"Gone Tomorrow" is slower and benefits greatly from the Terry Date mix, atmospherics emphasized well, while elsewhere "Beneath The Shades of Grey" and the murderous seizures of "Locust" hit hard with the concise and accurate unified playing between the performers that fans of Archetype or Demanufacture have come to crave from Ray and Christian. "Shades..." also lifts it off with great half time rock parts and the melodic nuances Wolbers (and, cough, Dino Cazares) always brought to Fear Factory. On the title track and "Away From The Sun" Raymond even manages to top himself, playing with dazzling speed before, on the latter, Howard sings, “Take all the time you need and beg forgiveness...". This band is making a lasting statement all their own yet still combining familiar elements of what they've been over the years in various projects.

It was a pleasure to talk with Herrera via that great invention, the telephone, about the meaning and making of Years In The Darkness and different things going on in his life. Of course, we also had to discuss the recent controversy of Fear Factory's original guitarist Dino Cazares and vocalist Burton C. Bell attempting to reform the band without (incorporated members) Herrera and Wolbers (opting to use Byron Stroud and the admittedly killer Gene Hoglan of Strapping Young Lad instead). So don't worry, you vultures, that's in there, too. First and foremost, this is about welcoming a great, “new” band Arkaea onto the metal scene.

Welcome to the darkness.

MORGAN Y. EVANS: Hey, do you remember a guy named Mike who was from Woodstock around when you did Demanufacture and used to come to a lot of your shows? He was a Corrections Officer?

RAYMOND HERRERA: Oh yeah, I do remember him. I think I remember seeing him at a show we did in '06.

MYE: He brought me to the first show I ever saw you play with Fear Factory at Tramps years ago.

RH: Wow, that was a long time ago.

MYE: Yeah, but it was life changing! I'd never been to such an insane concert before and you guys got me further into this kind of music more than any band. Before that I was just a punk rock snob!

RH: Cool, man. That's good to hear.

MYE: You opened up the more extreme side and so I'm very excited to talk about your new band Arkaea today.

RH: Sure, man. That's great!

MYE: "Locust", the first single from Years In The Darkness, has a lot of your signature, syncopated playing that you're known for. Some of the stuff on the record is even more insane. The title track, the drums in the beginning are just nuts! You get faster and faster! I think you've topped yourself with that song!

RH: [laughing] Yeah, I know that song's a little out of control. When I first started writing the drum beat it sounded awkward. It wasn't until I took a little time that I figured out how to clean it up a bit. I was really excited about the part I'd written, but it sounded too sloppy when I first wrote it. After some tweaking, it now sounds like almost a break beat with a chaotic thing going on, but, yeah [laughing]...Sometimes you have to take some stuff out to make it legible audio-wise.

MYE: I can't imagine how you fit anything else in it in the first place! [laughing] I saw on your personal MySpace a lot of blogs about the Cocaine energy drink and maybe that explains it.

RH: [laughing] That's funny. You're not the first one who's said that. A lot of people have said, "How much of that stuff do you drink?"

MYE: Do you do endorsements with them? I don't know much about it.

RH: No, no. I'm one of the main partners. I'm one of the investors.

MYE: Oh, cool.

RH: About a year and a half ago everyone kind of appointed me to be the head of marketing for it, as well. I was doing a lot of promotions around music and video games for it and everybody was really happy. I thought, “What the hell, I guess I can do this too!” So I took on more marketing aspects.

MYE: I'd heard of it, of course, but didn't know you'd been involved.

RH: Yeah, it's definitely been interesting. It's done really well. We've got about 26 countries outside of the U.S.

MYE: I could've used some yesterday on a four hour drive back from Syracuse, NY, man! I was about to drive off the interstate.

RH: [laughing] Send me your address. I'll send you a couple cases.

MYE: That'd be awesome! Well, let me know more about this Arkaea record. How was it working with Terry Date? Your drums always sound so precise and he's known for really fucking goin' for good drum sounds—Prong or Soundgarden or Deftones or even with Unearth.

