MORGAN Y. EVANS: Okay, how are you today? Let's get right into it. First off, you all spend a lot of time together but how did the making of Deathless raise you to the next level as a band and strengthen your friendships or focus?

DAVE PETERS: I’m good, thanks. You know, we actually spend so much time together on the road in any given year, that coming together to write and record a record really is sort of a breather from one another even though it requires so much work. Deathless was a pretty intense record to make, though. It has a lot more depth and layering to it than anything we’ve done in the past so it consequently required even more attention to detail in order to make it sound exactly how we envisioned. It was definitely a record that brought Mark (Choiniere-guitar) and I closer together in the process, though, as we shared more of the songwriting role this time around than on Venom & Tears. I think that’s a big part of what made for a more dynamic and interesting record, too.

MYE: Dave, how was the experience of working with Soulfly on the "Unleash" video? Rizzo is such a sick guitarist. When you started out playing heavy music did you ever think you
would be in a video with a leopard someday? That rules! And you really have a large role in the song. Parts of "Unleash" are real fast like the start of "Holy Roller"!

DP: It was pretty crazy working with Max on that level. One of the first metal bands that I became a huge fan of was Sepultura back when I was 12 or 13, so it was pretty surreal sitting in a studio and recording a song with him, to say the least. When they flew me out to do my part in the song, I just assumed they’d have a part sort of tailored and ready for me to sing, but much to my surprise (and delight), Max was like, “So hey, I have this general idea for the song and its theme, let’s write some lyrics around that.” It was pretty intimidating actually being on the spot and not only being a part of the song, but basically writing the vocals together with Max. I kind of felt like I was a kid from the Make-A-Wish Foundation or something. [laughing] It was truly great, though, and one of the most memorable things I’ve ever done as a musician. The song came out real sick, too, and doing the video was icing on the cake. And, no, if you told me I’d be in a video with Max Cavalera and a leopard one day when I was in high school I would have laughed at you. Funny thing, the leopard was the biggest rock star of the whole video shoot. They told most of the people to leave the building when they brought it in and not to make eye contact with it at any point. He was like Bono. I’m pretty sure they had a bowl of only brown M&M’s for him when he arrived, too.

MYE: Throwdown is a straight edge band I can appreciate. I'm not straight edge, but at times in my life I spent lengthy periods not being interested in drinking. The thing is not to let anything control you. But it is stupid when people won't like a band for being straight edge. You can still serve as a good reminder for anyone, and also, I'm sure you like bands that aren't straight edge. Do you guys sing KISS on the bus a lot? [singing] ..."And party everyday!"

DP: [laughing] Yeah... y’know, the choice to be straight edge is really just that. It’s a personal choice. We’ve never pushed that on anyone or preached it as a band. Most of our friends and loved ones aren’t straight edge, and basically every band we’ve ever looked up to, with the exception of maybe three or four, aren’t either. It’s really about what you said, which is independence and living life on your own terms. We’ve seen addiction and substance abuse affect a lot of people close to us growing up, which is what inspired those choices for us on our unique and personal terms as individuals. It’s a part of who we are, but it’s one part of who we are as people and a band, and we like to think that the music and the lyrics are what comes first for listeners. I wouldn’t want someone loving the band just because we’re straight edge any more than I’d want someone hating us for it. We’re musicians with a message, not lobbyists.

MYE: What did you learn from working with Mudrock previously that you wanted to build on with Deathless? Some people haven't liked some melodic elements, but I think you have really grown as a band. As a singer I appreciate the range and attention to detail, not that the old stuff was lacking, or something. So yeah, anything you really wanted to accomplish with this one to build on your legacy?

DP: We really don’t go into the writing and recording process with any premeditated idea of how we want the record to sound. We want it to sound natural and evolve organically out of what we recorded last. I didn’t go and take singing lessons and decide, “Okay, now I’ve got to sing on this record.” I’ve always been able to sing, but songs in the past didn’t necessarily call for it quite as much as those on Deathless. There are actually quite a lot of vocal melodies throughout Venom & Tears and some hints at them on Vendetta, but a lot of them are competing with a very distinct guitar riff at the same time. There were a lot of parts that developed in the writing process for songs on Deathless that were more open and breathed more musically. They had this big and ominous characteristic about them and really begged for a particular vocal part to carry it and complete the circle. Like I said, it was a really natural album to make. We don’t expect to please all the people all the time when we make records, but we hope that fans can listen to it and make their own choices about it.

