My interview with WAKE’s guitarist Arjun Gill. WAKE hailing from Western Canada are set to release their 6th full length studio album THOUGHT FORM DESCENT in July via Metal Blade Records.
IG: http://www.instagram.com/wake.ca
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/wakeyyc
Bandcamp: https://wakegrind.bandcamp.com
On July 22 the band will release its 6th full length release. What are fans to look forward to with this release?
We’re very excited for everyone to hear our new release! Fans that listened to Devouring Ruin and Confluence have already probably noticed a shift to a more atmospheric sounds with a lot more peaks and valleys which gives the music a lot more movement and contrast as opposed to some of the older material that was more straight forward in your face the whole time.
You again work with Dave Otero (who has worked with Allegeon and Cattle Decapitation) on this album. What does he bring to your bands songs and music?
Dave is not only a fantastic recording engineer, he also is an amazing producer. We’re always really excited to see what kind of input he has for our tracks and this time was no different, he understands the sound we’re going for and his contributions always help the tracks expand to areas we sometimes hadn’t considered. Dave works with such a diverse roster of bands from Khemmis to Archspire so we know that he’s not just gonna throw some presets onto our tracks and call a day, he gets fully invested in the project.
Did you play any of the new songs on your US Tour?
On our run in March we played 2 new tracks and on this current run in May we are playing 3 new tracks. It’s been really exciting seeing people’s reactions to the new stuff.
Would you like to give any insight on some of the new songs on your upcoming album?
There’s a lot of emotion behind these tracks as well as a lot of movement as I said earlier where the softer or slow sections help to really accentuate the heavier or quicker parts.
Speaking from my perspective as a guitarist, we utilized a lot more clean guitar than we ever have before which has been an exciting world to explore in terms of possibilities in tone. A lot more atmosphere was utilized as well in the form of different effects such as reverb and delay.
For anyone who is new to your band which one of your first 5 full length albums should they listen to first?
Our band is constantly evolving so I would probably say our most recent full length, “Devouring Ruin,” and the EP that followed it, “Confluence,” would be the best representation of what we’re doing now. If someone is looking for some grindcore rippers then I would say “Misery Rites” is the one to check out.
How do you label your style of Metal?
That’s always a tough question because we pull from so many styles, but I guess I’d say we’re currently a black/death metal band with some post-rock and shoegaze elements.
What are the biggest differences between your band now and the early days of the band?
The earlier days of the band were more about writing the fastest heaviest tracks we could. As time has passed, we find ourselves more interested in writing songs that hit you emotionally and take you on a journey.
Is their any tours or bands you have toured with that were the most fun for the band?
We’ve toured with a lot of awesome bands and great people. It’s honestly hard to pick a favorite as we havent toured with anyone we didnt like. Since covid has ended we had an absolute blast with END, Portrayal of Guilt and Yashira as well as the most recent run with Origin and Misery Index. Amazing human beings, and inspirational musicians.
Close to the release date fo your new album you will be doing 5 shows in your homeland of Canada. Is it still special playing live shows closer to home?
Playing Western Canada is always special as we often don’t get a chance to do it very often, we have members from both Calgary and Edmonton so those always feel like home-town shows. Eastern Canada is a bit of a ways from us but we have so many great friends out there that it always feels special as well.
Is their any touring plans after these Canadian shows?
Yes, We have a few small runs to different areas of North America this summer with some bigger plans coming that will be announced later in the year.
How do you keep things fresh and new from album to album?
We’re all growing as musicians still so we tend to push ourselves to the edge of our abilities always which means that things never really stagnate. We don’t really limit any ideas style-wise and because of that, our broad range of inspirations help create some really interesting combinations.
What are some of the members favourite metal bands your listening to right now?
Personally I’ve been enjoying White Ward, Violet Cold and Tzompantli lately, there’s so many great releases coming out lately.
After a 2 year or so hiatus from shows because of Covid do you find the fans and concerts have changed at all?
We found that people are really excited that live music has returned and because of that, crowds are showing up early and staying longer at shows. People have also been really excited to pick up physical merch at shows as well.
What is the writing process within the band?
We all jam together twice a week at our jam space. Rob writes most of the starting structures and riffs and from there, we tend to just bounce ideas of one another and build things from the ground up together. I know a lot of bands will have one member who writes things on something like guitar pro and then get everyone else to learn it. There’s nothing wrong with that strategy but we’re not like that. The whole process is group oriented and it helps to really blend our influences together during the entire writing process.
Kevin Hufnagel for GORGUTS appeared on 2 of the songs your upcoming album. How did that come about?
We met Kevin through our friend Colin Marston quite a while back. We’ve been big fans of Gorguts and what they do and were really excited to be able to collaborate with him.
You have released a video from the new album for SWALLOW THE LIGHT. Have you decided or maybe already working on a another video from this album?
We would love to do another music video soon. Swallow the Light was our first real video that we shot and it was an absolute blast working with Michael Jari Davidson. I watch a lot of music videos on YouTube and I think it’s a great way to convey even more emotion on the tracks.
Thank you for taking the time to talk to me today. I wish the band much success with the new album.