RH: It was pretty interesting because, oddly enough, we had been trying to work with Terry a few times over the years and it was never the right time. Sure enough, when the time came to start mixing for the Arkaea record, he was available! I thought, “no way!” Yeah, he spent a lot of time on the drums and was impressed with what we had done, because we'd recorded most of it in my recording studio.

MYE: You and Christian did most of the principal tracking, right?

RH: Me and Christian did most of the writing. When we started writing this record it was actually meant to be the next Fear Factory record and things kind of fell apart there. Christian and I thought, “Well, what the hell,” and we weren't gonna just let this stuff sit around. Let's just start a new project. So that's how this whole thing started and y'know, Christian and I did about 90% of the writing. Pat came in and did all his tracks and Jon sang all his parts. I played all my parts and Christian played all his. As far as on the record, everyone is pretty equal as far as the performances go, though writing is more heavy-handed on mine and Christian's side.

MYE: I meant how much engineering did you guys handle yourselves.

RH: Oh, right, sorry. I have a studio I've owned for about three years now and our engineer, co-producer is a guy named Jeremy Blair.

MYE: Right, he worked with you guys on Archetype for Fear Factory.

RH: Yeah. He's my guy at the studio and engineered/co-produced most of the record. Christian was in charge of the vocals and he engineered that, as he has a studio as well. For the most part, we did it at mine, but we pretty much did it ourselves and all had a hand in it. We got it over to Terry after that.

MYE: It has a lot of elements of your playing that people know and love but the band has its own identity and you're not just spinning your wheels.

RH: I didn't know what to expect, but that's what people have been saying. 'Cuz, we've been living with this stuff for over a year now and you always wanna get the outside opinion. Obviously, the music's gonna sound like Fear Factory 'cuz the first eight songs were originally written for Fear Factory. Obviously you have two writers who write Fear Factory stuff, but Jon came in and with his vocal style, he really did steer it in a kinda different direction. Quite honestly, I ended up changing some of the stuff I'd written to compliment his rhythms and vocal patterns, which are very different from Burton's. I wanted to write a little more on top of that to fit his vocals more, so there were some changes as far as my writing. It still sounds like me, though, as it was originally meant to be a different record.

MYE: You have such a signature style though that we always know when it's you. I mean that as a compliment.

RH: Thanks. I've been getting that a lot and have over the years and it's awesome. There's so many bands and drummers but people hear my stuff and say, “Oh, that's Raymond playing.” And I think that's kind of cool, because I do one thing I do that nobody else really does. It is a really cool thing and I definitely appreciate it.

MYE: [laughing] A lot of it also has to do with the fact that not many people can do it.

RH: [laughing] Well, I didn't want to say anything, but I didn't want to make it sound like that. There are drummers out there, but maybe it's such a weird style for people to start to write in. It's very linear and tied into the guitars so heavily, and even vocals at some parts. It's almost like another instrument rather than a beat playing behind.

MYE: I remember seeing Fear Factory at Roseland with Slayer and Kilgore.

RH: Oh yeah! That was like, shit, like '96, wasn't it? [laughing]

MYE: Yeah. Also other venues like the Chance in Poughkeepsie, around Digimortal time.

RH: Sure.

MYE: Anyway, I remember that Slayer tour, the other bands sounded awesome at Roseland, Slayer, of course, but your precise shit was just insane through that sound system. It felt like it was chopping me in half.

RH: I know what you mean. It's a controlled chaos and that's the beauty of it. That's what we want, or people to be able to hear it but also break it apart and realize it is pretty crazy shit.

