER / WHITECHAPEL
FRIDAY 5 SEPTEMBER - BRISBANE, THE HIFI – 18+
www.thehifi.com.au
SATURDAY 6 SEPTEMBER - SYDNEY, THE HIFI – Lic A/A
www.thehifi.com.au
SUNDAY 7 SEPTEMBER - MELBOURNE, 170 RUSSELL – 18+
www.170russell.com / www.oztix.com.au
'Our Endless War' - the bands fifth album to date - has been out for almost four months now, and Wade tells us that the band aren't really phased by any of the criticisms that come their way. "We're just one of those bands who just gets in the studio and does our thing without being worried about what all the internet warriors have to say".
That's always a good attitude to have, especially when you're one of the biggest metal bands going these days. But not everything falls on the deaf ears for the band. In this day and age with a majority of people downloading of iTunes or using illegal downloads to obtain music, the band we're taken aback by the first week of sales for the album, with a whopping 16,000 copies sold. "We were really shocked about how well it did! But ultimately, it goes to show that metal isn't dead and that there's still a very strong fan base out there who will always be very supportive and buy the CDs".
Good sales are always a good thing to have, no doubt. But where it counts is getting people out to the shows. "The tour with Devildriver in the States went really well! They have a more older fan base and we have a younger one and it was really cool to see both come together and make all of the shows really awesome. We're also pretty excited to see how those shows do in Australia compared to the US".
Wade does admit that their fellow tour mates weren't really a band he was into when the band where starting out. "I didn't really get into them till later on in our career. But they've always been a band that I've respected and looked up to based on how they've carried their carrier in metal for so long".
Yet with all the touring the two bands have done together, some form of bond was bound to develop between the two. "After being on the road for so long together, you can definitely form a bond between the bands you're on the road with. So we definitely got the chance to become good friends with them".
Take a step back a few years ago, and Whitechapel's self-titled release was one of the best metal albums of 2012. A big part of what made it so special was it's massive sound. When asked if that was why the band chose to go with producer Mark Lewis again, the guitarist couldn't agree more. "We figured that if it wasn't broke, don't fix it! We really did love the way the self-titled album came out, so hence why we chose Mark again".
A lot of bands use their music as an outlet for any negative emotions and thoughts they have of the world around them. Whitechapel are no different. 'Our Endless War', similar to it's predecessor, is a giant middle finger to the "American Dream", especially with its eponymous track and the brutally heavy 'Worship the Digital Age' and 'Fall of the Hypocrites'. "All of our older stuff was whatever Phil [Bozeman, vocals] wanted to talk about at the time of writing the albums. Some of them are concept albums, others not so much, but with this new CD I do feel that there is a far closer connection to what's going on now".
The band will soon be joining the ranks of other acts having their albums and DVDs being crowd funded as the sextet have a new DVD on the way too. "We're shooting for a Spring release in 2015. We're gonna be filming all of our tours for the rest of the year and then putting all of it together in the Winter of the next year. So it's going to be a pretty good mix of behind-the-scenes and live footage", he adds.
The campaign also hit it's goal quicker than the band the expected it to be! "Within the first couple of days, we hit about 50% of our mark, so I figured it'd go overboard, and in the end it did end up going over by a bit. I think it took about a month and a half to reach our goal". But Wade doesn't think that crowd funded releases are the be-all-end-all. "It definitely has it's place in the industry and I don't think it'll completely replace a label, but if used properly then it's a great tool for bands to release things such as DVDs and albums".
When asked if the band will continue to progress and mature in the direction of their latest LP for the next step in their career, Wade could only agree. "I feel like we found our niche on the self-titled album and 'Our Endless War' is just a progression of that so I'd say the next one will be an even fuehrer progression. We haven't really stated writing for it yet, so I just think that as we age as people and as musicians, it'll be an even more mature sounding record".
Alex Sievers
TICKETS ON SALE NOW
DEVILDRIVER / WHITECHAPEL
FRIDAY 5 SEPTEMBER - BRISBANE, THE HIFI – 18+
www.thehifi.com.au
SATURDAY 6 SEPTEMBER - SYDNEY, THE HIFI – Lic A/A
www.thehifi.com.au
SUNDAY 7 SEPTEMBER - MELBOURNE, 170 RUSSELL – 18+
www.170russell.com / www.oztix.com.au