Phew! Anyway,Josh has been prolific in his other thought-provoking and often abrasive projects such as Red Sparrowes and (my favorite shit in the world) Battle Of Mice, but he particularly finds his voice, quite literally in A Storm Of Light. Taking command of the vocals, which have grown stronger, if more melodic since the debut, Josh is chipping away at revealing the truest shape of the band’s core. A Storm Of Light is capable of great things and while this may not be their ultimate opus (if only because the band is fairly new), it bodes great things. The record may reek of charred horizons, but the band has a bright future.

The future in mind, I thought it would be cool to have Anne Hickey of the band Casket Architects talk to Josh with me about Forgive Us Our Trespasses. The Casket Architects are another one of the most progressive bands out there, and not in a Rush way. Their new release Future Wounds (out on growing independent Altercation Records ) is triumphant and proves they are a force to be reckoned with.

We talked with Josh Graham about the evolution of A Storm Of Light, philosophy and religion, making videos and what it was like to get Jarboe and Lydia Lunch involved on his own project.

MORGAN Y. EVANS: When you were starting A Storm Of Light, how did you want to separate this entity from previous bands and what gave you the determination to forge ahead with it?

JOSH GRAHAM: The initial phase of Storm was definitely to create something different, heavier, uglier, and more stripped down that anything I had done before. This was something I needed to do, and something that sort of flowed effortlessly. I was completely bored of playing instrumental music, and regardless if I thought I could sing or not, was going to try it out. The band also started out of wanting to play with people I have a genuine musical connection with, and that is where Domenic and I started playing together. The band has already evolved quite a bit. Now we are at ease with bringing in more dynamic shifts and subtleties into the mix, while still keeping the band heavy.

MYE: What happened to Vinny Signorelli’s involvement, if you don’t mind me asking?

JG: Vinny is a good friend. He's spending most of his time in his new house in Mexico. It was great playing with him and touring with him, but we knew he had other plans and that our time together as a band was limited.

MYE: Hey, it’s still cool that happened. Let’s talk about the guests on the new record Forgive Us Our Trespasses. It must feel great to have Jarboe and Lydia Lunch involved, among others. Of course there is the Jarboe/Neurosis connection, but also, both artists’ really delve into the liberation of the psyche and Lydia’s poetry throughout the album, especially at the onset, is very deep. The speech about the present moment she gives is profound, and the references to the big bang could even tie into your band’s name. It really vibed with things I have been feeling of late.

JG: These guests kind of signify our evolution. As we have and will continue to expand our music, we will hopefully keep involving people we are inspired by. Jarboe's solo work and work with Swans is some of my favorite and most influential music of all time. We met during the course of her work with Neurosis, and kept in contact. I played guitar on her last record, Mahakali, and we felt since we were involving female vocalists, that we would love to have her on the record. We absolutely love what she brought to the table. I first saw Lydia perform in 1992, I believe, and it blew me away. Her work and history are very significant and relevant to what we are about as a band. We wanted the voice of Mother Earth to be felt on this record and Lydia was the first vocalist to come to mind. I actually emailed her out of the blue and she replied quickly. Within a couple of weeks we had her finished piece. Very cool.

MYE: To reconnect with the subject of the band name a minute, it evokes judgment and vengeance in a religious or karmic/nature context, but ironically could also seem to fit with a nuclear fallout theme or even, in a benign sense, the aurora borealis.

JG: The band name does not mean one thing for us. We like to leave the meaning open to the individual, as they can take from it what they like. It can be a storm of information, enlightenment, destruction, creation, the light of the beginning or the end, or just all encompassing.

MYE: The record title Forgive Us Our Trespasses makes me think of forgiveness as essential for humanity to survive, like at some point stopping war instead of repeating cycles of cultural and religious vendetta forever. On the record you talk a lot about nature and there is often an animalistic element in your art. In nature of course, there is the pain and suffering of many things killing and eating each other, whether people believe we were created by a kindly God or not. I often think of how to reconcile that “vicious survival/Darwinism” with a kind creator, and yet am not orthodox. Scientific study is very important and I think makes the Universe more fascinating and spiritually significant than a limited, narrow, contradictory bible. That doesn’t mean I think there could be no God, just that it is vaster than bigoted fundamentalists will ever grasp. I do believe in the big bang and all the fun stuff on Discovery Channel. Thinking of life and death and transformation, or even listening to Jarboe’s Mahakali, it makes you think how nature might be a certain way, but we are more conscious and have choice over instinct. That’s why your record resonates with me, despite the rad tunes, there is the real message that we reap what we sow. Thoughts?