MYE: Not saying you're an old fart, by any means, but do you get worried as you do get older...I mean, you're not slowing down at all! This new Arkaea record has a lot of tracks on it. As you do longer sets, how do you keep hydrated! How much bottled water do you drink?! [laughing]

RH: [laughing] The energy drinks really DO help a lot and I'm not just saying it because I own a beverage company. One thing is over the years it takes my body longer to get conditioned. I can't just rehearse two or three days and be ready to go on the road. Now it takes me, say, like, five or six rehearsals and then I feel where I used to feel after two. I'll hit the gym and do a bit more cardio before tour but after that everything's cool. At least that's what I've noticed. Back when I was like 22 or 23, well, I'm 36 now—not that that's old, but it is taxing. I know some younger players that can't even play what I play.

MYE: Some people don't think about it, because they aren't musicians, but if you can play you realize how much it depends on your physicality. I just picked up a trombone after years and my mouth feels so much weaker. Or even limb independence as a drummer.

RH: Exactly. it is really taxing, but if you prepare properly, it can be fine. There are some drummers who are really large guys and it can be harder for them but that doesn't mean they can't do it.

MYE: Exactly. How did you know the Threat Signal guys were the right dudes to bring on board? I know Christian had produced them.

RH: Christian had mentioned that we wrote all the material and should do another project and I asked, “Who do you want to bring in?” Right away he said, “Let's bring in Jon.” I had met the Threat Signal guys but I didn't know them. Christian had become really good friends with Jon and y'know, when he told me, “Jon is that guy. He's really killer, fun to work with, hard working. He plays guitar and is a great singer, songwriter.” Arkaea is kind of Christian's brainchild. He got it going and thought it up. I mean, he really kind of led the charge and made it all happen. Once Jon came in and started doing vocals and it started to meld, I was like, “This guy really is the right guy.” We were on autopilot, writing and recording and demoing stuff. Within a week after the demo was finished we were already negotiating a deal with KOCH, which is now E1. We were actually talking to KOCH about the next Fear Factory record but when that fell by the wayside they were like, “Look, we like THIS!” We started recording last September.

MYE: I remember hearing about it and was like, “I want this assignment!” I'm talkin' to these motherfuckers! [laughing]

RH: [laughing] It's been almost like a new toy, like you just wanna keep playing. I've always been passionate about writing and recording. I don't like touring so much, but writing and recording, that's what I love to do.

MYE: It's funny when people don't like the studio. I'm like, “Are you kidding?!”

RH: I love my studio! I'm in there sometimes six days a week. I do a lot of projects with my production company (3volution Productions). We do a lot of video games and music like that. I love the whole process. It's like being able to put emotions on paper. I wrote a song with Christian yesterday for this Motocross game, we wrote it in an hour. It came out awesome! I was like, “Shit! this could've been an Arkaea song!” We're always tracking. It's this constant creativity and I love that. We have bands come in, whatever. Jon and Pat are also very pro-active with writing, recording and coming up with new material. In some cases, you'd think everybody would be, but it isn't always the case. It felt so good to be passionately creative with a band again, so to speak.

MYE: Some people can be great live, but in a studio it's like pulling teeth!

RH: You know, it's a different mindset, man. In the studio, I see people get nervous all the time. It's kinda weird. I know more people that get nervous in the studio but not live!

MYE: [laughing] Yeah, where everyone can look at you! You can erase this shit and do it over, but live they can throw tomatoes!

RH: [laughing] That's my point! It's way easier to record than to play live. Live you have to bang it out one after another. In the studio you have time to make it perfect and to fiddle with toys and your tone. You can reamp or whatever. I love the studio.

MYE: I wanted to ask about thematic elements of Arkaea and how you settled on the band name and also the album. I like the name of the album, Years In The Darkness. It could have many meanings or being in the underground for years and surviving strong as players.

RH: There's been a lot of opinions about the title of the record. For me, it's almost like Years In The Darkness to me, even the cover art, signifies the chaos around us, especially from a financial perspective. I have a lot of friends who are out of work. A lot of people are gonna lose their jobs. It's impending doom, almost, in a real life, real time aspect. A lot of people have dissected it from that sense because it is hitting people hard. It's the lower hanging fruit for people. I've done interviews and they are thinking Years In The Darkness and ask if it's about the economy, and I hadn't thought of it that way at first but I like that people can take it and show it to something in their personal life. You always want to have people be able to have their own take on what you do.