MYE: The cover art is very powerful and attention grabbing. It remind's me of Trial's Are These Our Lives cover (another great SXE band), only a bit more metal with the grim reaper on yours! I love that you've kept having bold, sort of enhanced photography. It looks classy.

DP: Ryan Clark from Invisible Creature Studios (and the singer of one of my favorite bands, Demon Hunter) has done the packaging for the past four CDs including Deathless. We wanted to keep the photo-realistic continuity across the previous records present, but wanted to make this one more iconic and bold, like you said, and even darker than Venom & Tears with the imagery. Ryan obviously knocked it out of the park, and it’s safe to say it’s my favorite record he’s done for us and one of my favorite covers that has come out of their studio even. It’s funny, some dismissive brat/aspiring “journalist” from a website I’ve never heard of tried to slag the cover and make a quip about the grim reaper “Photoshop job”. One of the coolest things about the cover image is that the reaper is in fact a real reflection. I don’t like to give away Ryan’s art direction trade secrets or anything [laughing], but the photographer was actually clad in a robe and holding a scythe [sickle] when the macro shot was taken. The camera was held in front of his chest so it didn’t show up in the reflection. Just a little fun fact for you there.

MYE: That's dope! Dave, you talk about utopia on "The Scythe" and I was wondering if you could go into that song for a bit, the "reap what you sow" line, and how it relates to your world view.

DP: It’s pretty rare that I’ll bring politics to the table in the lyric writing process. Lyrics are generally a very personal and cathartic process for me and I tend to keep my world views separate from them, in this band at least. “The Scythe”, however, came about amidst the presidential election. You know, that time every four years where people suddenly give a shit about what’s going on in the world. In a lot of ways it was about just that: this fleeting and evanescent concern for the state of America by its' citizens and this absurd and embarrassing idea that one man is going to come and clean up decades of poor decisions in one fell swoop simply because he has a way with words or is “cooler” than the last talking head that was around. Obviously, a year later, we’re learning the hard way that that isn’t the case and that Barack Obama is just another politician with an agenda. I hate to say “I told you so”, but...[laughing] That song, and particularly that line, “Reap what you’ve sown” is about accepting responsibility, be it personal or collective as a people. If you made some piss poor decisions, own up to them and try and steer your ship the best you can. And take that policy with you to the voting booth as well and through life in general. Don’t elect someone because you think they’ll print some more money and fix your problems with it (and certainly don’t do it because they’re charming). That palms-up and palms-out way of thinking and living are why we’re in the economic catastrophe in the first place. Socialism is a failed system. Ask anyone from the former USSR.

MYE: I think, personally, that the main problem is people are so fallible. Whether capitalism or socialism, it almost always warps from the original goal because of a combination of greed, sloth, lack of empathy and general apathy. That said, people do have to stay involved, no matter their beliefs, if they want to claim to deserve anything better. I love "The Blinding Light". I think a lot of younger bands are afraid to have guitar heroics sometimes and while you've got the groove metal and chug aspects, it's great you have some flashy, slow bluesy licks also. Byzantine was another band recently who were really kicking ass at the heavy mixed with the flair (and having something to say, like Throwdown), before they sadly broke up.

DP: I love the way a riff or melody in a blues scale just makes me feel, and I can speak for Mark C., too, when I say he feels the same way. Mark wrote the music to “Blinding Light”, and while it’s a really bluesy and Southern sounding riff, the vocals and lead guitar over it give it sort of a different and unsettling vibe I think, which is something I really like about Tool and their songwriting. One guy doing something a little different changes the whole feel. There actually isn’t a whole lot of guitar noodling going on in that song, but the main riff is really memorable. I’m glad you like it...it’s one of our faves too! I’ll have to check out Byzantine. I’ve heard a lot about them and had no idea that they broke up. Bummer.

MYE: Are you guys psyched about the Deathless tour with Bury Your Dead? I saw them kill it over the summer with the current BYD line-up on Disturbed's tour. They out-did pretty much everyone that day. It's cool when good live bands tour together instead of when bands try and bring out weaker openers. It's like, "Step the game up! Bring it!" [laughing] Also, what can you tell us about your relationship with some of the other bands on this tour. I must admit, while For Today are real heavy and good at what they do, I can't get past them claiming in the press people were literally healed by Christ at their shows. To each their own, I mean, I'm not biased against Christian bands or anything.