JG: The title for me is humanity asking the earth for forgiveness, as it seems inevitable that the tables will turn (whether sooner or later), and the equilibrium in nature will someday return to our planet. I think this could happen in any number of ways; the obvious plague or natural disaster, or just maybe humanity actually making a decision to control its population, and letting go of our manifest destinies. People are so caught up in their individual religions—proving who is right, who is wrong, who is going to heaven, who is going to hell. It is totally exhausting. It feels to me like humanity hasn't evolved enough yet to be comfortable with the tangible life we have now, and instead focus on an immortal life to be. If people spent that much energy in regard to how we treat our current home, we would all be in a better state of existence. It's getting hard to not view our existence as sort of a plague on the Earth.

MYE: I hear you. It seems like whenever we make progress there is this counter force of inane crap. Anyway, while Battle Of Mice is my favorite band you’ve been in from a vocal standpoint, just in that Julie has insane vocal talent, I love the different textures and reverence you bring to each band you are in…as far as the song craft. On Forgive Us Our Trespasses you seem to have become more melodically confident as a singer. It almost reminds me of newer Mastodon at times vocally, but more spaced out. I am a big fan of your playing and loved Red Sparrowes Every Red Heart… record, especially. I was thinking while hearing the new A Storm Of Light how some, say, hardcore bands with a message will bludgeon you with it, or particularly new school Christian metalcore bands. Your bands are not always subtle when there is a theme, like the tragedy of the Great Leap Forward famine for Red Sparrowes, or global warming and environmental tragedy caused by human ignorance for A Storm Of Light. The difference is, you are more artistic and it draws people into your music and then the message is like an awakening, but you make sure they grasp it. At least, that is how it seems to me as a fan.

JG: Thanks. The first Storm record kind of served as my own personal vocal audition. I was trying to find the part of my voice where I was most comfortable, which actually did come about. There are a few moments on that record that really brought me to where I am now on Forgive Us. It's definitely not easy but I am getting better the more we perform and I am starting to take some vocal lessons as well, just to get a solid grasp on how the voice works. As far as the concepts I have presented on these records, I try and keep the messages visible, but hopefully still allowing enough room between them and the music. I definitely want people to be able to listen to the music as just that, music; but, I also like that there is a lot more beyond that, and if someone really wants to dive into it, it may open some new doors.

MYE: How did you first get the patience to play slower tempo material?

JG: [laughing] I have never played fast music. I have been in bands since I was 15 and they have all been about this tempo and weight. I am extremely picky about fast music. A lot of times for me, once it gets too fast I lose the connection.

MYE: Yeah, I love good fast stuff as long as it isn’t too uniform throughout a record. Now, Neurot is such a great label. The latest Harvestman release was so great and free. What other labels do you feel are pushing the envelope in a good way?

JG: I am really liking Southern Lord, Deathwish, Translation Loss, Robotic Empire. All four are run by prolific individuals who really push for what they honestly believe in, and that is refreshing.

MYE: Gotta love the Lord, word. Especially the new Eagle Twin. What a fantastic record. Ok, man. These next questions for you are from Anne, drummer for the band Casket Architects. I’m peacin’ out.

ANNE HICKEY: Hi, Josh. I wanted to know, how long did the whole shooting process take for the new “Tempest” video?

JG: We actually just shot it in one day, in our practice space in Brooklyn. It was an idea that I had in my head for a while, and we mapped it out very strategically so that we could actually do it in one day.

AH: I really love the video. The drum beat in the verse is soo good.

JG: Thanks!

AH: Do you come up with visual concepts during the actual songwriting process, or is it something that comes together after hearing the finalized product?

JG: Visual concepts start to happen as I am writing the lyrics. I start to keep a mental log on what kind of imagery i am feeling for each song and adapt it that way. Once the record is actually done I can look at it as a whole and really divide it visually, and figure out how to tell the entire story.

AH: Visuals and live music go hand in hand for me. Do you guys plan on having any visual enhancement during your live set?

JG: Yes. We’ll always use projections. Each song has its own specific story and visual representation. The overall aesthetic ties together with the lyrics and album artwork.