MYE: The cover art could be ominous or also breathtaking with the cold blue and water around the city. You don't know if it is rising out or sinking into the crashing waves.

RH: The album cover is amazing. When we were first kind of putting it together and it started to show itself, it was like, “wow!” It's really cinematic.

MYE: And the band name?

RH: [laughing] I have a funny story behind that. I was driving one day and Jon and Christian were working on vocals for the demo and they were like, “Hey, we figured out a name.” We wanted a word that didn't exist. We won’t get lost in the Google search engine thing! He mentioned Arkaea and I was like, “What does it mean?” And he said, “What does Metallica mean?” You know?! Fair enough. [laughing]

MYE: [laughing] Right on.

RH: That's how the whole thing came about. We ended up living with it and it is a cool word. I think the idea could be we came up with the name and it can mean what you want, or that we are Arkaea. That's what we are.

MYE: Totally. That's cool, man. It gives it a more surreal quality, too.

RH: This doesn't remind me of other bands. We thought of so many names!

MYE: It's interpretive and not named after a girl or some shit. [laughing]

RH: Right, right, right. [laughing] That could be cool to, but it wasn't our thing.

MYE: What are you most looking forward to with this stuff spreading around more?

RH: More feedback. For the most part it's been really, really positive. People who've heard the songs are like, “Wow, this is really ridiculous.” What I'm hoping is people will love the band as a new band they are into. What I've been noticing most of all is surprise at how good Jon sounds or that Terry Date is on this record or that Ted Jensen mastered it. There's so may surprises. It adds more of an element of excitement.

MYE: Yeah, and you guys have earned it with all the meaningful work you've done with Fear Factory that's affected people strongly over the years, and now to have this come out strong too is great for fans.

RH: Thanks. Sure, it's almost like... I saw a review somewhere where they had no idea who the band was and no idea who we were. It got thrown in the review pile and they were like, “Hey, this is a debut album but this is not their first rodeo.” He went deeper and found out it was me and Christian and Terry Date. It doesn't feel like a debut. It's like all of us put together and that's great, and that's what the response has been.

MYE: It's an extension of you and Christian's musical friendship also. I wanted to ask you about some of your other projects. I know you've been doing something with some of the Suicidal Tendencies guys. Also, I was wondering about Kush, if anything new is going on with that.

RH: Christian was doing this project called L.A.'s Infidels with some of the Suicidal guys and one of the guys from Beowulf and he hit me up about it and they needed a drummer. We did some demos and that was kind of the end of it. Christian initiated it so it is kind of in his hands. I haven't heard any news myself, so now that you asked me, I'm gonna ask him when I see him tonight.

MYE: Yeah, it had a cool West Coast skater, sort of “be a buffoon” vibe. [laughing]

RH: [laughing] That's what we were exactly meant to be. Very mid-‘80s skater punk.

MYE: [laughing] promote vandalism.

RH: As far as Kush, we had gotten an offer from Sony/Columbia to do a three-record deal and,um, one of the guys in the band was Stephen from Deftones. Maverick wouldn't allow him to play in a band that was gonna be on another label. That's what happened. We didn't want to replace Steph because he was one of the guys that came up with the idea to do this band but it never got straightened out. We'd already done the work and spent the money and it never saw the light of day. We had a really good record contract offer from Sony.

MYE: That sucks, man. People still rock those demo tracks!

RH: People ask me about it and say, “that shit was killer.” It's funny because the stuff we'd done was really early demo stuff. That wasn't finished or nothing. The songs weren't even finished yet. The stuff that's out there is mediocre at best. The stuff we were cranking out was way better but we never really recorded it because it all kind of fell apart. That isn't a good example of what we were putting together. That happens sometimes with legal stuff and, what can you do? We're all doing our thing. B-Real of Cypress Hill is doing his solo record and Steph has Deftones. We're doing our Arkaea thing. Maybe someday it'll all work out but there's no plans in the near future.