DP: We’re actually sharing a bus with Bury Your Dead on this tour. A bus that currently has a broken axle as I answer this! Hopefully we make it to Kansas! We’ve having a killer time with them and the shows have been awesome. We’ve had a demand from our fans for a long time to do a tour with them, so we’re happy to finally get the opportunity to give them that in 2009. They definitely keep us on our toes! As far as For Today goes, I didn’t really know the guys before we went into this tour. I had heard this and that about them preaching on stage, but at the end of the day, that is their gig not ours. As long as they can show everyone in the room respect for what they believe then that’s all we care about.They’re nice guys and bring a different element to the tour, which is cool and something we always strive to do when piecing together a bill—diversity, a little something for everyone.

MYE: You've toured a lot. I was watching old ‘80s videos of the Dortmund ‘83 Rock Pop Festival with bands like Def Leppard (when they were really pretty nasty), Iron Maiden, and Krokus on it. Also, recently I was watching a lot of old Ozzy shows from when Zakk first joined and they played Russia with The Scorpions in '89. The crowds were so ready to hear rock music and it was almost touching, because nowadays other genres are way more popular. Throwdown has played shows small and really large and what is your take on the current state of the rock fan? Obviously it will never die out, but will people ever be as hungry for rock and metal as when it was the most popular thing on the block? I mean, you guys still make very real and powerful connections with your fans.

DP: I think people have more and more options these days, as they have more and more access to bands they might have otherwise never heard of if it weren’t for the internet. That’s why these ultra-niche, sub-sub-genres are able to flourish and sustain even during a time where the industry (and economy) is truly suffering more than it ever has. I just think that for any genre, but especially rock and metal, the day of the superstar is over. Which is fine for us as a band, as that was never what this has been about for us. Would we want to play to literally a million people in Russia with Metallica and Pantera like the Monsters Of Rock days? Of course! But we get a taste of that when we play these massive summer festivals in Europe. It’s actually pretty insane how big metal and hardcore are in Europe. The accepted axiom among elitist Americans is that they’re about five years behind over there with music, but the optimist in me likes to think they’re five years ahead and maybe we have a metal and hardcore renaissance to look forward to? [laughing] Who knows. It’s definitely a strange time for music and entertainment, especially in the US. We’re just happy that we have such loyal and diehard fans that keep us doing what we love in even the worst of times.

MYE: You guys have covered rap songs as a joke, but there is a serious frontier of music that has never been attempted. Serious Guido bridge and tunnel/gold chains bad dance music combined with metal or guitar leads over it all. What do you think?

DP: I’ll shoot you straight. I think this is an awful idea, man. Then again, much like the show Jersey Shore, it has that sort of “car accident appeal” where you don’t want to look and you know you shouldn’t look, but morbid curiosity dictates otherwise. I can say that I’ve definitely watched Attack Attack and Brokencyde videos on YouTube multiple times because of this...syndrome I guess.

MYE: I was gonna say something about Brokencyde, but I almost feel bad for them at this point [laughing]...except they make me feel really bad about life when I hear their music. Now, with the idea of Deathless, of course, your older song "Forever" was about keeping it straight edge, but is the word "Deathless" just an attitude about making something that lasts?

DP: Yeah, in a broader scope the title is about that—that what we do and what we create, not our band specifically but the generic “we”, is timeless and eternal and lives beyond us and our lifespan. That goes for anyone really, whether they’re creating music or films or paintings or just turning oxygen into carbon dioxide. You’re remembered for what you do. You are what you do and what you create, essentially. More specifically, the title ties together the themes of the record, which are death, life, survival and their cyclic and endless interrelation to one another. All the song titles and lyrics fall under those themes in some form or another, whether literal or metaphoric. It was a fun and challenging record to write, lyrically.

MYE: Thanks a lot, Dave. What you guys have done and continue to do is very inspiring and you get mega points for slugging it out in the trenches and doing something real.

DP: Hey, thanks for that, really. I appreciate the time and the fact that you ask some questions I really enjoy answering! I did an interview the other day where I almost just asked the poor guy if he had ever heard of Google. [laughing] Thanks again.