Dark Shift Interview
October / November 2003
Dark Shift is a 4 piece progressive thrash metal attack from Milwaukee, Wisconsin featuring Lewie Snyder on Vocals and rhythm guitar, Joel Wanasek on lead guitar, Brett Dumstrey on bass guitar, and Tommy "The Gunner" Lodwick on Drums.
How long has the group been in existence?
We started playing together in October of 2000 when Lewie and Joel decided to collaborate in a drunken stupor. Brett joined St. Patrick 's Day 2001, and Tommy "The Gunner" joined in July. The rest is history.
In your own words describe your band's sound and influences and why you feel Dark Shift stands out in the crowd?
We really can't put an exact label on our sound, in terms of genre. We are just high energy metal. We do a lot of thrash, but we try to incorporate all of the best parts of power, speed, black, and progressive metal into our sound. What we think makes us stand out, is our technical proficiency and ability to take what we think are the best parts of several styles of metal, and forge them into our own style. Everyone in the band is extremely technically proficient and well versed in music theory and composition.
Our material on 'The Assault' is a lot more thrash orientated, but it is also 3 years old. Lately, we've been incorporating a lot of the guitar harmonies and classical chord progression of black metal into our sound, while still holding 110% true to our thrash roots and all out energetic attack. In other words, we've gotten more melodic and have developed a lot more compositionally, yet we are lot harder hitting and more intricate...if that makes sense? Lewie has also gone less raspy on his vocal delivery, and we've been writing a lot more dynamic vocal lines in our newer material. This is another thing that makes us stand out, is that we don't scream and growl like most bands in metal do right now. We also don't do high pitched, no testicles power metal vocals either. We go for more of that powerful but clean sound.
Name some bands in which you've shared the stage and opened and which do You feel was your strongest show to date?
We haven't shared the stage with anyone worth mentioning, due to the fact that they are usually more locally known bands. Our best show to date is a smaller show that we played at a hall in Milwaukee a few weeks ago. We were so loud that the police showed up 6 times and told us that you could hear us over 8 blocks away, even with the windows closed. We didn't even have a PA, but the made us turn down anyways. Lewie decided to capitalize on this when the police officers were in the room by reciting N.W.A's "Fuck the Police." The crowd was absolutely insane, and pretty much everyone in there had to see their doctor for pain medication the next day along with the usual hearing loss. We also played one of our new tracks for the first time, and the crowd totally ate it up. All in all, while it was a small show, it was definitely a lot of fun!
Where and what studio did the production of The Assault take place?
The drums were tracked at "splatterhead" studio, which is owned by B.E.N.T on Insanity Records. The other 75% of the disc was recorded in Joel's parent's basement. We didn't have much experience recording or any decent gear. We made the best out of what we had, and we think it turned out great! In a few months we are investing in a full blown studio to alleviate this problem in the future.
How many months did the band put into the recording of the assault?
It took us about 10 months, only because we have to learn how to do everything from scratch and we could only record on the weekends due to school and work.
Who came up with The Assault cover art?
It was a band effort. We tried to work with over 10 graphic artists, but no one could characterize what we were trying to portray through our music correctly. We needed something that captivated the energy of our attack and the aggression of our attitude. The question was: "how do you draw 'The Assault'?" At first, we were going to put a picture of Hillside Cemetery ("By The Waters" Cemetery as we call it) in Whitewater, WI. A bunch of evil looking graves and gnarled trees isn't an assault however. We did put a picture of "By The Waters" on the back of the CD case though. You've got to look at it in the light to see it really. This lead us to our next idea. With the war in Iraq going on, we wanted to do something that had that "shock and awe" effect. So, what we ended up deciding to do was to take the most violent looking explosion ever concocted and put it on our cover.
What tracks do you feel are the strongest off the assault and why?
We think each song is equally as strong, because they all bring something different to the table. We will briefly go through the "why."
"By The Waters" It has a very powerful intro, and then breaks into an all out thrash metal rhythm guitar master piece. Basically it is our opening statement to the world that says we aren't going to do any fucking around. It starts with that ultra quiet pedal point, and when that slide comes in the rhythm guitar section, it is like that nuke going off.
"Keeper" This is our old school high energy speed metal track. It is very catchy and lots of fun to play live. Lewie usually administers a massive belch in the break after the solo. The crowd always loves it.
"Beyond the Dark" This is our heavy groove track off the album. We personally love the exclusively down picked 8th note riff at 240 under the outro solos. Talk about forearm cramps!
"The Last Door" A ballad with balls. It has a different feel than any other track on the disc. It is very somber in the beginning and it picks up and kicks your ass towards the end.
"Fit of Rage" This is our "get your ass kicked in the pit" song. It would make Slayer proud. This song has Joel's favorite guitar solos.
"Forever Night Trilogy" This is our 16 ½ minute progressive masterpiece about vampires. This is our favorite song compositionally and we love playing the instrumental 2nd part. It even has a rhythm guitar solo. How often does a band do that?
"Nevermore" We just love playing this song. The crowds love it, and we tend to join them in the mosh pits if the stage is low enough to jump off of.
"Lost Forever" The first song we wrote and our ending track live, probably to the end of time. This is probably our favorite live track and our most popular song.
What is the current scene like in your local area and how does Dark Shift fit in?
It sucks, and we don't fit in. We have a hard time finding shows because of all the shitty nu metal/hardcore/ect bands that put a bad name on metal. Basically it is a bunch of 16 year old kids rolling around the floor screaming about how their parents grounded them while playing 3 newbie chords on guitar. We hate the scene here! No one respects true metal anymore. No one respects technique anymore either. It is a sad state in metal. We are going to make some changes around here.
What's the bands long and short term goals as far as touring, recording, writing ect.?
Right now we are working on new material of the next album. We are also excited about our up coming South American Assault Tour in January 2004. We are currently concentrating on completing our recording studio too.
In the long term, it is our goal to be one of the bands on the forefront of bringing real heavy metal back. We are sick of all the crap music being called metal that floods the US market and tarnishes that which is truly metal. It is time for change. We will help bring that change.
We are planning to record our next album in summer of 2004. Right now we are also working on finding a label that suits our needs and isn't going to rape us.
What would you say is your biggest gripe about the music industry?
The industry is the rape of an art form. They take music, strip it of all aesthetic value, and turn it into a money making machine. We are sick of bull shit fake people like Britney Spears, Metallica, and Limp Biskit (just to name a few). The media feeds this crap down the throats of naive youth and corrupts them.
You could have a 450 pound New York construction worker fart into a microphone and they could make it go platinum with same exposure they give to these other worthless bands. These days, music has nothing to do with music, it is all marketing.
We can't think of any other industry that is so backwards. It would be like if Michael Jordan was no one more than a towel boy for the Chicago Bulls when the starters have been only playing basketball for only 10 months. No other industry is like that.
Has there been any label interest?
Yes, but nothing we want to jump on. We are waiting for a label that is going to work with us, and not change what we are trying to do. For example , all the European labels that we've talked with, want us to switch to power metal vocals. We aren't about to sell out. We are about being us and being true to our sound. This is why we haven't jumped on the first few offers we've received. We are waiting for the right one.
Any thing you wish ad?
The fight for true metal is upon us. Sharpen up the steel if you dare!