MYE: Too bad. Dude, you don't have to talk about this if you're uncomfortable, but I wanted to ask about how you've felt with the fan support with what has been going on with Fear Factory?

RH: [laughing] It's definitely a weird situation. To make a very, very, very long story fairly short for everyone, what's happened is Burton and Dino have become friends again and have been for about a year. They've essentially claimed they are Fear Factory and have essentially hijacked the trademark. There is a big lawsuit right now, and a lot of the stuff that I've read that they've been doing for interviews, none of that is even true. There's no agreement or contract. They are just going out there saying whatever they want to say and that they are the band, but there's no legal documentation to reflect any of it. What are they talking about? In the interim I had tried to reach out to them. I hadn't talked to either of them in a long time and said, “Hey guys, if this is what you're trying to do, let's come up with an agreement.” Whether me and Christian are in it or not, there has to be some kind of agreement.

MYE: Make it cool for everybody as much as possible.

RH: [emphatically] Well, yeah! Y'know, Christian and I are still 50% of the company and if it comes to that, it's a stalemate. Christian and I aren't trying to go and do Fear Factory on our own. The whole thing is pretty ridiculous. It is what it is. I can't tell them what to do and they are gonna do whatever they're gonna do, but the problem is there are legal repercussions to stuff like this. You can't just wake up and decide you're the band one day and not take the other partners into consideration. You could do it, but it'd get uglier and uglier down the line. Right now, it's this freeze kind of thing. They'd booked a bunch of shows and were moving forward with stuff but there's nothing on paper! It's a huge legal battle now and to add insult to injury, now it's costing money to pay lawyers when we could've just sat down and had a meeting.

MYE: Sounds like there should've been more dialogue, yeah.

RH: It's not so much I don't want to talk about it. You'd probably have to ask Burt and Dino why they are doing what they are doing. You know what I know. [laughing] I have actually gotten hate mail from people, like, they are so out to think I did something to Burt. “What did you do to Burt?!!” I didn't do anything to him.

MYE: Weren't you all just doing your own projects?

RH: Yeah. I'm gonna keep busy and keep doing what I do. If these guys don't want to work for awhile or whatever and then all of a sudden want to start touring, fine and dandy. The whole thing wasn't an issue until February or March when they wanted to call their project Fear Factory and there goes the red flag. I thought, “Oh great. Now I gotta get a lawyer.” Y'know, if they wanted to do their thing with Byron and Gene and call it a different name, I wouldn't care.

MYE: You look at something Napalm Death and there's so many alumni over the years bouncing between various related projects and back and forth but in Fear Factory way, way less over the years, only Byron, really. This is more like bringing more Strapping Young Lad members in. It's somewhat confusing. I mean, Gene is brilliant, but you defined the band's sound and they still have to talk it out.

RH: Yeah. I have plenty of fans that are really pissed off or confused and they don't know what's going on. I wish Burt and Dino would put more clarification on this. It's a huge open issue. I'm just going on with what I'm going on with.

MYE: Are you cool with Byron and Gene?

RH: I don't have a problem with Byron and Gene. Yeah, I understand that it's business. Byron and Gene are not a part of the company. They're not part of the corporation. They are hired guys. I can't be mad at them. If I see Gene today or tomorrow I'd still say hi and be friendly, 'cuz I know it's got nothing to do with them. I think a lot of people are pissed off at Byron and Gene and want me to be, but I'm not pissed off at them. At the end of the day, as shitty as it may sound, it's all business. I live to write music and I love to do what I do, but at the end of the day you have to protect your interests. That's what we're doing right now, protecting our best interests. I have to. I'm not gonna give up this trademark that I helped build.

MYE: You were integral. Well, I hope somehow it all works out well between all the parties. Good luck with Arkaea and I am definitely gonna catch you guys on tour.

RH: You got it, man. Awesome. Thanks so much.